2014 Summer Vacation {Grand Teton National Park Day Two}

Today, we got up early and headed to Jenny lake to catch one of the first boats over to the Inspiration Point Trail head. Lauren LOVED the hike, but we quickly realized that her sneakers were not going to cut it on this vacation...the girl needs some hiking boots!

The views from the top were amazing...and we finally had cell service, so I made a few phone calls and checked in with life. Lauren had a snack and then we headed back down the trail and back on the boat before it got too busy.

We stopped at the Visitor Center to get our "passport" stamp on the back of a postcard and to get some recommendations for where to have a picnic lunch on the way to the Craig Thomas Discovery and Visitor Center. We also saw a moose in the parking lot. She was laying down in the bushes under a tree, so we could barely see her.

We stopped at the first picnic area, but it was crowded and the tables were filthy and when you have a kid with food allergies, a messy table is a recipe for disaster, so we decided to continue on. When we pulled in to the Discovery Center, we saw this lone picnic table in the wildflowers at the back of the parking lot, so that is where we had our lunch before going in to the Discovery Center. The views were awesome and it was so quiet and peaceful.

Our next stop was at Menors Ferry Historic District. This old ferry is what people used to use to cross the Snake River. They had some old wagons on display too.

From the same parking lot, we were also able to go over to The Chapel of Transfiguration. It was a beautiful chapel and there was a great view out the front of the Tetons and amazing stained glass in the back. Lauren wanted to ring the church bell, but quickly realized it was LOUD!

Our next stop was Mormon Row Historic District which is where the famous barn that is always in Grand Teton photos is located. It was much smaller than we expected. One the road to our next stop, we spotted our first herd of bison...no the are not called buffalo!

Our final stop was the National Park sign. We get a family picture at every National Park sign that we visit...it took a minute to get the tripod set up and to figure out what angle was best, but we left with a great picture.

We stopped one more time at Oxbow Bend because the lighting that time of day was just great. We headed back to camp to have dinner and then pick up camp so we could leave first thing in the morning for Yellowstone National Park.