Thursday, July 17, 2014

We had intended to start really early to help our chances of finding a site in the Tetons (they did not take reservations - it was first come, first served).  We did pretty well clearing the ranch gate archway by 8:45.  Gros Ventre campground in the Grand Teton National Park was straight west on highway 26 to Moran Junction, then south for a total of 149.5 miles (69,988.5 total).

 The landscape changed drastically traveling Hwy 26 from Landers to Moran, Wyoming.

 The yellow hues gave way to reds.

 Now that's a back yard!

The trip was pretty uneventful until alarms started blaring and red lights started flashing!  We had been steadily climbing without giving it much thought.  I should have downshifted to keep the engine RPM up to provide more cooling.  Instead, we hit the high temperature warning limit.  I pulled to the side of the road and let it idle a few minutes and then shut down for about 20 minutes.  Fortunately, there was a wide shoulder.

When we started again, it was not more than a half mile before we reached the continental divide at 9,658 feet.  That was a new high for the coach (at least under our command).  It was all downhill from there!

Dubois (population - 1002) looked like an interesting town.

(photo courtesy of the internet)

Our friend, Jeff, tells us that the Cowboy Café in Dubois serves a breakfast that is hard to beat.  The reviews tell us that lunch and diner are mighty fine, too.  We will surely give it a try next time we pass through.  

Thanks, Jeff!!

 The scenery changed again.  It became rugged cliffs engulfed in a thick haze and blighted trees.

Once we were over the divide, we could barely see the Tetons through the haze.  We later learned the haze was, in fact, smoke from fires in Washington and Idaho that were started by lightning strikes during a storm a few days before.

The Tetons were also in a haze, but still inspired awe.

As it turned out, the campground had plenty of open sites.  That was good because the first site we were assigned required the front tires to be four inches off of the ground to just somewhat level the coach.  The second site was much better.  We paid for a two weeks stay, but we likely will be here longer, if possible, since there is so much to see and the weather is nearly perfect (even with the smoke).