Grand Teton National Park

"His might sets fast the mountains"

Mount Moran and Jackson Lake from Signal Mountain

For almost a year my wife and I had planned to meet one of our daughters and her family in the Black Hills of South Dakota for a family vacation in July of 2017.  By the time July came around I had been in the hospital three times, in late March with what appeared to be appendicitis, but turned out to be a tumor on my appendix, in May for surgery, and again the end of June for blood clots in leg and lungs.  I wasn't up to much in July but we decided to go on the family vacation anyway, and we drove through the night of July 4th to Grand Teton National Park and found a campsite there.  We spent two days in the Tetons driving to different locations since I was not able to hike and then headed north to Yellowstone where we spent another day before driving on through Wyoming to South Dakota and the Black Hills.  These are the photos we took in Grand Teton National Park.

Jackson Lake and the Tetons

Bigelow's Tansyaster

Willow Flats

Sulphur Buckwheat

Salsify

Musk Thistle (an invasive)

Our first order of business was a campsite and we found one at the Signal Mountain campground stopping to photograph Jackson Lake, the mountains and the wildflowers along the way (above).  After setting up camp we headed north stopping at various points to photograph the Snake River and more wildflowers before returning south to our campground.

Snake River

Scarlet Gilia

Willow Flats Overlook

Butter and Eggs

Willow Flats and Jackson Lake

After lunch at our campsite we drove up Signal Mountain for the views and for whatever else we could find to photograph.  The drive begins near the campground and is a "must see" of Grand Teton National Park.

Bog Fritillary

Arrowleaf Balsamroot

Jackson Lake, Mount Moran and Rockchuck Peak from Signal Mountain

After driving back down from Signal Mountain we drove south to Jenny Lake and to the Chapel of the Transfiguration while thunderstorms started to build over the mountains.  Before returning to our campsite we revisited Willow Flats Overlook and watched the storm.

Jenny Lake and Cascade Canyon

Chapel of the Transfiguration

Catherine Creek

Tuesday, June 12th, my wife and I drove down to the Columbia River gorge from Spokane, arriving at Catherine Creek, our first destination, very early in the morning.  We slept for several hours there in the back of our van and at dawn hiked the trails in the area.  We went to see the Western Ladies' Tresses, a native orchid which grows only there in Washington State.  We knew they would not be blooming yet but wanted to see how far along they were.  We found them but they were only just starting to send up flower spikes.  Catherine Creek is one of our favorite places, however, and so we spent most of the morning there photographing the wildflowers, the insects, the creek and magnificent scenery of the Columbia gorge.  These are some of our pictures.

Forktooth Ookow

Klamthweed Beetles on Klamathweed

Large-flowered Brodiaea

Catherine Creek was once a homestead of some kind and that is still evident in the remains of old wooden fences and flowers that are not native to our state.

Cornflower

Moth Mullein

Rose Thorns

Yellow Salsify

Sweet Pea