Rising Out of Nowhere, Wyoming

One of our first views of the Teton Range
Mt. Moran to the Right looking from Jackson Lake
Mt. Moran again.
The Pinnacles (I think). A small pond at the top of Togawotee Pass where we ate lunch
Another of our first views of the Tetons

The sun shining on Grand Teton
Rory and Rob
Jenny Lake Campsite
My first Grizzly sighting ever, and hopefully my last!

The Teton Range...the only way I could describe it while looking at it was "majestic." It really is quite...majestic. We were descending down a pass, and ran straight into them. Obviously we saw them from quite a long distance at first, but they really do just sneak up out of nowhere and BAM...the Tetons. There really aren't any foothills or anything, just flats all the way up until the mountain begins. It really is breathtaking. We saw the range, and then had to go over about 2 miles of gravel to continue into the Grand Teton National Park. All these construction workers were asking me how the ride on the gravel was and all I could tell them was,I didn't notice and I could care less...I'm looking at the Tetons right now. I would venture to say they're more captivating than the Colorado Rockies by a long shot. I mean its a pretty small range all things considered, but they're just so rugged and fractured you really can't take your eyes off of them. We've been riding with an Irish guy Rory for the last few days. We met him in Virginia actually and we've been at a pretty similar pace since then, but haven't really ridden with him at all until the last few days. Anyways, he and I were riding into the Jenny Lake campsite when these people jumped out of a van and stopped us in the road. We had no idea what they were saying at first, and then they told us a bear was about to cross the road. And it did... It was just a juvenile, no real danger really, so he and I got to snapping pictures. The went into the woods a bit, then kind of walked in our general direction towards a clearing to our left. Sensing no real danger looking at him through the camera lens, we snapped another picture when Rory finally looks up and goes "Christ mate, he's pretty close and we're soft and vulnerable. We ought to get out of here!" Oh yeah, that's probably a good idea... So we booked it down the road, and everything turned out fine.

This place is incredible. We're in for a lot more wildlife when we hit Yellowstone in a few days. But for now, its time to kick it and relax in Jackson. You know, blow all our money on food, beer, and bike stuff, then live off of peanut butter and crackers for a week. Pretty standard really...