There is driving to get somewhere and there is driving to enjoy the scenery. Today is in the latter category. One of the first things I do in the morning is to extend my stay in this beautiful hotel with another night. I want to have a relaxed day and just enjoy being here in Jackson and Grand Teton National Park. There are not many new e-mails, so I close my laptop and and drive to Grand Teton National Park. It’s wonderful to see those peculiar mountains again. Also I see some bizons along the road. I stop at several places to take pictures and drive all the way to a place called Jackson Lake Overlook. That’s about as far as you can drive into the park, because the road to Yellowstone is closed for the winter. It’s very quiet here and the lake is covered with a big layer of snow. I see some tracks of people that I’ve walked there before and decide to do the same. It’s challenging to walk there, because every step you sink deep in the snow. I walk almost to the middle of the lake and then turn back around, because it’s quite exhausting. Funny enough, even though it’s 17 degrees Fahrenheit, -8 degrees Celsius, I’m really warm and I am actually sweating. It’s beautiful here and very quiet. From the lake I get a great view of the mountains. When I’m back at the car I am glad I didn’t cross the whole lake, because my feet are very cold from the walk in the snow. I turn the heating on and slowly drive back to the entrance of the park.
Back in town I make a stop at Jackson Toy Store, a fun store that I discovered a few years ago where they have a great animated shooting gallery inside the store. Just like last time, it’s real entertaining and I have a fun time. Then I go to a good coffee place called Cowboy Coffee and relax for a while with a cappuccino and a book. About half an hour before sunset I drive back in the direction of the park again to an area where there might be some wildlife. I see one moose in the distance. Today I miss not having my big camera with me, because I can’t get the animals very close on my phone’s camera. When I see some elk on my way back to town I stop my car again as I’ve done the whole day, but this time I get stuck in the snow. Whatever I try, I can’t get my car to move. For a moment I’m a bit worried about what to do, but when I see a car coming my way I wave in the hope that it’ll stop. A friendly guy of about my age opens the window and asks what’s up. I tell him that my car got stuck and he tells me that happens here all the time. He lines up his pickup truck behind my car and steps outside with a slackline. Within seconds he slides under my car to connect the slackline and together we manage to get my car out of the snow. In the mean time another car has stopped and a man asks if we need help, but that’s not necessary anymore. It’s great how friendly and helpful the people are here. I’m super thankful for this guy called John who helped me getting on the road again and happily I drive back to Jackson. I’m even laughing a bit, what an adventure! I drive to a restaurant and pick up a pizza. I end the day relaxed with a pizza and tv show in my comfortable hotelroom. While watching tv, my grandma from Montana texts me where I am. I tell her that she was not supposed to ask me that, because I had planned to surprise them with a visit. She tells me that she already had a hunch that that was my plan when she saw the long road trip picture of yesterday. It’s only five more hours driving from here to Helena Montana where they live, so I think I’ll get there tomorrow. I can only stay a few days with them, because it’s about 18 hours driving back to San Diego next week, but I think it’ll be great to see them again.
