Toblerone

We had the second burst of rain this holiday last night, which of course was more than just rain - an amazing thunderstorm, featuring hail which sounded the size of golfballs!  meaning that sleep was once again kept from us for much of the night.

Nevertheless, the day dawned with clear skies and sun, albeit slightly reduced temperatures. We departed Bear Lake, heading north for our scenic drive through Grand Teton National Park. Progress was slow, as the route was again very beautiful, featuring much maple/aspen autumnal colours, and Grey River's turquoise churning waters, and more mountain views.

We eventually made it to Jackson, heart of cowboy country - although we could only drive through it, onwards to our lunch stop (priorities...), we thought it actually looked very nice, with arches of elk (our red deer) antlers and narrow streets with saloons and stores. We lunched at a much-improved stop (compared to the previous one...), next to the National Elk Refuge - although a bit early for the elk (which were still up in the hills, but would be down in the meadows for the winter next month), we did have a lovely view across the marshland to the hills, featuring many happy ducks and finally a family of trumpeter swans. This species was almost wiped out in the 1930s, due to a strange demand for swan-down powder dusters and quills for pens. However, following legal protection, numbers have now soared (haha), and they were certainly majestic birds to witness gliding through the distant reeds.

Finally, the scenic drive began in earnest, as we crossed into the national park - it was a wide, flat glacial valley, with craggy snow-capped peaks looking exactly like the Toblerone-triangles we had been told to expect. Several had remnants of glaciers still clinging to them, but alas retreating. One stop along the way also featured brilliant views of herds of pronghorn, our previously having got very excited about the few we had seen at Bryce Canyon. They didn't seem at all bothered as they posed in front of a convenient pullout off the road for the many photographers.

Crossing many beautiful views of the Snake River, with yet more golden aspens all around, we officially entered the national park via the ranger station, only to leave about 20 minutes later via lovely views of Jackson Lake - we are coming back this way to do the remainder of the park.

We then crossed into Yellowstone itself - hurrah! The initial drive followed the Lewis River, as it cut down through the rocks forming a deep gorge, before emptying into the Lewis Lake, just after the approximate boundary of the caldera. Of course, being a supervolcano, the caldera is huge, and also of course, it is long overdue for a massive explosion that would take half of North America with it...

The route to our booked campground hugged the shore of Yellowstone Lake (the highest mountain lake in North America), before crossing the Yellowstone River to enter Fishing Bridge. The campground is of course a rip off, being the only one suitable for RVs in Yellowstone and still open, with no wifi, only two permitted showers via a cashier stamping a ticket, and quite narrow pitches. We did a quick bit of tack shopping before retiring for showers and dinner, before an early night for an action-packed day (hopefully not too marred by seasonal road closures) in the park proper tomorrow.