Today we packed up and left Yellowstone and headed south, where we are meeting the group we are backpacking with beginning Sunday evening. On the way we took a quick trip through Grant Teton National Park. We took a quick hike along Jackson Lake, and drove up to the Signal Mountain lookout for a panoramic view. Along the Signal Mountain drive, we pulled over and got an up close view of a moose. We saw people looking out towards a pond and walked up close to the rest of the people, before we realized they were all standing less than 20 feet from the moose. Apparently these folks hadn't read about giving animals some distance. We backed off and took some pictures and headed off.

We spent the night in Jackson Hole, thinking that, as a winter ski resort, it would have tons of hotel rooms and not many people using them, and it would be a cheap place to stay. WRONG! Apparently Jackson is the place that people come to pretend to be western during the summer, so the town was packed. We ate dinner at the Snake River Brewery, which had some great food (elk meatballs) and even better beer. Other than the food and drink, the highlight was the people watching, including the one guy in a cowboy hat and enormous leather belt with an attached holster, containing, you guessed it, his cell phone. Maybe people out west duel with their cell phones to see who can get a clear signal first, but my suspicion is that this guy was just a tool.

We didn't stay out late, as we had to start organizing our packs, as we leave for our backpacking trip Sunday. We are headed to the Wind River Range for about a week, and we're hoping that the heat will break a little bit for our trip. Hope everyone has a great week. As you put on your third pair of socks this week (probably Tuesday or Wednesday), know that is more than we'll wear all week (gross).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wind_River_Range