Jim Colyer

I went to Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming, August 10-14, 2015. It was the missing piece of the 1980 Grand Tour. I toured the Park and the gateway town of Jackson.

The highest peaks in the Teton Range resemble boobs. The word "Teton" derived from the French word for "tit." The peak known as Grand Teton is the tallest tit. This 8 million-year-old range is part of the Rockies and 50 miles long. There are no foothills. The jagged peaks were sculpted by glaciers and appear to rise out of the lakes. I stood beside Jenny Lake.

I drove up Signal Mountain, the highest point that can be reached by car. Trees lined both sides of the road. I drove by Mount Moran and saw the Falling Ice and Skillet glaciers.

The town of Jackson, Wyoming, took its name from mountain man Davey Jackson, who explored this area in the early 1800s. The town sits in a valley known as Jackson Hole. Mountain men referred to valleys as "holes." Jackson's population is about 10,000, and the airport is inside the Park.

There is an elk refuge, and antlers are everywhere. "Antler arches" are on the town square. Bicycles and motorcycles are a nuisance.

I hung out with Loretta Scott of the Jackson Hole Astronomy Club. We entered the Cowboy Bar and saw a few Perseid meteors.

Grand Teton National Park lies south of Yellowstone. The Snake River begins south of Yellowstone and flows 1056 miles before joining the Columbia River.

Revised 2018