We left Central WA after having our kitchen slide cable mechanism fixed in Wenatchee and wandered through southern Idaho with our goal of camping 3 nights in Victor, ID to visit my cousin and her family at their second home in Driggs, ID and tour Grand Tetons National Park. We stopped by Craters of the Moon National Monument near Arco, ID for a sureal experience that truly could be reminiscent of being on the moon, if the moon had water and air and stuff could grow!

Saturday, Sep 4: Craters of the Moon

Sunday, Sep 6: Carla and Brad toured us around the area and took us on a hike up Grand Targee Ski Area, getting amazing views of the back side or west side of the Grand Tetons NP. We took the ski lift down the mountain, which was perfect for my weary knees! We started experiencing the smoke from various fires on our few days in this area, thus the hazy skies. We actually missed most of the smoke in all the areas we visited on this trip! So a few days of haze didn’t bother us.

Monday, Sep 7, plus a few extra hours on Sep 10 & Sep 12: Our initial big tour day in Grand Teton National Park was fairly smokey, but I figured out how to edit my photos and was able to edit most of the smoke out!!

Pretty much all the visitor centers, museums and special exhibits were closed due to the Covid pandemic, but they usually had a ranger outside each visitor center giving out maps and general information. Folks were good about social distancing and wearing maskes when you were actually in the National Parks, but it was a free for all in Jackson, WY. We didn’t even bother to stop.

I was fascianted with the settlement history of this area from Mormons, Catholics, cattle ranchers and the Rockefellers.