July 25-28, 2018

TL;DR: The Tetons are ever-present and always gorgeous, in all light and at all times of the day. Like sleeping giants. We caught them at 5 AM—after panicking over where to park for pictures—and it’s a morning we’ll always remember.

The sights

Jackson Lake and Grand Tetons

As we drove out of Yellowstone, the Grand Tetons majestically appeared over Jackson Lake along with a striking sunset.

The moon even came out for the occasion.

Jenny Lake Loop

This is a pretty little lake at the feet of the Tetons. Though we didn’t get the chance, we would have liked to do the bike trail here.

Crystal Butte Trail

This 1.6-mile hike had 1,600 feet of elevation. It was labeled “strenuous,” but we decided they didn’t know what they were talking about. We were wrong. It required a break every 100 feet or so (except for our four-legged companion, Sammy, who was doing laps around us).

We did eventually made it to the top, and were rewarded with an 8,000-feet-above-sea-level view.

When we finished, we had a very delicious beer in Jackson—and Bri’s brother Doug and his fiancée, Sara, had arrived! We were also with our good friends Alyssa and Raleigh (parents to Sammy).

Taggart Lake

We advertised this as an “easy 3-mile hike” to ease Doug and Sara into RV life.

Complete with lakes and a foggy fire haze all the way from Yosemite, it ended up being six miles round trip. Legs were a bit like jelly when we got back.

Signal Mountain

This was a driving excursion, and about halfway up there was a bear jam. Everyone sort of freezes and loses all common sense when they see a bear. Cars stop. People walk in the middle of the street. Women take their tops off. Well, not that last one. But almost anything goes. Bear laws.

We made it eventually.

Jackson, WY

Pretty cute touristy town with tons of stuff to do, see, drink, and eat. Bri got a pretty sweet button-up.

Jess and the other (future) Mrs. Dawson did a mild morning booze tasting. Found some great taxidermy.

Took a photo with a moose. Overall successful.

Cowboy Coffee, Jackson

Nice little place in Jackson to get some work done.

Details, details, details

After spending a day in Jackson, we were chasing the sunset back to our camping spot and saw a sweet fox with something in his mouth. No picture, because we needed to get back for said sunset (see below).

We passed the Continental Divide! It felt important.

We left Bridger-Teton super early one morning and caught an incredible sunrise on the Tetons. Couldn’t decide where to pull over but landed on a pretty solid choice.

Also, Butte’s Western Block jalapeño cheddar hot dogs are the best.

And then this happened…

One night, we sacrificed a level RV for a gorgeous view of the Tetons.

Yes, it was gorgeous. But we’ll never do it again. Here’s why:

We had to flip our sheets so that the blood wouldn’t rush to our heads while we slept.
There was a crazy wind all night. Because we were on the edge of a hill.
We couldn’t use the water because the tank was slanted the wrong way. Bri ended up taking a shower with an actual plastic gallon of water.
We tried to get fancy and make caramelized apples and pork chops this night. So we had to hold all the pans in place so they wouldn’t slide off the stove. It took over two hours.

Woke up one morning and realized we had left both the new bug lamp and Little Red Campfire (see below) in the rain. Both are miraculously OK.

The towel holder in the bathroom decided to come off the wall.

Now we know

Though adorable, the Little Red Campfire is a camping buzzkill. Who wants propane-fueled fire when delicious-smelling wood-burning warmth is an option? No one.

Where we stayed

Night one: Bridger-Teton Hell

So Bridger-Teton National Forest was supposed to have a bunch of potential camping opportunities—and they did. But they were all taken. We foolishly showed up around 10 PM expecting to get one, and spent about two hours driving in the dark on really crappy roads. We ended up parking on the back driveway of a ranch. Got pretty bad sleep listening to coyotes and worrying about someone showing up with a pitchfork to kick us out. No picture, because… we may have been trespassing.

GPS coordinates: 43.763646, -110.553288 [this is where the legitimate (but occupied) spots start]

Night two: Curtis Canyon AKA the 10-Degree Tilt

Curtis Canyon (also part of the Bridger-Teton National Forest) is in the shadow of the Tetons, just about 10 minutes from Jackson. And you have to go through the Elk Refuge to get there (!). We were all-eyes looking for elk, then Alyssa told us it’s their winter refuge. Right. Checked out a few spots, but went back to the first one we saw because of the views of the Tetons.

Spent about 15 minutes trying to figure out the best way to position Layla because it was at such an angle. When we finally got settled, the whole elk refuge, valley, and Tetons were in front of us, with the sun setting to boot.

GPS coordinates: 43.516271, -110.669179

Nights three and four: Curtis Canyon

So after The 10-degree Tilt, we made a point to leave Jackson early and get our pick of campsites for the weekend. But the road got real crazy real fast—it was narrow, with tons of potholes, and folks going back and forth in dune buggies.

Just as we were losing hope, a kind lady told us that we shouldn’t go too much farther because there was no spot to turn around for such a big rig. She also told us that there was a great, open spot about two miles up. Confusing. We weren’t sure we believed her until we finally made it, saw it, and didn’t hesitate to claim it. After about five attempts to level, we made it. We made it.

GPS coordinates: 43.521801, -110.626605