A Trip to the Wild West

Is there anything more American than a cross country road trip?  This summer Brittany took a National Parks road trip.  While it's safe to say that she enjoyed the entire trip, the Grand Teton National Park was especially memorable.
 
Brittany's not sure if it was the unending spectacular scenery,  the opportunities for hiking, kayaking and other activities on  Jackson Lake or a combination of all of the above that made it so memorable.  What she does know is that she'll be returning someday!   The park was relatively uncrowded compared to some of the others and they were able to enjoy all the park had to offer
 
The Village of Jackson Hole is nearby and provides plenty of opportunity for lodging, restaurants and shopping.   Brittany has sold the office on this experience and we all hope to try it soon!
 
-Cindy-

Destination of the Week

Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming
 
Grand Teton National Park is an American national park in northwestern Wyoming. At approximately 310,000 acres (480 sq mi; 130,000 ha; 1,300 km2), the park includes the major peaks of the 40-mile-long (64 km) Teton Range as well as most of the northern sections of the valley known as Jackson Hole. Grand Teton National Park is only 10 miles (16 km) south of Yellowstone National Park,  Along with surrounding national forests, these three protected areas constitute the almost 18,000,000-acre (7,300,000 ha) Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, one of the world's largest intact mid-latitude temperate ecosystems.
 
Grand Teton National Park is named for Grand Teton, the tallest mountain in the Teton Range. The naming of the mountains is attributed to early 19th-century French-speaking trappers--les trois tétons and was later anglicized and shortened to Tetons. At 13,775 feet, Grand Teton abruptly rises more than 7,000 feet  above Jackson Hole, almost 850 feet higher than Mount Owen, the second-highest summit in the range. The park has numerous lakes, including 15-mile-long Jackson Lake as well as streams of varying length and the upper main stem of the Snake River. Though in a state of recession, a dozen small glaciers persist at the higher elevations near the highest peaks in the range. Some of the rocks in the park are the oldest found in any American national park and have been dated at nearly 2.7 billion years.
 
Grand Teton National Park is a popular destination for mountaineering, hiking, fishing and other forms of recreation. There are more than 1,000 drive-in campsites and over 200 miles (320 km) of hiking trails that provide access to backcountry camping areas. Noted for world-renowned trout fishing, the park is one of the few places to catch Snake River fine-spotted cutthroat trout. Grand Teton has several National Park Service–run visitor centers, and privately operated concessions for motels, lodges, gas stations and marinas.