The Great American Solar Eclipse
We made our reservations in early March to be in Ashton, Idaho for the eclipse. We wanted to see the total eclipse while still being able to enjoy the surrounding area. While rural, Ashton served as a jumping off point to Grand Teton National Park.
Here are our pictures of the eclipse we took by putting the safety glasses in front of the camera. Not bad considering the equipment used.
We are so glad we got to see the eclipse, it was truly amazing. The temperature fell several degrees as the sun was covered up by the moon. This is the Great American Solar Eclipse playlist for us:
Total Eclipse of the Heart
Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me
Anything from Pink Floyd’s album Dark Side of the Moon
Tomorrow (From Annie)
The Sun Always Shines on TV
Blister in the Sun
Blackhole Sun
Bark At the Moon
Moonlight Serenade
Mr Blue Sky
Fly Me To the Moon
Here Comes the Sun
What songs did we miss?
Grand Teton National Park – More Beautiful Sites
Famous Antler Arch of Jackson, WY welcomes you into the town and the park.
Oxbow Bend
Willow Flats
Chapel of the Sacred Heart
The Chapel of the Transfiguration
As you sit in the pews, this is the view from the window in front.
Mormon Row is a line of homestead complexes in Jackson Hole. Six building clusters and a separate ruin illustrate Mormon settlement in the area and comprise such features as drainage systems, barns, fields and corrals. The Mormon homesteaders began to arrive in the 1890s from Idaho with a total of 27 homesteads.
Grand Teton National Park – The Safari
We wanted to make sure that we saw some wildlife while here. We booked a tour with Brushbuck Wildlife Tours. They provide both a dawn and dusk tour in an open air safari truck – so cool. We chose the four hour dusk tour. Our tour guide was really passionate about wildlife and incredibly knowledgable. There was not one question he was asked that he did not know the answer.
Bald Eagle
Osprey
Bison
Pronghorn Antelope
Elk (Young males)
Elk (Mature males)
Elk (Females and young)
Beaver
Moose
Buddy (A wolf inside)
Upper and Lower Mesa Falls
Half of our time in Idaho will be spent in a very rural town called Ashton. Our main purposes for staying here, were to view the solar eclipse as well as take in the Tetons. Unfortunately, while we can see the Teton from just outside our campground, getting to the national park was a 2 hour drive one way.
We needed to find something in the area to take up some time. According to the locals, Mesa Falls is not to be missed. But first is feeding the trout in the Warm River. There are dozens of huge trout just waiting to be fed. We gave them Buddy’s dog food which they seemed to enjoy.
This picture below is the feeding frenzy that ensued. You can see about five trout, one with its mouth wide open.
Now off to Mesa Falls…
At Upper Mesa Falls, a thunderous curtain of water – as tall as a 10-story building – pours over remnants of an ancient volcanic super-eruption.
Henry’s Fork
A short one mile hike from the Upper Falls will take you to Lower Mesa Falls.
Grand Teton National Park -The Tetons
To all of our friends in Texas, be safe. Scott and I are thinking about you.
We took dozens of pictures of the Tetons. So many, in fact, that we are dedicating this post to only the Tetons. These pictures were taken on different days and locations. Enjoy!! (Other aspects of Teton National Park will be included in future posts).
At Jenny Lake
Tetons at dusk
Tetons from the bike path
From the observation deck at the top of the Grand Targhee Resort ski lift
Tetons from Inspiration Point with Jenny Lake in the background. A three mile hike from String Lake one-way.
Boulder, Colorado
Our friend Doug played tour guide in Boulder where we visited Pearl Street Mall and Chatauqua
Pearl Street Mall is a four block area filled with shops and restaurants in a completely open mall area for pedestrians only.
Hotel Boulderado. A historic hotel that has preserved its early 1900’s look and feel.
An exact replica of the buffalo statue that is on the University of Colorado campus. (The buffalo is their mascot).
Chautauqua was an adult education movement in the United States, highly popular in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Chautauqua assemblies expanded and spread throughout rural America until the mid-1920s.
In the late 1890s, the Texas Board of Regents wanted to establish a summer school for teachers in a cool climate. Boulder city leaders wooed the Texans by offering to supply land, facilities and public utilities for the assembly.
On July 4, 1898, over 4,000 people gathered for the opening day of the Colorado Chautauqua expressly chosen for its spectacular mountain setting and its health-giving environment.
We enjoyed lunch at the historic dining hall. The food and the company were terrific