Holy shit! That eclipse was so cool, y’all. Jamie’s going away gift was a book based in Appalachia, binoculars, and solar eclipse glasses. So far, I have used every piece of that gift and pooh-poohed each piece (besides the book!) and he just assured me that I would thank him later. THANK YOU, JAMIE. I pulled out those eclipse glasses and was the only one in the campground with the glasses. I walked around and shared them, which opened up a lot of conversations with random people. It was such an eerie light, we didn’t get totality, but it was chilly and much darker. I can’t even imagine totality, that’s on my bucket list now.
I left Badlands National Park on Monday afternoon after the eclipse to drive towards Grand Teton National Park. I figured I would get a head start on the 10 hour driving day ahead of me and spend the night somewhere along the route. Let’s be honest, this was quite a stretch for me! Nowhere to stay and no idea where I was going! What!? But I showed up in a Walmart parking lot in Casper, Wyoming and slept there. Haha. It was actually a great night’s sleep and helpful to have a bathroom nearby. I woke up, got some food for the week, coffee, and hit the road towards Teton for another 5-6 hours.
I stopped by a post office in Powder River, Wyoming (middle of nowhere) to mail some postcards. It was maybe 9am and a 90 year old man was walking out as I was walking in. We struck up a conversation about the eclipse and the bringing together of people. I then walked into the post office and the post mistress (master?) was his wife. The whole interaction really started my day off right, it’s incredible to have time to spend with strangers and not be in a rush to get anywhere.
An old co-worker from the boarding school I used to work at reached out on Facebook saying she lived in Grand Teton and worked here. Her name is Katie Lawn and we barely worked together but she has been so welcoming and is letting me stay in her front yard instead of paying for a campsite. She’s been working in the daytime, but we’ve had so much fun catching up and spending time together after work. Her co-worker, Kaylyn, offered for me to stay in HER front yard while Katie’s parents come in town for the rest of my time here. I’ll be moving over there in a bit, which is fantastic. I’ve been really wary of leaving campgrounds because of the bears and feel so much better being around people. I feel even better not having to spend $25 a night on a campsite!
I’ve been exploring the park and marveling at the incredible beauty of the Tetons. The mountains are wild. When the sun shines on the angles, you are able to see the details of the rocks that make up the mountains. I find myself talking aloud in the car about how amazed I am. I wish SO much that I had a companion to share these moments with, but I’ve been chatting up whoever I can and have been able to share moments with strangers that make me feel as if I have someone with me.
Yesterday, I went on my first hike in Teton around Taggert Lake. The trail followed a stream and ended on this glacial lake that was SO clear and green/blue. It was very cold, no one was swimming, but once everyone hiked to the lake they just found rocks around and ate their lunches and stayed very quiet. I think that is one of the most amazing things about these beautiful places, people are in awe and stop everything they’re doing to just marvel in the beauty. I love when people whisper in huge natural spaces because they don’t want to disturb anyone or anything. I just creepily hung around people until they were ready to leave and walked slowly behind them so that I wasn’t hiking alone. Ha. On the way back, I told the older people in front of me that I was hiking behind them and they offered for me to hike WITH them, ha. So, we chatted about their lives, why I was out here, what we were seeing, etc. We saw three piles of bear poop (oh shit!) and they were not concerned. I was losing my mind inside, but trying to play it cool. I felt like we were going to walk up on a grizzly bear any moment, but we didn’t! I thanked them for letting me hike with them, they told me to call my mom more often, and we went our own way.
So, today I’ve been doing my graduate school homework (booooo!) from a picnic table, will go find some wifi to submit it, and then take a good bike ride. It’s been hard to upload and send photos, so we’ll see if I can do that from here. I know Yellowstone will also be tough to find spots to do that, so I may have to wait a bit to do full photos. We’ll see!
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Just a quick update on Teton.

THURSDAY:
I went into Jackson and had a margarita (thanks to Katie Linamen for the Venmo transfer!) and enjoyed a sunny day in the town. Jackson was really cute, smaller than I pictured, but full of people who were very good looking and nicely dressed. Ha. I picked up a book of John Muir's wilderness essays and headed back to Colter Bay after some wildlife watching. I saw a lot of elk, bison, and antelope! I was invited into Kailyn's trailer (she's the girl who is letting me stay in her yard) and we drank a beer and watched some CSI show. It was a great night, very low key. I haven't watched TV in a while! It was nice to zone out for a bit!

FRIDAY:
I did a lot of laundry and showered when I woke up. I keep having to reorganize my car and stuff, depending on weather and activities. So, it felt good to get things ready for the next leg, Yellowstone! After that, I went on a bike ride around Jenny Lake and really loved the sunshine. I went down to the Snake River and read my book for a long time with my feet in the water. Then in the later afternoon, I went to Dornan's for a piece of pizza and a beer with a view of Grand Teton. It was a wonderful afternoon! I headed back towards Colter Bay and got on my bike and road down to Jackson lake for a swim. It felt like Mullett Lake but people were not swimming very much! Katie Lawn (my friend from Talisman) invited me over to hang out that night with her parents. They have a BEAUTIFUL AirStream. Mom, you would LOVE it. We told stories and hung out for the night and then I went back to my tent for a good night's sleep.