September 11-15, 2022

By Tim Briese

My wife Teresa and I visited the Grand Tetons in September. It is a spectacular place, with beautiful lakes and rivers against a backdrop of some of the most rugged mountain peaks in the United States. We had not been there in many years, and when we had been there before it was only briefly. We looked forward to exploring the park in more depth on this trip.

After staying in Dubois, WY we drove over Togwotee Pass into the park early in the morning, aiming for some nice photo opportunities in the early sunlight.

early light on the grand tetons

We were not disappointed, with scenic stops at the Snake River Overlook, Schwabacher Landing, Mormon Row Historic District, and the Chapel of the Transfiguration.

at the snake river overlook

a beautiful reflection view at schwabacher landing

an old barn at mormon row

the chapel of the transfiguration

Later that day we went for a nice six mile hike to Taggart and Bradley Lakes.

taggart lake

We finished off the day by visiting scenic overlooks on the inner drive and driving to the top of Signal Mountain before heading to Jackson for the night.

a view of the rugged tetons from an overlook on the inner drive

view of jackson lake and the tetons from the top of signal mountain

The following day more sunrise photos were on tap, followed by a nice six mile hike past scenic String Lake and Jenny Lake to Hidden Falls.

another sunrise view at mormon row

we came across this fellow near the chapel of the transfiguration

reflection of mt. moran on our hike past string lake

reflection of the grand teton on string lake

jenny lake

on the trail along jenny lake to hidden falls

hidden falls

After that outing we followed up with a two mile hike along String Lake to Leigh Lake.

a canoeist on string lake with mt. moran above

string lake

Then it was time to check in at our cabin at the wonderful Signal Mountain Lodge on the shore of Jackson Lake.

sunset on jenny lake from the signal mountain lodge

The next day we made a one day outing up to Yellowstone to see a couple of its finest attractions, the subject of another trip report.

sunset at jenny lake as we returned from yellowstone

The following day was a little rainy, and after a leisurely start we went back to Jenny Lake and did a five mile out and back hike along its eastern shore.

a view on our hike along jenny lake

That evening we were treated to a spectacular sunset panorama at Oxbow Bend.

reflection of mt. moran at oxbow bend

at oxbow bend

a beautiful "circle of light" around mt. moran

The following day we drove over Teton Pass into Idaho to visit some longtime dear friends who live in the little farming town of Newdale. They took us up into the mountains to do a short hike to Sheep Falls and then on a drive to very impressive Mesa Falls.

sheep falls

mesa falls

We even got to take a tour of their friend’s potato processing plant in Newdale later.

100 million pounds of potatoes grown by local farmers are processed here every year

This was a wonderful trip, with so many beautiful sights and surprises every day.