It was a really, really cold start to the day, the temperature was only 33°F (0.55°C) and the car windscreen was frozen! ❄️🥶 But, we were well wrapped up for the weather, dressed in layers as the afternoon was forecast to be about 55°F (13°C).

We left at 6.30 a.m. and reached Snake River Overlook at 6.45 a.m. There were only two other cars at that time, so rather different to yesterday’s outing to Schwabacher Landing.

As we pulled out of Dornans, there was a huge line of cars heading our way but thankfully, they were all bound to Schwabacher. Good luck going down there was our thought!

We didn’t have too long to wait for the sunrise over the Snake River but in the meantime, got talking to a young couple, Jim and Lucy from Wisconsin, the Cheese State. They were telling us how they had seen two herds of elk at Jenny Lake. That’s typical, we thought. Everyone’s seen elk except us. 🫎🤷‍♀️

The sunrise on the Tetons was beautiful and more than we had hoped for!

We decided to try our luck once again by going to Jenny Lake to see if we could also be lucky. There is a scenic drive there and Si wondered if it would be worth doing the loop as he was doubtful any elk would be there as it’s a very small area of trees. I told him I felt it would be worth a shot, so that’s what we did!

You can imagine our surprise and delight when we turned a corner and saw a few people stood at the side of the road staring into the trees. Well, lo and behold, there they were, two bull moose eating their breakfast! 🫎🫎😀👏👏What a stroke of good luck on our last full day in the Tetons. 🍀

The Scenic Route has a speed limit of just 25 mph. Some people obviously don’t understand that and while we were photographing, more than one car, including a Porsche,  hurtled round the corner at about 40mph. We had to wave them down. 🤷‍♀️Some people just don’t think! 🤔

Why on earth would you want to drive at speed around a scenic area? It’s just beyond me. 🤷‍♀️

One lady actually went right up to them and Si told her not to get so close as they will attack. Then a Wildlife Ranger appeared and had to tell another lady the same thing. Some people think that because they look so lovely, they must be harmless. 🤷‍♀️

In yesterday’s blog there was a photograph of some horses. What I forgot to mention was that one lady went up and petted one of them on the nose and he immediately turned and bit her arm! 😱You can imagine how upset she was! 🐴😢

After all that excitement, we decided it was time for ‘second breakfast’ as Peregrin “Pippin” Took says in The Fellowship of the Ring. 🤣 We had breakfast before leaving this morning but needed more sustenance. 😂

We decided to go once again to a favourite of ours, The Pioneer Grill at Jackson Lake Lodge. Excellent food with great staff.

Serving us today were Debbie from Florida (she served us yesterday as well) and she is here with her husband who is working as a river guide and Elena from Moldova. Elena is working on a J-1 visa (a non-immigrant exchange visitor visa used for approved work and study based cultural exchange programmes).

The season closes at Jenny Lodge on 4th October, so they will be saying farewell to each other to return to their respective homes and no doubt, will hope to see each other again when the new season opens next year.

To our surprise, we suddenly recognised one of the other servers. It was Jake from Wisconsin, who served us on our visit last year. We didn’t expect him to recognise us but he did! He had looked at our blog! Working with him today was Alina from Romania. She had served us yesterday too.

Si had a delicious omelette with bacon, peppers and mushrooms with breakfast potatoes and sourdough toast on the side. I decided on one Huckleberry pancake (that’s all I can manage as they are so large) and sourdough toast too. Plus, I had two cups of hot chocolate (I think they must have been Cadbury’s they were so delicious). Just what was needed after standing around in the cold for so long. ☕️

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There was one more pleasant surprise in store for us as the couple from San Diego who we had talked to at breakfast yesterday was sitting across from us today! They were on their way to Yellowstone National Park today.

Question of the day …………… which States does Yellowstone National Park cover? Answers on a postcard please …………….. well, maybe not. It’s Idaho, Montana and Wyoming. 👍 Ten points to those who knew the answer. 👏

We went into Jackson quickly and on the way back thought it was worth another to Gros Ventre to see if anything was happening. It just so happens there was action …………. more moose of course!

Si jumped out and made his way to where everyone was gathering. I stayed in the car this time and told him to wave violently if there was any wildlife apart from moose, elk and deer. No wave was forthcoming so I knew it was probably moose ……… again! It was!

One interesting fact for those who do not already know ……………….. if you are ever in need of water, find a Cottonwood tree, as they always grow near water! 💧🤷‍♀️

So, today is our last day here at Dornans. Such a lovely place to stay and great that it is a family-run business too. 👏

Tomorrow we start our drive back to Las Vegas, via Salt Lake City, where we will overnight before reaching Las Vegas on Friday. We will spend four days there before flying home on Monday.

So, it is with a heavy heart 😢 that we say “goodbye” to Dornans, Jackson and the beauty of the Grand Tetons …………. until the next time, and leave you with this wonderful photograph of the Grand Teton and the Cottonwood trees in their annual Fall colour of brilliant yellow.

Tomorrow is a long driving day, so will try and take pictures along the way for tomorrow’s blog and then on Friday will  ……….. “See you in Vegas Baby!”🤗