Days 4 & 5: Grand Teton National Park "You Gotta Pay the Troll Toll to Get Into Jackson Hole"

Let’s start by acknowledging the titular homage to It's Always Sunny, which we have been quoting nonstop for the past 5 days. Nightman Cometh and Troll Toll have been popular hits that spring up daily. Bonus cool points to those of you who know the reference.

Boom, Bam

Anywho, the past two days have been UNREAL as we explored Grand Teton National Park. The scenery through which we have driven, hiked, rafted, and wandered has been stunning. We stayed in Teton Village at an awesome hostel and met many cool people, including our very first night in town when we met Banjo Steve and Tall John, who played in a Grateful Dead cover band — as they played, we danced for hours on a balcony we had all to ourselves. The following two days were a combination of adventure, tranquility, laughter, and peacefulness.  We’re so lucky to be on this trip and experiencing such an awe-inspiring place.

We are exhausted after two action packed days, so enjoy the highlight reel of photos and quick anecdotes below:

Day 1: Jackson Lake Hike & River Raft Trip

We found Lil’ Sebastian at a dude ranch

Went on a 3-hour Snake River rafting trip, and a man on the boat sounded scarily like Mister Ed. Also, the raft guide's drawers were VERY tight in the frontal region. Let's just say the only wildlife we saw on the trip was a river snake.

Paid $50 for bear spray, and Liz literally stumbled backward from the kickback when she test-sprayed it. This stuff is no joke.  Here we demonstrate appropriate protocol for facing aggressive bear encounters:

Day 2: Death Canyon Hike, Phelps Lake, Exploring Jackson Hole

7 hour, 13 mile, 8,000-foot elevation hike in the most magnificent landscape either of us have ever seen.

PACKY!

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When the vertical climbing got tough, we just used Drake's inspirational words to power through. 

We All the Way UP

Filmed The Revenant….it’s a crying shame they recast Leo as Hugh Glass because Liz gave a much more honest performance.

Jumped off a 25-foot boulder into freezing, glacial Phelps Lake.

Terrifying, Cold, Exhilarating

Ate bison burgers in Jackson Hole which was a delicious ending to an amazing few days.

A note on wildlife: 

This entire journey Kathryn has been hoping beyond all hope to spot a moose. A borderline obsession. During the raft trip, Liz faked everyone out with false moose sightings, much to everyone's (i.e.: Kathryn's) dismay. The quote of the trip ended up being Liz's insightful comment, "a watched pot ne'er boils", and by the end of today, we were resigned to the fact that a moose encounter just wasn't in the cards. Driving into Jackson for dinner, we passed the standard "moose crossing" sign that decorates many stretches of nearby highway, and Kathryn began shouting at Liz to look at THE MOOSE ON THE SIDE OF THE ROAD!! Finally. Liz slams on the brakes and...it turns out to be a cardboard cutout of a moose, a silly decoration. Hysterics of both disappointment and laughter ensue. Until, three minutes later, we come upon several cars parked on the side of the road and we just knew that the moose gods had heard our prayers. Kathryn can die happy now having seen her (real) majestic moose.

Total wildlife sightings included: deer (very up close and personal, springing around wildly about 3 feet in front of us), black bear (on a hillside, no bear spray needed), moose, hawk (again up close and personal), bald eagle, various small critters including woodchucks, squirrels, etc.

It’s been a blast, Tetons. Next up, Oregon!