My days off this week....not too exciting

No exciting hikes in Yellowstone this week.  The statistics just came out and we had 800,000 visitors in June.  It was the second busiest June in history.  June 2016 had 830,000 visitors.  Have I mentioned that I count every person that comes through my gate?  With all those visitors Yellowstone is crazy busy.  The parking lots are full, the roads are crowded, the tourists are pushy and disrespectful of the features.  This week I chose to not endure the crowds.

Then my friend Emily and her family who are vacationing here invited me to lunch at the Old Faithful Inn so I jumped in the truck and headed out allowing myself an hour and 15 minutes to drive the 30 miles to Old Faithful.

It was great seeing Emily.  I worked with her for 10 years and she's a lot of fun and has wonderful kids and husband.  It was also her birthday.

After finishing lunch I loaded up and headed south to my old stomping ground at Grant Village.

I knew that the Assistant Manager from last year was there this summer so I stopped by to say hi.  Much to my surprise I found out she has already quit and gone back home.  That means there are zero employees from last year who returned.  That says a lot about the crappy company that runs the campgrounds.

Then I decided to go visit my old camping spot.  It was vacant as was much of the employee campground.  I would be willing to bet they are severely understaffed this year.  I really miss living in the middle of the Park.  It was so much easier to get to the trail heads and go to the ranger talks.  On the other hand, though, this year I have cellular service and am within walking distance of restaurants and grocery stores.

From there I headed down to the Grand Teton National Park.  Although the Tetons are right next to Yellowstone it isn't nearly as crowded.  It's a much more relaxed environment.  One of my favorite hikes is at Colter Bay.  Yes, I had my bear spray with me.

The Lakeshore Trail goes across an isthmus and around a small island with fantastic views of the Tetons.

As with Yellowstone, once you hit a trail you leave people behind which I love.

A freshly downed tree crossed the trail.  These lodge pole pines are extremely tall with a wide and shallow root system.  Too much rain or wind can easily knock them down.  If there's a breeze you can here them creaking.

Before long I got a glimpse of the lake through the trees.

There they are!  The world's prettiest mountains.

The water is really high.  When I've done this trail in the fall the waterline is probably 20 feet out. 

One other thing I love about the Tetons are the wildflowers.  They're even better than Yellowstone's.

The shots I took this day though didn't come out very well.  I didn't quite get them focused too good so all  you get are these yellow flowers.

I found red berries on some bushes.  Yep, this is going to be bear food.

It was a warm day, or should I say a warm day for the Tetons.  I was hot and sweaty and really wanted to stop, sit on one of these rocks and soak my feet.  I knew, however, that my very sensitive feet would not like all those rocks.

I'm almost done when that marina comes into sight.

Then I joined a ranger talk to learn about bears.  This pelt was so beautiful.

I needed a cold drink so I headed to the General Store for my favorite lemonade.  I usually get the huckleberry lemonade, but they were out so I had to get the original lemonade which was still delicious.

After this I loaded back into the truck and headed home.  This of course meant driving through Yellowstone.  Things were going well until I got behind a car going 20 mph below the speed limit.  I thought it was going to be an old lady, but after miles of following her she finally pulled over and it was a woman younger than me.  

Really people, if you can't drive the hills, twists and turns of Yellowstone at 45 mph you really need to stay away.  Yes, the 800,000 visitors in Yellowstone are starting to get on my last nerve.