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RV Trip on Colorado’s Million Dollar Highway – Ouray to Silverton

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Red Mountain Pass near Ouray Colorado

The Million Dollar Highway

October, 2014 – We were loving our stay amid the golden aspen of Ouray, Colorado, where every view we saw in every direction we turned was a true jaw-dropper. Our cameras were going non-stop.

Ouray sits in a valley surrounded by mountains with a narrow ribbon of highway running through it.

This highway, US Route 550, is a part of the San Juan Skyway, a breathtaking scenic loop drive that takes in some of the best mountain views that Colorado has to offer.

 

A fifth wheel RV starts over Red Mountain Pass in Colorado

A fifth wheel takes in the views

Swinging through Telluride, Ridgway, Silverton and Durango, the San Juan Skyway winds all through the mountains, soaring over the peaks and dropping down into the valleys.

A motorcycle drives the Million Dollar Highway in Colorado

This is great motorcycle country!

When it gets to Ouray, drivers headed south are at the starting point of one of the most spectacular 25 miles stretches of road in America.

Nicknamed the Million Dollar Highway, the views are worth every penny (lol)!

The origin of this name is uncertain, but it may have come about because it was thought that a million dollars’ worth of gold dust was in the gravel and dirt that was used to build the road in the late 1800’s. Or, the name may have come from the cost of paving the highway in the 1930’s.

Million Dollar Highway Route 550 near Ouray Colorado

Million Dollar Views on the Million Dollar Highway

If those stories aren’t the real source of the name, there is also a joke that perhaps this gorgeous bit of road got its nickname from an early traveler who, wide-eyed with terror, exclaimed, “I wouldn’t go that way again if you paid me a million dollars!”

Really? Oh yes, indeed!

The views along this road are beyond stunning, but you’ve gotta steel your nerves when you drive it, especially if you are in the passenger seat heading south from Ouray to Silverton.

Nevermind the beauty. This road is one of the most hair raising and dangerous highways in America.

Fall Colors on the Million Dollar Highway near Silverton Colorado

As we approached Silverton the aspens were ablaze!

As we drove it the first time, we both kept saying “WOW” the whole way.

Half of those “wows” were because the scenery was so incredible. But half of them were because of the utterly sheer and totally unprotected drop-offs that fell away from the truck’s right tires, falling hundreds of feet straight down to a chasm below my door!

We stopped a few times at various pullouts and peered over the edge.

OMG. At one spot we saw an upside down car way at the bottom of the gorge below us!

Scary drive on Million Dollar Highway Colorado

Some consider this road among the most dangerous of America’s highways.

Yikes! Lord knows if it was from a fatal crash or if kids had rolled a car off the highway to watch it fall.

Over the decades I’m sure both of those things have happened!

Yet, frightening as this drive can be for first-timers, semi-tractor trailers traverse it all the time, climbing up and over the three mountain passes that lie between Ouray and Durango, Colorado.

I’m not sure that we ever saw any trucks hauling super heavy loads, but Freightliners and their like made up a significant percentage of the traffic on this narrow twisty road.

Colorado Red Mountain Pass in the rain

It’s certainly intimidating when the weather gets ugly!!

This gave us heart, because we were planning, at the end of our stay, to take our fifth wheel over this road.

We ended up driving the Million Dollar Highway and its highest summit, Red Mountain Pass (at 11,000+ feet), many times during our two week stay, because the peak of the fall foliage color was happening all up and down its wild walls.

So we got to know the many twists and turns and scary parts of the road.

When the weather turned nasty for a few days, and the road got soaking wet, the clouds dropped into the canyon and filled it with fog, and the rain fell in blinding torrents on our truck. At least we knew what lay ahead!

Motorcycles riding from Silverton to Ouray Colorado

On a sunny fall day, this is motorcycle heaven!

But on beautiful sunny days this is a drive people come from miles around to enjoy.

We watched lines of touring motorcycles, groups of shiny new Ferraris, and even a caravan of rental RVs out for a scenic drive on this thrilling road.

After crossing over the summit of Red Mountain Pass, the road begins to descend towards Silverton, and the fall colors jumped out at us from all sides.

Then the valley opened up, and Silverton lay before us, a tiny town with a big mining history.

Silverton Colorado

Silverton is one super cute Colorado mountain town.

Durango to Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad

The Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad is a fun stream train ride.

Once home to 1,100 people (in the late 1880’s) when the nearby silver and gold mines were flourishing, Silverton houses just 500 or so hardy souls today.

Tourists love it, and it is a great spot to spend an afternoon or a few days.

The Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railway is one of the biggest attractions, and we saw it in the distance, chugging up into the valley under a thick cloud of black smoke that trailed off behind it.

 

Western Photography in Silverton Colorado

Not only is the town photogenic, but it’s a great place for western-themed portraits.

This railroad was built in 1882, and it carried both mining supplies and tourists right from the get-go.

Today it carries only tourists, and it is a major attraction in the area.

40+ years ago in the early 1970’s, one of the train’s brakemen had a younger brother that was an avid cyclist, and one day they challenged each other to a train/bike race up the mountain from Durango to Silverton.

The cyclist bested his brother on the train, and the Iron Horse Cycling Classic was born.

 

Family readies for western photo shoot

A family get ready for a western photo session.

Now the Iron Horse is a huge affair with pro cyclists, recreational riders, volunteers and sponsors of all kinds participating.

Their website gives the annual race results for each group of cyclists that competes, but the one thing I couldn’t figure out was: how did the train do?!

No matter how you get to Silverton, by car, train or bicycle, this town is a great stopover.

It’s very photogenic, with colorful old buildings lining the dirt streets that are set against a vivid mountain backdrop.

Photographers set up western-themed photo shoots for tourists too, and we watched a family getting set up for a fun photo.

 

Old mining houses on the Million Dollar Highway Colorado

There are old mining ruins and old homesteads all over the place.

Two little girls donned big flower hats and long dresses, and a little boy hugged a bottle of whiskey while his brothers brandished rifles. Mom had a pistol, and the baby wore chaps. What a hoot!

Of course, it’s one thing to dress up like old times and have a meal at one of the western themed restaurants in town.

It’s a whole different thing to have lived here in the mining camps 100+ years ago.

An RV descends Red Mountain Pass near Ouray Colorado

The Million Dollar Highway can be negotiated by the biggest rigs on the highway — if you dare!

The ruins of both the mines and the homes are scattered among these mountains, and it is startling to picture that life.

Living at 10,000 feet in remote mountains where snow comes in early October (and sometimes sooner) must have been an unbelievable challenge.

What’s worse, the mining companies didn’t care a lick about safety. Falling down a mine shaft or having the whole mine collapse on your head were accepted risks that were just part of the job.

In 1918, Silverton was brought to its knees by the influenza epidemic. A staggering 10% of the population died in a six week period.

More recently, a rock slide in January, 2014, brought the town to its knees once again. Route 550 was suddenly impassable, and the town was cut off from its main supply route to the north.

A motorhome on the San Juan Skyway in Colorado

Just keep your eyes on the road (hah!)

The few vehicles that made it to Silverton had to drive nearly 500 miles out of their way to get there.

But hardships of remote mountaintop living aside, it was the gold and silver of yesteryear and the majestic scenery of today that put and keeps this area on the map.

For all the grittiness of the mining life in these mountains, I imagine that when the miners found a spare moment to soak in the scenery, it was as precious to them in those days as it is to us today.

Red stone lined stream and Colorado autumn color

The scenery here inspired us for weeks.

Back out on the road heading back to Ouray, we saw lots of big RVs navigating the hairpin turns on the Million Dollar Highway.

I had looked for info on taking an RV on this road in some of the online RV forums, and lots of people had said there was no way they would ever take a big rig on this road.

But many people do it, and we never saw anyone having trouble. Driving it a few times in a smaller vehicle first definitely helps!

 
 

Prior to towing our 14,000 lb. trailer over these passes, we installed an Edge Evolution Diesel Tuner on our truck to give it a little more power, and it worked great! (Our installation of this engine tuner is described here).

Fall color at a lake near Ouray Colorado

Fall color at Crystal Lake near Ouray.

For more info about this glorious drive and the Silverton area, check out these links:

Scenic Roads and Drives:

Silverton Area Attractions:

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Ouray – Finding the COLOR in Colorado on an RV Trip!

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Classic western store fronts in Ouray Colorado

Ouray, Colorado, is a classic western mountain town.

September, 2014 – Continuing our journey south through Colorado, we left the rugged Black Canyon of the Gunnison and traveled on to the classic Rocky Mountain town of Ouray (pronounced “you-ray”).

This tiny town of just 1,000 people is tucked into a valley that is nestled in the clouds at nearly 7,800 feet, and it is surrounded on all sides by mountain peaks that soar into the sky.

We first discovered Ouray fifteen years prior to this year’s visit on a tent camping trip long before we were RVers.  We promptly fell in love with the town and the entire area around it.

We hadn’t been back since that first visit, and we were delighted to find that not much has changed.

 

Ouray Colorado is a cute mountain town

Home to just 1,000 residents, Ouray is a charming mountain town.

Even the barista at the cute coffee shop and chocolatier called Mouse’s Chocolates & Coffee confirmed that in the dozen or so years she’d been in town things have remained pretty much as they were.

That’s a rare thing in the popular western states, and it’s a good thing there hasn’t been a huge press for growth, because there is absolutely no room for this town to grow.

Sheer mountains frame every view in every direction, and the streets on the edges of town turn sharply upward.

 

Victorian house in Ouray Colorado

Most of Ouray’s architecture dates to the turn of the last century.

The town fills the whole little valley, and the town’s dirt streets that are away from the main drag are wonderful proof that progress is taking its time here.

Settled as a base for miners working the thirty or so gold and silver mines in the nearby mountains, Ouray was home 1,000 residents way back in 1877 too.

An RV in the golden aspen of Colorado

What a place to go RVing!

From 1887 until 1930 the Denver & Rio Grande Railway brought people and goods to and from Ridgway 10 miles to the north.

Today the town boasts beautiful architecture on the main street with wonderful Victorians dotting the view.

Orange Aspen in autumn in Colorado

The aspen trees were a brilliant orange.

For us and for many fall visitors, the real draw to Ouray, which many call the “Switzerland of the Rockies,” is the stunning visual drama of the fall foliage season.

Two years ago we attended a photography workshop in the Ridgway/Telluride area put on by the incomparable Nasim Mansurov of PhotographyLife.com, a massively popular website.

At the workshop we were blown away by the brightly colored aspen that blanketed the mountainsides beneath the gray craggy peaks on the Dallas Divide.

Nasim is a very unusual person.  Born and raised in Uzbekistan, he is gifted with that special kind of charisma and leadership ability that have ensured him a massive following (in the hundreds of thousands), not just for his photography blog but in past years when he led an online forum dedicated to Central Asian students studying abroad. To see just how unique he is, read his inspiring essay on why he traded a hugely successful corporate career for a simpler life doing what he loves. As you enjoy his eloquent writing, note that English is his second language!.

When we discovered he was offering his fall foliage workshop in the Ouray area again this year, we rearranged our travel plans to get us there in plenty of time.

Mother Nature did not disappoint.

Bright orange aspen trees in Colorado

Driving these mountain roads was sheer delight.

When we arrived in Ouray, the mountains were on fire — not with smoky wildfires but ablaze with the brilliant reds and golds and oranges that transform Colorado’s aspen trees in autumn.

Arriving a few days ahead of time, we eagerly explored the spectacular scenic drive that heads south from town on Route 550.

After negotiating a series of incredibly steep 180 degree switchbacks that made us feel like we were driving skyward into a kaleidoscope of yellow and orange, the road skirted some very sheer cliffs and delivered us to Crystal Lake.

Reflections at Crystal Lake near Ouray Colorado_

Crystal Lake reflects the puffy clouds and vivid colors of the mountains

This small lake was as still as glass in the morning hours, and we circled around the entire body of water, checking out the awe-inspiring views from every vantage point.

I’ve become very fond of photographing reflected images in mirrored water, and I’ve made the most of the scenes we found in Grand Teton National Park Wyoming and Maroon Bells Colorado.

Crystal Lake gave us the same kinds of fun photo ops and totally delighted us both.

 

A hint of autumn at Crystal Lake near Ouray CO

A few wildflowers were still in bloom at Crystal Lake.

The mirror images of the white clouds hovered on the surface of the water while the rocks that were totally visible on the bottom showed their faces through the crystal clear water too.

The golden aspens had just started to color the shoreline, and as the weeks went on during our stay, all the hillsides around the lake soon took on a bright yellow and rich orange hue.

A few straggling wildflowers were still blooming at the water’s edge.  I’m sure if we’d been there a few weeks earlier they would have been even thicker.

Crystal Lake and Adams Mountain

There is beautiful scenery every way you turn!

Mirrored water at Crystal Lake near Ouray Colorado

I got a kick out of getting reflection shots at this lake.

The spectacular fall foliage season in Colorado is hardly an unknown phenomenon, and we found ourselves in plenty of company as we repeatedly drove this jaw-dropping drive over the coming weeks.

From iPhones held out car windows to photographers with huge cameras and tripods, everyone was out and about taking photos in the abundant sunshine and even more abundant color.

As the road climbs into the mountains, taking one tight switchback turn after another, the views into the valleys become ever grander.

The Million Dollar Highway Route 550 neary Ouray Colorado

Is this a “scenic” drive? I think I would call it a “Knock Your Socks Off” drive!!

An artist and her husband with an umbrella

What a gentleman – he shaded his wife with his umbrella while she painted!

Not far from town we came across a couple standing on a bridge.

I did a double take as we passed because the guy was holding an umbrella.

Looking closer, I saw he was holding it over his wife’s head as she painted the river scene in front of her with oil paints and canvas on an easel.

It is crazy, but this is something like the fourth or fifth time we have run into “plein aire” artists painting out in nature this year.

 

Golden aspen in autumn

Mark captured this beautiful reverse silhouette of an aspen in autumn.

From Phoenix, Arizona to Sun Valley, Idaho, to the Tetons we keep stumbling upon artists happily recreating beautiful landscapes on their easels in nature.

I joked with the woman that she had found herself a very special husband if he would willingly stand next to her and hold an umbrella over her for hours on end, keeping her shaded while she painted.

“Isn’t he lovely?” She agreed. “I’m very lucky!”

Indeed!!

And he didn’t seem to mind one bit.

Autumn still-life in Colorado

A perfect still-life was all set up for me here.

The fall colors in Colorado can easily awaken the most artistic feelings in even the least sensitive soul, and we got caught up in the excitement of Nature’s vivid display along with everyone else.

Cars were pulled over at one hundred yard intervals for miles along the highway, and we scampered around the meadows with all the others, scoping out one magical scene after another.

Mark created a beautiful image of an aspen reverse-silhouetted against blackness, and I found the most amazing ready-made still-life with colorful leaves lying on a log.

 

Mark has stars in his eyes!

Starry-eyed with aspen leaves!

I didn’t put any of it in place there, honest!

The scenery was so majestic it was intoxicating.

Caught up in the thrill, Mark suddenly grabbed two aspen leaves and held them over his eyes.

“Take my picture!” He said.

I laughed as I got his pic. What a goof-ball.

But that’s the kind of silliness and joy this place inspires at this time of year!

A motorhome at the peak of fall foliage season near Ouray Colorado

Ouray is a gorgeous place to visit in late September and early October.

Colorful aspen in autumn

Sometimes we took pictures, but a lot of times we just stood and stared…

The host “hotel” for the PhotographyLife.com fall foliage photography workshop this year was the KOA campground in Ouray.

Nasim and his wife Lola are enthusiastic RVers, and they set up camp with their young family in their beautiful new 38′ Cougar fifth wheel trailer.

Other attendees came in assorted RVs, and many stayed in the KOA camping cabins as well.

The campground common room was quickly transformed into a lecture and seminar room, and people loaded down with eye popping photography gear of all kinds began to assemble.

Colorful view of golden aspen from our RV window

What a view to wake up to!

The weather in the mountains at this time of year is very unpredictable, and Nasim deftly got everyone out onto the spectacular forest roads in the area when the sun was shining and brought the group back indoors for lectures when it rained.

The mottled skies made for some beautiful photo ops, and no matter how many times we drove in and out of town or up and down the forest roads, our eyes were riveted on the gorgeous scenes all around us.

The trees seemed to change even as you looked at them, fading from lime green to the lemon yellow and darkening from yellow to a rich orange hue as the hours and days passed.

___________________________

This is an incredible area for an autumn RV road trip from late September through early October. There are several RV parks in Ouray in addition to the KOA. Just 14 miles away, lovely Ridgway State Park has hookups and sites for bigger rigs. For more information, visit these links:

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Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park, CO – Steep and Deep!

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Bikes on Castle Creek Road in Colorado

Bicycles on scenic Castle Creek Road

September, 2014 – Maroon Bells may be the most photographed spot in Colorado’s Rocky Mountains, but nearby Castle Creek Road is also very scenic and not nearly as heavily visited.

We drove out one day and passed a steady stream of cyclists enjoying an exhilarating road ride. What a place for a morning workout!

A tiny historic ghost town named Ashcroft lies at the end of the road.

The old buildings were interesting, but we were more intrigued by a row of colorful rugs we saw hanging outside a shop very close by.

Teotitlan de Valle Oaxaca Rug Weavers

The rug weavers of Oaxaca come to Colorado!

Above the shop a sign read: “Welcome to the Catto Center at Toklat.”

We walked past the many rugs, admiring their designs, and then stepped inside.

We were suddenly surrounded by woven wool rugs that looked very similar to the ones we had seen near Oaxaca at Teotitlán de Valle in Mexico a few years ago.

A friendly looking woman was giving a demonstration to several tourists, showing them how the blue dyes were derived from indigo.

Views at Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park Colorado

Black Canyon of the Gunnison

Our jaws dropped. That was exactly the same demonstration that we had seen in Teotitlán de Valle!

It turned out that this woman came from a family of rug weavers in that very same Mexican village.

I remembered vividly how our tour guide in Oaxaca had squished a bug in the palm of a girl’s hand to demonstrate how they made their red dyes (see my blog post about it here).

Apparently, the owner of this shop’s building had brought a few Oaxacan weavers to Colorado to promote their craft each summer. How fun!

Black Canyon of the Gunnison Colorado

The chasm is vast and deep

Where Maroon Bells and Castle Creek had shown us Colorado’s Rocky Mountains in the early stages of their fall glory, another land of stunning scenery — Black Canyon of the Gunnison — beckoned.

This canyon’s jagged cliffs are nothing like the soaring Rocky mountains.

Instead of craning our necks to look up at tall mountain peaks, the Black Canyon of the Gunnison is like a massive crack in the earth’s surface, with the sides parted to reveal sheer rock walls plunging nearly straight down to a thin ribbon of river far below.

Turkey vulture in flight

A turkey vulture soars past

The canyon wasn’t formed by the walls cracking apart, however. It was formed by the very fast moving Gunnison River cutting through the rock like knife.

The Gunnison River falls from great heights to great depths, dropping an average of 95 feet per mile. This keeps the water moving at quite a clip.

This raging water has cut through the black rock like a laser, deepening the canyon faster than other kinds of erosion can widen it.

Black Canyon National Park Colorado

The canyon is steep and deep!

At its narrowest point, it is just ¼ mile across, and the depths of the sheer walls range from 1,750 to 2,700 feet (by comparison, the Empire State Building is 1,454′ feet tall and would reach just partway up the walls!).

As we approached the rim at an overlook, we saw several turkey vultures circling right overhead. They played with the air currents and dove down into the canyon and rose back out again effortlessly.

What a thrill it would be to fly like that, letting the earth fall away from under you as you flew over the rim of the canyon!

The Black Canyon of the Gunnison fills a huge area along the Gunnison River, and there are two wonderful areas for exploring it: a National Park with an entrance on the south rim and a gorgeous scenic drive that snakes along Route 92 on the north rim.

Sitting on the edge of the Black Canyon of the Gunnison in Colorado

I got a kick out of crawling around on the ledges.

 

At the Visitors Center for the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park we noticed a bulletin board covered with little hand written notes.

“Happy Birthday, Wilderness!” a sign said, recognizing 2014 as the 50th anniversary of the Wilderness Act.

We learned that this 1964 Act set aside 110 million acres of land, created the National Wilderness Preservation System, and gave Congress the ability to designate official “Wilderness Areas.”

 

Craggy crevasse at Black Canyon National Park Colorado_

The “Painted Wall” is one of the most stunning overlooks.

Beneath the sign was a quote from Edward Abbey, novelist, environmentalist, and critic of public land policies.

“Wilderness is not a luxury but a necessity to the human spirit,” he was quoted as saying.

On this bulletin board, the rangers had posed the question, “What does Wilderness mean to you?” The notes tacked all over the board were full of thought-provoking answers:

“Free & Wild!” penned one person, adding a smiley face for emphasis.

Happy campers on the north rim of Black Canyon of the Gunnison Colorado

What a great place to explore!

“A place to discover who/what you are made of/for/by” responded another with a little red heart.

“It humbles me…puts me back in place,” someone had written. Next to that another had scrawled, “DITTO.”

I got a kick out of reading these notes.

In hindsight, it is especially interesting to read them now in light of the recent public outcry against restricting commercial filming in officially designated Wilderness Areas.

People treasure wild land.

Towering peaks at Black Canyon National Park Colorado

To get a feeling for the scale of the place, here’s our truck dwarfed by the peaks!

“Wilderness speaks…to my soul,” one card said.

Wildnerness is “one place in the world where man is insignificant and always will be,” another proclaimed.

The Black Canyon of the Gunnison is a National Park with the usual roads and overlooks. However, portions of it are officially designated “Wilderness.”

Yet, back in 1881-82, over 1,000 immigrants from Italy and Ireland worked in horrible conditions full of rock slides, avalanches, and unreliable explosives to push the Rio Grande narrow gauge railroad through this canyon.

At the base of the cliffs of Black Canyon Colorado

At the base of the cliffs of Black Canyon

It is hard to imagine the harsh working environment these men endured, sleeping and eating in wooden work cars and bedding down on wooden planks.

The Gunnison river at Black Canyon Colorado

We drove along the Gunnison River at the bottom of the canyon.

Staring down into the canyon from the overlooks that have been carefully designed and built by the National Park Service, it is even harder to imagine the raw triumph these men must have felt when the first train puffed its way through the canyon.

The trains and railroad had defeated the wilderness at last.

This railway was touted as the “Scenic Line of the World,” and the trains carried thousands of people and tons of goods and livestock through the canyon.

 

“Wilderness is my heaven,” says one of the cards at the Visitors Center.

“What a Creator we have! Praise His name!” says another.

Mirrored water in the Gunnison River at Black Canyon Colorado

The sun played on the leaves of the trees as they reflected in the water.

Down at the base of the canyon along the Gunnison River, the sun played with the green leaves of the trees and their reflections in the placid water.

Finding that delicate balance between our urge to conquer and make use of our most beautiful landscapes and our urge to protect them and leave them alone has challenged our leaders and thinkers for nearly two centuries.

Mark and I both read the Autobiography of Ansel Adams and were astonished to learn just how hotly the mission of the National Park Service and other public land agencies were debated in the early 1900’s.

Trees reflect in the Black Canyon's Gunnison River in Colorado

Mirror images in the Gunnison River.

We think of Adams as a photographer, but he was deeply involved in the early development of the Sierra Club, and he had very strong opinions about the National Park Service, most of them far from flattering.

He was fortunate to see these lands at their most untouched, and he felt that in many ways he was documenting a disappearing landscape.

Of course, he was not nearly as comfortable in his tent in the early decades of the 1900’s as we are running around in our luxury fifth wheel today. And that is the deepest irony of what “wilderness” really means.

River's edge Black Canyon of the Gunnison Colorado

At the river’s edge in the bottom of the canyon.

To make wild landscapes easily accessible requires roads, railways and other development. That gives us laymen a chance to get inside the scenery and enjoy the beauty.

But the very presence of those developments changes the landscape forever.

The “wild” in “wilderness” springs from its very inaccessibility. The more accessible it becomes, the less wild it can be, by definition.

Even though much of the Black Canyon of the Gunnison is officially a Wilderness Area, much of it has also been tamed.

Curecanti National Recreation Area

Curecanti National Recreation Area (Blue Mesa Reservoir) is at the east end of the Black Canyon of the Gunnison.

“Earth untouched by man,” is what ‘wilderness’ means to one person who answered the ranger’s query with a card on the wall at the Visitors Center.

Yet that very description is a dream and a fantasy for all but the most intrepid trekkers among us.

That kind of wilderness certainly isn’t a place you can drive by in a heated or air conditioned car, like the beautiful overlooks at the Black Canyon that are the only parts of it most of us will ever reach.

Perhaps the last card summed it up best:

Wilderness means “Hope — even if I never see those places that are truly wild.”

____________________


Although I wouldn’t drive a big RV on scenic Route 92 (where the views of the canyon are truly dramatic), this whole area can be enjoyed using Montrose, Gunnison or the Curecanti National Recreation Area as a home base. Lake Fork Campground is on the water’s edge at Blue Mesa Reservoir and was almost empty when we visited. Check out these links to learn more about:

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Romance at Maroon Bells Colorado!

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Green River at Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area

We waved “Hello” and “Goodbye” to the vivid Green River at Flaming Gorge.

Grand Teton National Park turned out to be our northernmost stop in our RV travels this summer, and at the end of our second week a cold spell swept through.

It was time to move on — and move south.

We traveled down through Jackson and Pinedale Wyoming and continued onwards south past the stunning Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area that straddles Wyoming and Utah.

We have spent a lot of time there in the past, so we just waved at the brilliant Green River, scooted by, and kept on going.

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Grand Teton National Park Wyoming – Rare Sightings!

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Fifth wheel RV with bikes and a rainbow

A rainbow appeared off in the distance…

September, 2014 – We had a lot of dark rainy days during our stay at Wyoming’s Grand Teton National Park, and one afternoon we looked out the window to see a very bright rainbow dramatically piercing through the black sky in the distance.

We were waiting for sunset at that particular moment, kind of resting up a bit and relaxing.

We’d been taking so many photos and running around so much that when we saw this stunning rainbow, we greeted it with a shrug.

“It’ll never last,” I said.

Vivid rainbow at Mormon Row Grand Teton National Park Wyoming

This rainbow was so much more intense than most!

“Yeah. It’s way over there, and there’s nothing in the foreground but grass,” Mark added.

If it had been in the opposite direction, over the mountains, we would have leaped into action. But it wasn’t. So why bother?

Talk about blasé!! Our stay in this gorgeous park had totally spoiled us!

“It would look great with the Mormon barns,” I suggested after a while, wishing we were closer to those classic buildings.

 

rainbow on the Mormon barns at Grand Teton National Park Wyoming

It touched down right between the historic cabins at Mormon Row

But Mormon Row was a good ten minute drive away, and rainbows last just a few minutes, at best.

We went back to doing whatever we were doing — nothing really — while we each secretly kept an eye on this incredibly vivid arc that was flooding the land with light from the heavens.

Finally, we couldn’t take it any longer. We jumped up, grabbed all the camera gear we could find, and dashed out to the truck.

Mark floored it, and we zoomed onto the highway in hot pursuit. Unbelievably, the rainbow just got brighter.

Happy photographer with rainbow at Mormon Row

The rainbow crossed the sky, showing first one side and then the other.

We stopped at the most famous Mormon barn, along a dirt road of century old buildings, but the crowd of swarming photographers was thick. No way!

We raced back to the truck. I was running so fast over the uneven ground that I tripped and fell flat on my face — but I saved the camera!

I got up, brushed myself off, and saw that the rainbow was still there. So I kept running!

A bit further down the road we found some less picturesque but still very cool log cabins, and in this quiet spot we instantly busied ourselves taking a zillion photos.

Rainblow into an outhouse at Grand Teton Wyoming

Right to the pot of gold…in the pot!

We worked frantically at first, and then a little more calmly and with a little more thoughtfulness once we realized that our special rainbow was here to stay.

The sun fell lower in the sky, and the rainbow shifted, showing first one side and then the other, while the sun played with its shadow on the buildings and the land.

Mark cracked a wry smile and lined up the perfect shot, making the rainbow come right down onto an old outhouse.

The Milky Way and stars in the night sky at the Tetons

Starry starry night…

He’d found the true pot of gold at the end of the rainbow — in the pot!

Now that the rain had scrubbed the air clean, the nights became brilliantly clear, and Mark got another stunning shot, this time of stars.

While I snoozed and mumbled something unintelligible into my pillow at two in the morning, he snuck outside with his camera and aimed it at the sky.

A few minutes later he’d caught the Milky Way in its ethereal glow, rising out of a pair of silhouetted trees.

Next time I’ll make a point of joining him. That was much too good to miss!!

Mormon Row Grand Teton

One of the famous barns on Mormon Row

Church Bell Episcopal church in Grand Teton

Since 1925, this church bell has welcomed worshippers to this little log church that looks out at the mountains.

We did end up getting some photos of the classic Mormon barns at dawn, just as the peaks of the Teton Mountains were glowing pink.

The park has lots of other intriguing historical buildings, and one is an Episcopal log church that dates back to 1925.

Services are still held there, and what a heavenly view the congregation has through the windows behind the altar. It’s a wonder anyone ever hears a word of the sermon!

Badger at the Tetons

A badger waddles through the grass.

The Tetons are known for wildlife too, and in between our moments spent in enraptured communion with the landscape, we had quite a few wildlife sightings.

I saw my first badger, a little raccoon-like guy who waddled around in the grasses, perfectly camouflaged.

A red fox crosses the road in the Tetons Wyoming

A fox trots across the road

One day, out on a dirt road somewhere, we suddenly saw a bushy-tailed fox go by.

We weren’t the only car on the road, but the fox didn’t seem to mind.

He trotted right down alongside all the slow-moving cars for quite a distance before he darted into the woods.

We often saw bison grazing in the distance, and a few times we got hung up in traffic jams when the herd decided to cross the highway.

Bison jumping over fence Grand Teton Wyoming

Can he make it?

The leader of the pack was a huge brute of a beast, and one day Mark saw him take aim and jump over a fence.

Buffalo in Grand Teton National Park

…I think so…

This big guy eyed up that fence for quite some time, pacing back and forth, which gave Mark just enough time to get ready for the shot.

Bison jumping in the Tetons Wyoming

…Yup, he cleared it!!

And then he went for it — and cleared it like an expert high jumper!

 

Happy campers at Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming

What a beautiful place to spend a little time…

We really wanted to see a moose, and we got word that there was a big one with huge antlers that hung out by the bridge at Moose Junction (how fitting!).

Sure enough, one morning we saw him, just fifty yards from his bridge. He was with another moose friend — perfect!

But we had set our alarm clock so we could wake up before dawn to go take photos of the little log cabin church at sunrise.  Moose weren’t on our agenda!

 

Teton Mountains in Wyoming at sunset

Sunset at the Tetons

In our sleepy state, somehow we didn’t grasp the gift of the moment, and we kept on driving to the church, totally intent on our mission.

Silly us. The church was there every morning, but the moose in the Tetons play hide-and-seek. Unfortunately, we never saw them again.

Oh well. In the long run, it didn’t really matter. Wyoming’s Grand Teton National Park is a place we’ll return to again and again, and now we have a great reason to go back — to see moose!

 

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Grand Teton National Park – 101 Ways to Enjoy The Tetons!

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Horseback riders at Grand Teton National Park Wyoming

What a great way to see the Tetons — on horseback!

September, 2014 – The National Park Service has posted some surprising statistics over the years about just how many hours the average visitor spends in each park.

Crazy as it sounds, it is really common for folks to do a quick drive-by, hanging out the car window for some photos to take home, and then checking the park off their bucket list.

Grand Teton National Park often suffers that fate, largely because it is laid out on a north-south highway that runs from Yellowstone National Park to the town of Jackson, Wyoming.

 

Grand Teton's new paved bike path

A new paved bike path goes nearly 20 miles along the base of the mountains.

A USA Today article from July, 2012, stated that the average time spent in the Tetons is just 6.5 hours!!

While it’s easy to drive through the Tetons really fast, during our two week stay on this visit we discovered there are all kinds of wonderful ways to get to know this park in a much more intimate way.

A fantastic addition to the park that was built since our last visit in 2007 is a nearly 20 mile long paved bike path that runs from the southern entrance of the park to the far north end of Jenny Lake.

 

Riding a bicycle with a view of the Tetons

The only problem with riding by views like this is keeping your eyes on the road!

We rode portions of it several times, and it took us to quite a few off-the-beaten-path locations within the park that we never would have stopped at if we’d been touring in our truck.

Every mile of this path was filled with families and cyclists of all ages. They were all enjoying a day of riding in the fresh air, with a stunning view the whole way.

We met cyclists from Jackson doing their daily workout ride (lucky them!!), clubs from out of town that had arranged a group ride of the area, and the Backroads Adventure Tour company with paying customers.

 

A motorcycle rides into Grand Teton NP Wyoming

Seeing the Tetons by motorcycle would be awesome,
especially on the curvy roads.

 

The roads throughout the park are ideal for scenic driving in a car, but they are probably a whole lot more fun on a motorcycle.

There’s a series of sweeping turns in the northern portion of Teton Park Road that are just too stunning for words, and doing them on a motorcycle would be quite a thrill!

Boating is another great way to go.

One day as we walked along the pebble beach at Jenny Lake, we rounded a point and our jaws dropped when we saw a beautiful sailboat anchored on crystal clear water set against a spectacular mountain backdrop.

A sailboat anchored in Jenny Lake Wyoming

Ahhh… maybe the nicest way to experience the Tetons would be by sailboat.

Kayaks and ferry boats on Jenny Lake in Wyoming

Kayaks and canoes are available for rent.

At the south end of Jenny Lake a small boathouse is home to the ferry boats and rental kayaks and canoes.

Getting out on the water is always a pleasure, especially in a watercraft you can power yourself.

Kayaks on Jenny Lake Grand Teton National Park

These two gals said they were loving their kayak ride as they floated past me.

We saw lots of folks kayaking on the lake, some of whom had brought there own and some of whom were renting them from Jenny Lake Boating.

This company also rents canoes and offers ferry boat rides and scenic boat rides on Jenny lake.

Jenny Lake ferry boat in the Tetons

A quickie ferry boat ride gets you out on the water and across the lake.

Even though we missed the summertime bargain boat fare for this ferry, I ended up scoring a free ride later that morning with some rock climbers who were headed across the lake for a day of climbing.

A kayak at Jenny Lake Wyoming

Now that looks like fun!

Mark had already hiked halfway down the two mile trail that goes from the boathouse to the dock on the far side of the lake, so we chatted on our trusty two-way radios about my good luck and his scenic hike, and later caught up with each other!

If flying across the lake at breakneck speed while hanging onto your hat with both hands isn’t the way you dream of way of seeing the Tetons from the water, a canoe trip is a much more peaceful way to go, and you can share the ride too!

Rafting trip down the Snake River in Wyoming

There are loads of rafting trips, from little rafts like this one to huge ones with 10 people aboard.

Powerboats in Jenny Lake Marina Grand Teton National Park

We were astonished by the size of some of the powerboats. What a spot to keep a boat!

River rafting trips are also extremely popular, and we saw several huge rafts filled with ten or so people. A guide stood up in the middle and used an enormous oar to steer the boat.

There were also smaller rafts of all kinds, each flying down the Snake River at a very fast clip

Fishing on the beach at Jenny Lake

Fishing is a nice quiet way to take in the serenity of the Tetons.

There were powerboats of all shapes and sizes at the marina too.

Artist painting at Phelps Lake Grand Teton National Park WY

This is a place that will get your creative juices flowing!

Of course, nothing says you have to be on some kind of moving vehicle to enjoy the Tetons.

The more stationary pursuits of fishing and artwork are other great ways to soak in the beauty of this magical place.

When we hiked to Phelps Lake, we were delighted to come across an artist working at an easel by the water’s edge.

Riding a driftwood see-saw_

Aw heck, when you find a see-saw on the beach you’ve gotta try it out!

Sometimes it’s fun just to be a kid in the presence of these special mountains.

On the shores of Jenny Lake we found a huge driftwood log see-saw, and we promptly jumped on it to give each other a ride.

A motorhome drives in Grand Teton National Park Wyoming

RVs are almost as common as cars in this park.

Of course, the Tetons are RV heaven, with lots of camping options both inside and outside the park.

Every other vehicle on the road was an RV of some sort, and a good percentage of them were rental RVs.

Laurence Rockefeller's audio-visual meditation room at Grand Teton

The Rockefellers built audio-visual (and audio-only) meditation rooms where you can experience nature without the dirt and dust.

For those who don’t want to deal with the grit and effort of hiking and being outdoors, the Rockefeller family (who were responsible for the Park Service’s acquisition of most of the lands in the area), have created a unique “green” building that has several audio-visual meditation rooms.

This might seem goofy, but watching the baby bears climbing trees, the moose lapping water from the lakes and the birds flitting between the trees in larger-than-life scale was actually really cool, especially since we didn’t see those things at close range on any of our hikes.

Reading a book on the beach

What a place to relax and unwind for a while!

Perhaps the best way to enjoy the Tetons, though, is just to pull up a chair and kick back in the presence of these magnificent mountains. After taking in the incredible views, it is even permissible to look away from the dramatic landscapes for a while and settle in with a book!

__________________________

Well, that’s not exactly 101 ways to enjoy the Tetons, but it’s a whole bunch!

Grand Teton Lodge Company is the National Park’s concessionaire for the campgrounds, (Colter Bay and Gros Ventre are RV campground options at different ends of the park).  They also offer scenic lunch/dinner cruises on Jackson Lake and river rafting trips.  Jenny Lake Boating offers ferry rides, private boat rentals and kayak and canoe rentals on Jenny Lake. 

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Grand Teton National Park WY – Mirrored Waters

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Sunrise at Shwabacher's Landing Grand Teton Wyoming-2

Sunrise at Shwabacher’s Landing.

September, 2014 – The wild skies in Wyoming’s Grand Teton National Park settled down after a while, and clear blue skies began to rein.

We continued our morning ritual of hopping out of bed before dawn to run down to the scenic viewpoints to catch the sunrise.

As the sun rose, pastel shades would silently creep across the sky and then spread across the water below in beautiful mirrored reflections.

The sunrise was different every day, and each one was lovely in its own way.

Teton Mountains at Shwabacher Landing Wyoming

Just before sunrise, mist floats along the base of the Tetons.

Perfect reflections of the Teton Mountains at Shwabacher Landing

At the same place on another day, the mountains blush and check their reflections in the water.

Still water and mountains Shwabacher's Landing Teton Mountains Wyoming

Mirrored reflections of sky and mountains at Shwabacher’s Landing

This business of running around before dawn turned out to be surprisingly popular in the Tetons.

Every morning, headlights pierced the cold black air heading in both directions on the highway, and brake lights lined up at the turn-offs to the viewpoints.

At first we thought the Tetons were full of crazy photographers.

Water reflections Shwabacher Landing in the Teton Mountains-3

Serenity.

But we soon figured out that lots of these people were fishermen, wildlife stalkers and folks getting an early start for their day’s hike.

So much for R&R when you take a vacation to Grand Teton National Park!

What we loved, though, was the stillness of the water and the way its glassy surface mirrored the sawtooth mountain peaks as they changed shades in the morning light.

Placid water at Shwabacher's Landing at the Tetons

Prefect stillness… for a split second!

We returned to Shawbacher’s Landing several times to capture these special moments, and every single time we were teased by the dam-building beavers.

A tree felled by a beaver

Beavers are great lumberjacks. How do they
know when it’s time to bite and run?

Each morning, it was guaranteed that until the sun crested the horizon to the east, the beavers would sit on the tops of their dams, silhouetted perfectly.

They looked so cute and stood so incredibly still as they posed for us, little hunched figures on top of their world.

However, in such hopelessly dim light there wasn’t a chance in heck of getting that dreamed of beaver-sitting-on-his-dam portrait.

Beaver Dam at Shwabacher Landing Grand Teton Wyoming

A dam built by a beaver, nature’s engineer.

Of course, just as the colorful magic in the sky would begin, the beavers would all jump in the water and swim around, totally messing up the reflections.

They’d drag branches to and fro between their dams, true to their reputation as nature’s industrious little engineers, but they’d leave the water completely rippled, shattering the pink mirrored mountains into a zig-zag pattern of fractured images.

Mirrored reflection across Jenny Lake in Wyoming

The mirrored reflection of the mountains stretched clear across Jenny Lake.

The photographers that were lined up on the shore would moan and grumble to each other about those damn beavers, throwing up their hands in total frustration.

They’d call out to the beavers, telling them to get out of the way, and pleading with them to hold off on construction until the work day actually started in another hour or two.

Sometimes the water would settle for a split second, and then a flurry of shutter clicks would fly.

 

Jenny Lake evergreen trees in morning mist Wyoming

Pines mirrored in the mist at Jenny Lake.

Triumphant grins would flash between us all, only to be followed by another series of loud groans when a fish would snag a bug on the water’s surface, sending out a ring of ripples.

Once the light show was over, of course, and the sun rose high enough to bathe the scene in stark, bright light, the beavers would vanish into thin air, nowhere to be found, and the water would resume its glassy state, a little late.

So it goes with nature photography.

 

Mirrored mountains Jenny Lake Grand Teton National Park Wyoming

We were captivated by the beauty around us.

Jenny Lake sits in the middle of Grand Teton National Park, and there is a 10 minute ferry ride that shuttles people to the far side where there are several wonderful hikes.

Wandering down to the boathouse one afternoon, we discovered that this ferry ride is $15 per person all day long, but the very first boat ride at 7:00 a.m. is just $5.

Misty morning on Jenny Lake Wyoming

Every way we turned the images were
awe-inspiring.

What a deal! We were there!

So, on yet another ice cold morning, we dashed off in the truck, only to arrive at Jenny Lake and discover that now that Labor Day was behind us, the ferries were on a Fall schedule.

There was no early morning discount deal.

Rising mist on Jenny Lake Teton Mountains

The water was like glass.

In fact, there were no ferries at all until 10:00 a.m.

Argh!!

But this turned out to be a blessing in disguise, as we were now on the shores of Jenny Lake at dawn, a time and place where the Tetons quietly radiate their greatest majesty.

Foggy shores of Jenny Lake Grand Teton Wyoming

Mist rises from Jenny Lake.

The mist was rising off the surface of the water, and we suddenly had nothing to do but wander along the edge of the lake and take in the beautiful scene.

Talk about mirrored reflections on the water!

The whole lake was crystal clear and utterly ripple free!

We picked our way between the rocks on the shoreline, totally captivated by the steaming water and glowing mountains across the lake

 

Morning mist on the water Jenny Lake Grand Teton National Park

Jenny Lake is a magical spot at dawn.

There was less than a handful of other people down at the lake, and we were all walking around with dreamy smiles on our faces.

Granted, we all needed coffee, and we all had red, runny noses, but we all knew this was life at its finest.

The world was asleep, snug in their sleeping bags or rustic cabins or plush hotels in Jackson Hole, but a breathtaking dawn was silently unfolding around us lucky ones right here.

 

Mountain reflections in Jenny Lake

The mountains glowed orange.

Time stood still as the mountains gradually glowed fiery orange.

The light intensified for a few moments, stealing over the scene and over us noiselessly, without any kind of announcement or tap on the shoulder saying, “Hey, look at me!”

All this bravado and show was just nature’s way of stretching and shaking off the cold stiffness of the night air before getting up.

 

 

Dinghies on the beach at Jenny Lake in Grand Teton National Park

Dinghies and trees on the beach made beautiful patterns.

It was a magic moment that swept us up in its glory, so singular and so special for us that it would stay in our memories forever.

But it happens every day, day after day.

How lucky we felt to have witnessed it. How fortunate we were to be in this spot on this morning to watch the vibrant light grow and fade, to see the mist rise and dissipate from the water.

At the same time, how reassuring it was to know that it is always there for everyone, every morning… Jenny Lake at dawn.

 

Visit these links for the Official Grand Teton National Park website and Wikipedia’s Grand Teton National Park entry.

Here is a little more about Jenny Lake  and the Jenny Lake ferry.

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Grand Teton National Park WY – Wild Skies

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Rainbow over our fifth wheel in Alpine Wyoming

At the end of the flood…a rainbow!

 

August, 2014 – After our four days of Noah’s Flood in Alpine, Wyoming, finally ended, we were blessed with a beautiful rainbow right over our little buggy.

The mud around us dried just enough so we could make our way back to the highway and continue our journey north towards Grand Teton National Park.

The deluge wasn’t entirely over, however, and dark gloomy skies filled our views for a few days.

 

 

Mist rises at dawn in Grand Teton National Park Wyoming

The Tetons are wreathed in a mysterious mist.

 

We arrived at the Tetons to find them wrapped in a mysterious mist that rose and fell and enveloped their faces as a cold wind whipped ours.

The clouds moved quickly, coagulating into otherworldly shapes and then dispersing into nothing, as if a magician were shrouding them under a gossamer veil and then laughing with a twinkle in his eye as he pulled it away.

 

 

Mountain mist explosion at Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming

The mountains seemed at times to be exploding.

 

We drove along the highway that runs through this park, awe-struck by the majestic scenery surrounding us.

Wisps of fog reached out along the base of the Teton Mountains and stole up their craggy flanks, giving the regal peaks a mystical air.

Sunlight came and went, teasing us as it lit the jagged faces and then withdrew and left them dark.

 

RV fifth wheel in Grand Teton National Park Wyoming

Dawn’s light played amid the mountain peaks

 

 

We roamed all around, enchanted by this unusual light, until some huge black clouds gathered overhead and gave us a frightening glare.

When they finally burst wide open, we huddled inside the buggy.  Rain pelted our roof, thunder echoed off the jagged peaks and lightning flashed all around us.

At last the rain stopped, and we ran along the Blacktail Pond overlook with vague hope in our hearts that there might be a good sunset.

 

 

Storm clouds over our fifth wheel RV

Storm clouds threatened and then burst with fury

 

We claimed our spots with our tripods and cameras on opposite promontontories, just in case.

I noticed another photographer setting up near me.

“Do you think there’s a chance of a sunset?” I asked him, making a face as I glanced at the grey skies.

“You never know.” He replied. “I’ve been coming here for years, and I’ve seen some incredible sunsets.”

 

Wild skies in Grand Teton National Park Wyoming

Wild skies at sunset

Just then, we both noticed a faint hint of pink in the sky.

As we stared at it, willing it to grow, the most stunning sunset I have ever seen unfolded.

In moments, the entire sky was on fire, flaming in waves of brilliant pink and orange.

The colors intensified, as if the flames were licking the mountaintops.

A pink glow began to radiate between the peaks.

 

Sunset in Grand Teton National Park Wyoming

Waves of color formed as the sunset drama played out

I could hear the shutter clicks of my companion and the “oohs” and “aahs” he was muttering.

I was doing the same thing, and hoping feverishly that Mark was as spellbound watching this magical drama over on his precipice as we were on ours.

I turned away from the valley for a moment and was shocked to see the sides of the storm clouds above us had suddenly begun glowing magenta.

 

 

Storm clouds and sunset in Wyoming

I turned around and saw the storm clouds glowing, as if from a fire within.

Two trees on the flat plain were silhouetted against this delicious, lugubrious sky.

And then, without a hint of warning, it was over.

Mark and I ran towards each other, bursting with excitement.

“Did you see that?”

“Yes. Did you get it?”

“I think so… Look at this one…”

Pink glow between the Teton Mountain Peaks Wyoming

Vibrant shafts of light radiate between the peaks.

Fire in the sky at Grand Teton National Monument in Wyoming

The gods play with fire in the sky over the Tetons.

Shwabacher Landing Grand Teton National Park before dawn

Before dawn, the misty peaks were reflected in the water.

We traded cameras to see each other’s pics, dashed into the rig and drove off in a flurry, totally flushed with excitement.

The next morning we set the alarm for oh-dark-thirty and snuck down to Shwabacher Landing to see if we might get lucky with a sunrise.

The mountains were shrouded in blue-gray mist.

Only the peaks were visible, but the reflections from the mirror-like water gave the scene an ethereal air.

 

Sunrise at Shawbacker Landing Grand Teton National Park

But all the sunrise drama was happening behind us!

We set up our tripods for our sunrise shot, totally focused on the mountains and reflecting water in front of us.

Then we turned around and our jaws dropped in astonishment as we watched the most vivid display of pink and orange developing behind us.

We were in total awe. But the cameras were facing in the complete opposite direction!

After a few minutes I finally regained my senses, yanked the camera off the tripod and fired off a few quick handheld shots of this glorious sunrise.

Sunrise lights the peaks in Grand Teton National Park Wyoming

Sunrise lights the tips of the mountains as fog rolls in

No sooner had the color faded in the eastern sky than the rising sun began to light the peaks of the Tetons to the west.

The mist was rising rapidly, leaving just the points of each jagged peak to poke its head above and glow pink for a few seconds.

We caught our images, but our hearts were pounding.

How crazy that a silent sunrise could steal over an entire valley and send us into paroxysms of frustration and thrills: “I’m missing it…No, wait, I’m getting it! I got it I got it!!”

Blushing mountain peaks at Grand Teton Naitonal Park Wyoming

The tips of the mountains catch the sunrise above the mist.

For the next few days we rose with the alarm clock to catch the sunrises over the water.

There were other photographers at every viewpoint, all jumping up and down to keep warm, and blowing into their hands to bring some life back to their fingertips.

We shared stories of missed shots, wrong camera settings, and the ecstasy of catching it just right.

Some photographers had caught The Big Fiery Sunset at Ox Bow and Shwabacher Landing where the theatrics in the sky were doubled by reflections in the water.

Stormy sunrise over an RV

Another stormy sunset fills the sky

Such good fortune!

The stormy skies continued to enchant us, and we were blessed with one stunning sunrise and sunset after another.

After nearly a week of this nonsense of getting out of our warm bed in the ice cold dark and not crawling back into that warm bed until many hours after sunset, we were bleary eyed and tripping over our own two feet.

But the Tetons had gifted us with their magic and we were grateful for every stunning moment.

 

Glowing with happiness at Grand Teton National Park Wyoming

Glowing with happiness in a truly spectacular place.

Prior to this visit, our RV travels in Wyoming had brought us to this magnificent valley twice. The first time, in our first year of traveling, we had naively rushed through way too fast, and the second, just two years ago, had been devoid of mountain views due to thick wildfire smoke in the air.

This visit, however, was taking us by storm, in the best and most literal sense.

We quickly decided to stick around a while to see what else these mysterious mountains would share with us.

For more information about Grand Teton National Park, click here.

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Craters of the Moon + Cataclysms from Sun Valley ID to Alpine WY

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Camping in the Sawtooth Mountains

Sunset in the Sawtooths

August, 2014 – We had been enjoying a wonderful stay in Sun Valley, Idaho, spreading out in some great camping spots and taking in lots of free summertime outdoor events.

The wildfires that had nipped at our heels in Sedona, Arizona, and in Bend and eastern Oregon, were by now long forgotten, and after a few days of summer showers and thunderstorms, the air around us was crisp and clear.

We wanted to do a “signature hike” in the area when the sun finally resumed its rightful place in the sky, and a ranger suggested the hike to Baker Lake.

Starbucks insignia for Sun Valley Idaho

This had been the most popular hike in the area until it was devastated by the Beaver Creek wildfire of 2013.

Now it was a hike through a burnt forest.

“It’s still beautiful,” the ranger insisted.  “But in a different way.”

Well, we’d seen enough fires in action this year, why not see what a national forest looked like once the embers cooled a year later?

Baker Lake Road into the Sawtooth National Forest

Beautiful mountains in the Sawtooth National Recreation Area.

Our trail, which had once wandered between green pines, was soon passing between stands of charred trees that were stark reminders of the devastation

However, as we slowed down and took in the strange landscape around us, we soon found there was an eerie beauty to it all. A mysterious aura enveloped us.

The Beaver Creek Fire had been the result of two separate fires that had joined forces.

By the grace of God, the ranger told us, the winds had turned at the very last minute, before the flames raced down a canyon into town, sparing Ketchum from a true bath of fire.

Fire damaged trees from the Beaver Creek Fire in Idaho

The Beaver Creek fire burned 180 square miles

As we hiked, we saw large shards of blackened bark had fallen off the trunks of the trees, leaving intriguing lace-like patterns on the red-brown wood.

Bark falls off the trees from the Beaver Creek Fire in Idaho

Lace patterns on the tree trunks

Scorched logs lay scattered across the ground, each filled with the funny checkerboard patterns that develop as wood burns.

Hiking the Baker Lake Trail we see lupine blooming

A little lupine grows between the blackened tree roots

Scattered here and there between the singed roots and ravaged remains, little purple lupine flowers poked their heads through the cinders and basked in the sunshine.

A thicket of tiny purple flowers filled the spaces between a stand of black stick-like trunks, and a few yellow flowers smiled up at us from their hiding places amid the wreckage.

Life was returning.

RV Camping in the Sawtooth National Forest Idaho

Fire in the sky at sunset — flames of the gods!

Craters of the Moon National Monument

Craters of the Moon National Monument

We had been in Sun Valley for nearly a month, and we were ready to move on.  We packed up and made our way east from Ketchum, Idaho, through Craters of the Moon National Monument.  This monument is a vast sea of lava flows that is the result of a series of violent volcanic eruptions between Idaho and Wyoming.

Driving alongside this moonscape for many miles, there was nothing but black lava rock as far as we could see into the distance.

Ironically, here we were facing another cataclysm, one much bigger than a forest fire and dating from a much more distant time thousands of years ago.

Most of the hiking trails wound through crooked trees and craggy lava rock, but the best one climbed straight up along the lava cinders to the top of a cinder pile.

The more we explored the park, the more we felt its air of haunting melancholy.

Tree at Craters of the Moon National Monument in Idaho

Craters of the Moon has some wonderful landscapes

Placards along the trails told how, decades ago, in a misguided attempt to beautify the park, the National Park Service had poisoned all the trees that were afflicted with an ugly parasitic vine.

Only after all the parasitic vines had been successfully exterminated did the Park Service discover the delicate symbiosis between the vines and the now dead trees, one that is critical to the survival of the remaining trees.

Ancient volcanos in northern Idaho

An old volcano on the horizon in central idaho

We left the park pondering the immense forces of nature and the wisdom of tampering with their balance.  Can human knowledge control nature without disastrous consequences, or mastermind its energies without paying a price? An old volcano decorated with cell phone and radio towers slipped quietly past the car window.

High school class years on the hill in Arco Idaho

The hillside in Arco is covered with enormous white numbers.

Arco Idaho first atomic city in the world

Arco holds a unique distinction.

We arrived in the town of Arco, Idaho, and were immediately struck by the strange numbers that covered the hillside on the edge of town.  What the heck was that all about? Were there mines up there?

Looking a little closer, we soon realized these numbers were years — 2000, 89, 95 — and, asking around, we found out there’s been a long-standing tradition for the high school seniors to sneak up on the mountain and paint their school year on the rock.

That’s no small feat, as the numbers appeared to be 30′ or so tall!  Unfortunately, the Bureau of Land Management put an end to this practice about a decade ago.

 

ERB-1 Nuclear Power Plant control room_

The EBR-1 control room is right out of Star Trek.

We also learned that Craters of the Moon and the other vast barren landscapes in this region of the country are remote enough to have become the site of lots of weapons testing and nuclear power development over the years.

The little town of Arco stands out in history as the first city in the world to be lit by atomic power, and the nuclear power plant responsible, named EBR-1, is just down the road.

We took a tour, marveling at the 1950’s switches and dials in the control room. They seemed to come right out of Star Trek!

Storm clouds swirl above our RV

A fast moving storm swirls above our buggy.

RV parked under storm clouds

Storm clouds threaten…

Leaving Arco and EBR-1 behind, we traveled on to the shores of beautiful Palisades Reservoir. Just as we pulled the rig around to set up, nature unleashed her fury with a cataclysmic thunder and lightning storm.  I was so taken by the sky, as I “helped” Mark get the rig parked, that I began snapping photos of it with the buggy in the foreground.

Mud and rain out our window

It poured pitchforks for four days!

Mark, of course, was struggling to get the rig parked and set up before the deluge hit while I leaped around singing, “Wow, this is AMAZING, it’s so BEAUTIFUL!” as I took more photos.

Just in the nick of time, I got the camera put away and we got our little home set up.  For the next four days we hunkered down as the rain fell in relentless torrents.

Muddy tracks outside our door

Will we ever be able to leave?

At one point, a knock on our door summoned us to the aid of four teenage boys whose muddy joyride in their Rubicon had left them stranded, hubcap deep, in lakeside muck.

Luckily, the Mighty Dodge (with the help of Mark’s skillful driving and four eager boys pushing) was able to pull the Rubicon back to solid ground.

Sunrise over our RV in Idaho

A beautiful sunrise heralds the (temporary) end of the storms…

At long last we awoke to a glorious sunrise, and the puddles around us soon began to dry. We looked around for Noah’s raven and dove to send out as scouts, but his little winged messengers were nowhere to be found. We had to don our boots and go outside for a look ourselves! After a day of drying out, we deemed it safe to hitch up and leave, and we slowly rolled on to Grand Teton National Park.

 

 

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For more from our RV travels to Sun Valley, ID, both past and present, see these links:

 

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The Artsy Side of Sun Valley, ID

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Camping in the Sawtooth National Recreation Area Ketchum Idaho

Pretty as a picture…or a painting!

August, 2014 – Sun Valley, Idaho, the “ski resort town,” has an artsy soul, and this is especially evident in the summertime.

While happily camped in the Sawtooth National Recreation Area, we got on our mountain bikes one morning and began roaming around the dirt roads through the woods.

All of a sudden we came across an artist set up with oil paints and a palette, creating a painting on an easel.

Sun Valley Plein Air Artist Bart Walker paints in the Sawtooth Mountains

Bart Walker brings the landscape alive on his canvas.

What a great place to paint!

The artist introduced himself as Bart Walker, and we watched him quickly bringing the bucolic scenery around us to life on his canvas.

It turned out that he was making paintings for the upcoming “Plein Air” art exhibition held at the Kneeland Gallery in town in a few weeks.

Blurred water with trees at the Big Wood River in Ketchum Idaho

We were inspired to get artsy with our
cameras too!

Even though he is from Wyoming’s Teton Mountains area, he knows the Sawtooths well, and he suggested we go to a spot down on the Big Wood River where we might get some good photos.

Beautiful flowers in Sun Valley Idaho

We promptly followed his suggestion and had loads of fun on the riverbanks getting artsy shots with creamy water.

When the appointed weekend for the art exhibition came, we found ourselves surrounded by plein air artists in the woods recreating the stunning landscapes of the Sawtooth mountains.

We wandered from one easel to the next, intrigued by how differently each artist interpreted their natural surroundings.

Artist Lori McNee paints in oils "Plein Air" in Sun Valley Idaho

We loved being surrounded by these artists out in nature.

We discovered later that the 10 or so artists that are invited to show their work at the Kneeland Gallery’s Plein Air art exhibition each summer are all very accomplished and well known artists.

We were watching true pros painting around us in the woods, folks who make their living from their art!

A whole group of knowledgeable admirers were also roaming from one canvas to the next, and we fell right in step with them, getting the low down, in whispers, on who was who and who did what kind of art.

Sawtooth National Recreation Area plein air artist paints on canvas

Some of the artists were staying in their campers.

Robert Moore creates colorful paintings in the national forest of Idaho

Robert Moore’s unique style of painting is almost performance art!

“That’s Robert Moore over there,” a fellow told me in a low voice. “He’s one of the best.”

I looked aver at a guy with a huge palette of paints and a canvas spread out on the tailgate of a pickup truck.

“He’s color blind,” the guy went on.

What?!  I had to learn more.

Robert was extremely friendly and unassuming, and as we talked, he painted in brisk strokes with two brushes, one held in each hand.

 

Robert Moore shows off his unfinished painting

Robert shows me his unfinished painting.

He even dipped his rubber gloved fingers in the paints and squished them around on the canvas, like a kid finger painting!

“I can’t distinguish between greens and oranges,” he explained to me, gesturing to those colors on the palette.

“My assistant, Silas, helps me by arranging the colors on the palette so I know where each one is.” He worked very fast and with great self-assurance.

At the beginning, when the canvas was blank, he had started by squeezing paint from the tubes directly on the canvas.

Robert Moore Murdoch Creek Oil Painting

Finished, framed, and on the wall at Kneeland Gallery in Ketchum.

The lines of paint were still there, and as his brushes reached them, they blended the colors. Yet each brush stroke visibly retained all the colors that were in the mixture.

Miraculously, a beautiful painting of a stream was emerging.

“You can play Beethoven with one finger on the piano,” he explained to me quietly, “but it sounds so much richer if you play with all the fingers of both hands. That’s the way my painting is. You can see all the colors in every brushstroke. That’s how light is in real life.”

He held the painting up for me. Wow!

RV boondocking in the Sawtooth National Recreation Area Ketchum Idaho

Audience on the lawn at the Sun Valley Pavilion

Families picnic and listen to beautiful music.

The next evening we went to the gallery open house. Little did we know that every Friday night in Sun Valley there is an Art Walk where all the galleries (and there are lots of them) open their doors and pour generous glasses of free wine for visitors.

With an increasingly wobbly gate, patrons and admirers of the arts wander from gallery to gallery, taking in beautiful works of modern impressionism, fine art photography, modern art, sculpture and more. After a few glasses of wine, even the most stark modern art makes total sense!

Sun Valley is also famous for its outstanding free summer symphony concert series.

Sun Valley Symphony free summer concert series

The Sun Valley Pavilion is a beautiful home for the symphony orchestra.

For three and a half weeks, the Sun Valley Pavilion comes alive almost every night with music played by the top notch Sun Valley Symphony.

 

Sun Valley Symphony plays Brahms' 2nd Symphone - ahh!

We are treated to a night of Brahms — sheer joy for me!

Outside the Pavilion, families and friends enjoy picnics on the lawn where the music is played over mammoth speakers. Inside, there is loads of free theater seating that is all first come first serve.

The Pavilion is a tens-of-millions-of-dollars architectural marvel and was a gift to the community from the owner of Sun Valley Resort. While waiting for Mark to get a beer, I happened to rest my hip on a low interior stone wall.

An usher came over to me and said politely that I shouldn’t sit on the wall.

Sun Valley Pavilion was built with stone from the same quarry as the Roman Colosseum

Don’t sit on the walls…this rock is special!

Slightly affronted, because I had been leaning on the wall, not sitting on it, I decided to joke a bit with him.

“Is there something special about this rock wall?” I asked, laughing.

“Well, as a matter of fact there is. The stones came from the same quarry in Italy as the stones that were used to build the Roman Colosseum.”

A young violinist plays her own concert in Sun Valley ID

A young violinist gives an impromptu
concert of her own.

Are you kidding?!!

I sprang away from the wall and then gingerly reached back and touched it in amazement.

After the concert was over, a little girl stood up amid her family’s picnic blanket and chairs and began an impromptu violin concert of her own, singing and playing some country tunes.

A small crowd gathered around her, and her smile got bigger and bigger as she performed for a rapt audience.

And that’s the way life is in Sun Valley, Idaho, where mega wealth and majestic natural beauty come together to make a playground for everyone that is full of fine art, exquisite music and outdoor fun. Best of all, most of it can be enjoyed for free!

Boondocking in the Sawtooth National Recreation Area Ketchum Idaho

A sunrise worth leaping out of bed for!

Here are some links with more info for you about the Sun Valley, Idaho, area:

For more from our RV travels to Sun Valley, ID, both past and present, see these links:

Other musical happenings that we’ve loved:

 

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