Grand Teton Day1, Day2

This summer we went to Wyoming for backpacking. First destination was Grand Teton National Park!

Friday evening at 4:16 p.m., I finished my experiment (FYI: I am a scientist). 4:17 p.m., I left work to head for Boston airport. Because traffic is insane in Boston in the evening rush hour, I decided to take public transportation. Via T line, I arrived the airport around 5:30 p.m. 

Flight is to Salt Lake City, Utah. SLC is the most convenient city to fly to go to Grand Teton. There is an airport in Jackson, which is very close to Grand Teton, however, there is no direct flight from Boston and more expensive than direct flight to SLC. 

Flight was at 7:30 p.m. with JetBlue. Everything was fine, but they didn't provide earphones. They sell with $5. Stingy! 

Also the entertainment display was not working for a lady at the row in front of mine. She sat diagonally, so I was able to see half of her face talking to a flight attendant on an aisle. I could tell how pissed she was from half of her facial expression. The flight attendant said some of the seats' displays just didn't work and tried to finish the conversation. The lady asked if she could get cash back. The flight attendant said yes and to fill out her name/seats etc on a tablet device. 

Learning 1 : next time if display is not working I will ask cash back!

Learning 2: JetBlue attitude is not very sincere. 

Because we arrived in SLC at midnight, we decided to stay at a hotel. It is only $60 for 2 people with free breadfast. AirBnB is about $30/person, so this was a good deal. 

Next day we drove to Grand Teton. Utah's scenery is really nice. There are many high mountains, dry mountains, and some Utah-ish orange rocks. West is my favorite!!!

I saw a In-N-Out burger on the way and I got so excited. In-N-Out is my favorite burger and only fast food I approve. It used to be only in California, but now I learned it expanded into some Western states, including Utah. I decided to stop by In-N-Out on the final day to the airport.

Teton

After 5 hours of drive, we entered the Grand Teton National Park. This was my first time visiting Grand Teton. Soon Grand Teton was in my sight! I was just wowed. The mountains standing high are so cool. Handsome. The granite with white snow in the blue sky with this region-specific shapes of clouds. Every aspect of the sight is special and special time for us.

Then, we went to the visitor center in the Grand Teton National Park to check out the condition of trail. The Paintbrush Divide, where we would go through during our backpacking was signed "require ice axe"

Hmmmm. We didn't bring it. Mr.N said that rangers usually exaggerate the situation and often don't need ice axe when they require it. I was concerned, because I don't have much experience with snow. We thought for a while and I decided to buy it, because I don't have it at home. I can use it in the future. Mr.N has already an ice axe at home, so he decided to rent one. It is better just to have it in case rather than turning around. 

Then we headed for Colter Bay campground. We planned to meet with Ms.L (Mr.N's mother) and Ms.F1 (Mr.N's sister) here. They live in Montana and drove to Wyoming to meet with us. Kindly, Ms.L came to Teton a day before and secured the campsite. In Grand Teton, online reservation is not available. You need to show up to get a site by being in line. Thanks to Ms.L, we only needed to show up. We met Ms.L in a year, and Ms.F1 in a couple of years. Nice to see them, especially in the wilderness.