100928 – Star Valley, WY

Tuesday (Sep 28)

I continue up the beautiful canyon to the Visitors Center at the top of the hill overlooking Bear Lake.  When I get down to the lake I will choose a direction that will pretty much determine my route for the next thousand or so miles. I have scoped out about three distinct ways to navigate the central plains, and my first decision point is here – whether to go over the top of Yellowstone or around the east side.  I sadly do not have time to go through and enjoy Yellowstone.  The only realistic choice is to go for shorter and quicker, which means I will be retracing in reverse another day’s worth of the two year ago trip, up the really, really lovely Star Valley to Jackson WY.

The drive up and over the pass to Bear Lake is always super pretty.  Fall colors are already over here, and it ain’t even October yet!  Skirt the lake … some day I will feel like I have enough time to go to the Bear Lake Wildlife Reserve.

Montpelier Idaho – I decided to get a quickie chicken sando at the Arctic Circle, which was an excellent interlude – wifi, coffee, chicken sando, chocolate sundae and I am ready for the rest of the day!

Another forty miles down the road I drove past the campground where I seriously froze my ass off in 25 degree weather last time.  I do not have fond memories of that place.

Star Valley has a nice name, and is big and wide and very pretty.   Not much there for some reason (really rough winters?), but it looks like a nice place to settle down.

Jackson WY – I would like to spend some time in Jackson someday, if I can find a way to afford to be here.  It is awash in money it seems, so yuppie and prosperous, and busy and painfully hip. But it’s in a beautiful valley at the bottom of the Grand Tetons and seems pretty nice.

I was running of daylight and had the good sense to stop in the Visitors Center, where they convinced me to pack it in for the day at the very pretty Gros Ventre CG at the edge of the Grand Teton NP.  I assembled my bike for the very first time and had a fine time riding around the campground.  The bike was really fun and I am going to be really glad I have it.

I chose a campsite on the northern edge, out in the open, so to have the best view of sunset over the Tetons.