Grand Teton National Park mountain range peaks

Mt. Moran of the Grand Teton National Park mountain range
Mt. Moran, still young, still restless, still growing

Grand Teton National Park was just a few miles south. Wildlife appreciation was giving way to appreciating the landscape and mountain ranges. It was snowing on our last day at Yellowstone National Park. The weather condition turned bad overnight and the road was not passable. Park maintenance also reported that they were busy plowing and clearing the roads for the anticipated morning traffic. Bad weather and poor road conditions did not seem to deter park visitors from getting to their desired destinations, including us.

scenic drive
River and mountain

One park ranger was dusting the snow off a road sign that stated “road closed”. The line of vehicles was approximately a quarter of a mile long. Most drivers just sat in their vehicles and wiled their time.

Grand Teton National Park mountain range from Jackson Lake overlook
The view of the peaks at Jackson Lake overlook

It was an hour later that the “all clear” signal came and vehicles gradually snailed its way forward. The scene was magical! The sun glistened off the white snow that was weighing down the evergreen tree branches. The occasional gusts of wind caught clumps of dusty, glittering snow and sprinkled it to the ground.

Across Jackson Lake overlook
Cloud cover over the mountain peaks

The snowy, winding road soon gave way to rocky mountainsides opposite a lake. Across the lake, the peaks towered majestic. It soon became a series of peaks that dotted the landscape. The more that we got into Grand Teton National Park, the closer we got to the mountain peaks.

The Grand Teton National Park mountain range from a hiking trail
Snow fall during a hike of the Leigh lake-String lake trail

The hiking trails were everywhere. The easy trails were located closer to the base of the mountain range. The medium and difficult trails were located closer or even beyond the peaks. I wanted to hike the more difficult trails but I had to be realistic of my capability and settled for the easy trails. Overall, it was a worthy challenge and an experience that cannot be forgotten.