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Sunday August 1st 2004

View of Tetons from Colter BayHatchet Campground to Colter Bay National Park Campground - 12 miles on the transAm route! (but there was a 28 miles detour too). Headed for the Teton Spur - so we could get a closer look at the Teton mountains, which looked so spectacular. We headed for Jenny Lake on the road to Jackson. There were stunning views of the Tetons as we cycled along, as well as recommendations to leave the bison, elk, bears, that we might see, well alone! Well, we didn't see anything like that, for better or worse. Jenny Lake was in full summer tourist mode - though it is a very beautiful lake at the foot of the Grand Teton, that's a bit over 13000 feet high, and rises about 6 - 7000 feet out of the valley floor (which itself it about 6 - 7000 feet). We had lunch, made some phone calls back home and sat by the lake. A man asked us about our trip at the lake - and asked if we new of a little path in northern England that goes up through Herriot Country (so to speak) to the Scottish border. I think he meant the Pennine Way. We recommended it to him. There were a lot of cyclists about - mostly part of organised tours. The lake has various tourist boats on it - you can take hikes up the Tetons. The sheer rock faces of the Tetons are incredible, with small glaciers hanging onto the corries. On the way back we visited the Chapel of the Sacred Heart - a log cabin church, with a rather catholic kitsch bit of stained glass above the altar. Having a taste for such stuff, I though it was pretty good.... Finally got to Colter Bay and set up camp. Ate in the Campground Restaurant - pretty good, pasta, but not particularly cheap. A nice thing about the restaurant was the endless supply of hot water, which combined with my personal endless supply of teabags led to a great deal of happiness. Wonderful views of the Tetons across Lake Jackson - the picture shows the view from the main area of shops at the campground. Crossing the river that comes out of Lake Jackson we noticed American Pelicans - great big white birds with huge beaks (traditional pelican style), but bodies very like white swans.

view of Tetons from Jenny Lake roadThe Tetons (the highest point is Grand Teton - the sharp summit to the left of the picture) from the road to Jenny Lake.


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