The Most Mountain-y Mountains: Grand Teton National Park

How's it going homies.

Who's ready to take a trip to one of the most beautiful set of mountains a human can lay their eyes upon? I know I am.

As you may have seen from the title, we're going on a trip of the imagination to:

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Grand Teton National Park

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The way that I usually think about the Tetons is "the Alps of the U.S." From the picture above, I'm sure you can at least understand why I view them that way; they seem to pop up out nowhere and conquer the entire landscape with their incredibly pointy presence.

We had the opportunity to visit the Tetons for a few days when we were moving north from just being in Rocky Mountain National Park. Looking back, I definitely wish that we spent a couple of weeks there instead, for it feels as if we only saw the tip of the Teton, so to speak.

But, in the time we did spend there, I fell in love with entire area. We were able to get quite a few hikes in during our short stay, all of which presented beauty that I didn't even realize resided in Wyoming. It was actually pretty funny as we were traveling through Wyoming, looking around at the flatness that didn't exactly hype me up for our visit to the Tetons. Previous to this trip, I had only heard of the Tetons a few times, all in a passing comment concerning their grandeur. So, as we continued on towards the park, expectations weren't exactly present in my mind.

But boy oh boy did I not expect this.

For our first drive through the gates, there was very little talking. We were enthralled by what we were witnessing, unable to articulate exactly what we were feeling.

The main road that takes you through the park is nothing special, but the views during said drive are nothing short of stunning. One thing that struck me as unique about this range was the lack of foothills. After growing up right outside the foothills of the Rocky Mountains in Colorado, I came to expect that every mountain range was prefaced by increasingly large hills, slowly but surely leading up to the main display of rock giants. No such thing exists with the Teton Range. One second you're driving on flat plains, and the next you're face to face with a 13,776 foot behemoth.

As a family, we went on a short hike to a series of cascades and waterfalls. The weather was perfect: 60-ish degrees with a warm breeze that kissed our skin. Along the hike we passed a crystal clear lake, bright green pine trees, and singing birds that announced their existence. All of these factors mingled together to create a stunning example of pristine natural beauty.

The next day, our hiking desire not fully quenched, all of us guys went on a longer hike up into a hanging valley a couple thousand feet higher in elevation. We head out early, attempting to beat the crowds that are inevitable there during the summer time rush. The hike started out easy as we were coasting along the trail that ran parallel to a peaceful lake. At one point, we simply stood at the shore, soaking in the silence.

The trail quickly began to climb in elevation, putting us at a better vantage point to look over the entire lake.

We eventually reached the valley itself, fairly exhausted from the near constant climb up to that point. Our effort proved to pay off, however, as we felt the cozy embrace of a valley left basically untouched. Along the winding trail, we spotted a male moose in the distance, displaying his fanning antlers. He was too far away to snap a decent photo, but I felt comfortable knowing that I will forever hold the memory as precious, not needing a photo to remember.

On both sides of us loomed colossal displays of authority. Standing in unwavering solidarity, it felt as if the mountain tops were observing us, just as we were observing them.

If I was able to rest in that place forever, I'm sure I would have. But sadly, all things come to an end.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

And there you have it! I am so grateful for everyone that reads about my journey around North America. Sharing these experiences with you all brings me so much joy. I love both photography and writing, so this opportunity will not go unappreciated!

If you enjoyed this story, make sure to follow me! I am about to start a trip up the entire East Coast, so there will be many more adventures that will be shared.

Peace :-)

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

!steemitworldmap 43.775901 lat -110.684670 long Grand Teton National Park D3SCR