We got up about 6 to 6:30am again. We were signed up for 8am
breakfast. We had some extra time so we got mostly packed up before going
downstairs. Today breakfast was juice, eggs cooked to order and biscuits with
sausage gravy. And we were worried about me balking at a breakfast. Clay hates
and refuses to eat any gravy! He told the woman not to put any gravy on his
plate and they offered him an omelet instead but he said no. They brought him
some ham slices and butter and jam for his plain biscuits. The sausage gravy
wasn’t very good and I love biscuits and gravy. Plus the chef had sprinkled
chopped chives and red pepper flakes on top! Yuck! We also got sliced
strawberry, kiwi and pineapple with some grapes. It was not as good as
breakfast yesterday. It had started raining yesterday afternoon and it really
rained overnight and it was pouring this morning. It was colder too. We checked
out and left around 9am. There was some kind of misunderstanding with the GPS,
but I had a map and we eventually got headed north out of SLC about 9:20am.
Our first stop was Antelope Island State Park. We paid our
$10 admission before driving across the causeway into the Great Salt Lake. It
wasn’t raining, but it was very windy. First stop was the visitor’s center. This
very spare and raw unfinished looking building was surrounded with nesting swallows
of some kind. It was crazy! (Ah. They were barn swallows.) They were flitting and sitting all over, seemingly trying
to get inside. As we drove around the island, we spotted a grouse, a coyote, a
pronghorn, and 2 different herds of bison as well as 4 individual bison right
beside the road. One even crossed the road in front of us and other cars. The grouse and the coyote crossed the road in front of us too and were so quick that I failed to get photos. The bison had recently calved! There
were all kinds of birds. This is a migratory nesting spot for American white pelicans. Who knew? It was a good stop.
Next stop was Golden Spike National Historic Site. Clay’s
Senior Pass got us in. This is where to transcontinental railroads met to
complete the cross-country railroad on May 10, 1869. We got there in time to
see most of the 1:15pm Last Spike Reenactment. That was great. We were running
behind so we didn’t watch the 20 minute film or drive the auto tour.
We stopped at a Maverik convenience store and bought a yogurt
for me and nabs for Clay as well as a giant fountain Coke Zero and kept
driving. We stopped again at a truck stop in McCammon, Idaho for gas and more
snacks and to use the restrooms. We could see rain in the distance for most of
the day. Until we caught up with it! We tried to mostly drive a scenic byway.
Just inside Wyoming, in Etna on Hwy. 89 we ran into a cattle
drive blocking the road in the rain! We drove right through Jackson, WY about
6pm. We drove all the way to what must be the furthest northeast point of Grand Teton National Park to reach Signal Mountain Lodge, our home for the next 2 nights about
7:15pm. We got checked in and got our paperwork for tomorrow’s 7:30am Snake River float trip that we booked online from SLC. That was $136 paid online at
booking for the 2 of us. Since it has rained most of the day today and it is
much colder up here, we have our fingers crossed for at least not pouring rain
tomorrow morning.
On the way here we saw what looked like cranes, actually the first one I saw was running in a field and I thought it
looked like small rhea, but it turns out there are migratory Sandhill cranes around here with the American white pelicans. We also saw trumpeter swans, elk, and pronghorns. The scenery
here is just stunning. It looks like I imagine the Alps. Snow covered craggy
peaks behind calm lakes.
We are in cabin 152 of the Signal Mountain Lodge on the shores of Jackson Lake. It
is like a small apartment facing the lake and the Grand Tetons to the west. It
has a living room/dining room, a back deck, a kitchen with everything but an
oven, 2 queen beds, a split bathroom with a sink and then a shower over tub and
toilet. It is all very nice and clean. It is $319 a night and comes with a
sofa bed, so I guess if you were sleeping 6 it would be reasonably priced. It
is a bit extravagant for just us. As the sun was setting we went for dinner at The
Trapper Grill. It was not a particularly beautiful sunset again, but the
setting was spectacular. Clay had a dark beer and fish & chips. I had a
burrito that was bigger than my head! Since we have a full kitchen we got half
of it to go and stopped for some more groceries for our meals tomorrow in the
cabin. It is well past my bedtime now and I have an early morning tomorrow. So…
Photos
Photos
