Vacation Recap: Day 1

Our trip had a bit of rough start with both of our flights out west being delayed, so we didn't get to Salt Lake City until 2:30 AM.  We slept in our hotel for a few hours and then left to drive to the Grand Tetons Tuesday morning.  We really enjoyed the drive because we were able to see so many pretty views of the mountains we were driving through.

an overlook we stopped at in Wyoming

We stopped in Jackson Hole for lunch and some groceries and then made our way into Grand Teton National Park.  We couldn't get over how beautiful the Tetons are!  You can see the mountains pretty much the whole time you're driving through the park on highway 89 (the main road that goes through the park).

the view of the Tetons from the car

We stopped at Jenny Lake and paid for a boat to take us across the lake.  From there we hiked to Inspiration Point, which looks over Jenny Lake.

the view of Jenny Lake from Inspiration Point

The hike followed this river/stream that was super high because of either rain or melting snow?  Not really sure which.  Most of the bridges were closed because the water was so high.  Because the bridges were out, we got turned around and ended up doing this part of the hike twice in order to get to the next trail we wanted.  Whoops.

the rushing water was so powerful and loud!

Once we hiked to Inspiration Point, then back to the boat dock, and then back up again, we finally made it to Hidden Falls.  We both really love waterfalls, so we loved seeing this one!

Hidden Falls

After Hidden Falls, we hiked back around the lake instead of taking the boat back.  It was pretty to be right next to the lake hiking, except for where the lake had washed the trail out and we had to climb over rocks and fallen trees.

hiking along Jenny Lake

We thought total we were going to hike about 2.5 miles, which was great because it was our first day, we had started in the late afternoon, and Caleb wanted it to be an easier day for me to start off with.  By the time we got back to the trail head, we saw that because of the bridges being out and having to go a different way (plus doing the first hike x2) we ended up doing 4.5 miles.  It was longer than I had anticipated, and my feet were throbbing because I hadn't broken in my new hiking shoes enough, but we thought it was such a fun hike!  We're really glad we did it and would recommend it.

the awesome view of the lake when we got back to the first side!

We got in the car and started heading to the Signal Mountain Lodge area.  On the way we saw a ton of cars stopped along the road, so we pulled over and saw this bear at the edge of the woods!

That black blob is the bear.  It never really moved.

We finished our drive to Signal Mountain Lodge, which is on the south part of Jackson Lake.  We had dinner at one of the restaurants there with this beautiful view.

can't get over how beautiful the mountains are!

we loved having such a gorgeous view during dinner 

Caleb tried a bison burger for dinner.  He liked it. 

We were pretty tired from flying through the night, not getting much sleep, and from hiking, so we went to bed pretty early.  We stayed at the Signal Mountain Lodge and were really pleased with our room.

the sun beginning to set

We loved our first day and thought it started off our trip really well.  If you ever go to Yellowstone, definitely take the time to drive through the Tetons - they are so beautiful!!