Wyomings other famous son

Independence day in America, the 4th of July is a huge deal out here, and with the weather in fine fettle my chosen destination was Yellowstone National Park. A friend in the USAF who grew up there gave me some directions and some points of particular interest to visit during my time in Wyoming.

One of the places he mentioned was Grand Teton. Now I'd never heard of this place before and didn't really know what a Teton was, if it was actually anything. I went down to the National Park office in Omaha where they give out free maps for all the National Parks in America, and I collected the two maps I needed for my journey. 

When thinking about National Parks in the states everyone has heard of Yellowstone but Wyomings other famous son Grand Teton, is every bit as special if not more so. The park contains a 40 mile stretch of the Teton Mountain Range, and no matter where you are in the park you're always aware of their presence.

As National Parks here are on such a huge scale, most things within them are best accessed by car. This isn't a problem in Grand Teton, as you can see in the shots the roads are literally at the foot of the mountains, this only adds to the intimidation you feel from the ancient formations.

I spent most of the day hiking around Jenny Lake, it was a 4 hour hike in the shadow of Grand Teton itself. The lush green forest of the park sheltered various species of wildlife, and I narrowly missed out on seeing a Grizzly, but there was plenty of birds, beavers and deer roaming free.

Once the early morning low cloud had lifted, the crystalline views you see below were all around. The sky so blue and the contrasting cotton wool like clouds so white, it made for an epic backdrop. I know I have used many superlatives in my blogs about my American experience, but Grand Teton raised the bar yet another notch.

I really enjoyed Grand Teton, probably one of the best places I ever been. Places like this are what give America its rich diversity, I know the big cities are easier to get to but the effort of travel is paid back in spades. I would love to return in mid autumn to see the park shod in trees of golden amber, I've seen some shots by a photographer called Mangelsen and they are simply breathtaking (another superlative).

So does Wyomings second famous son deserve to take a back seat to Yellowstone, log on in the next few weeks to find out.

Grand Teton panorama.