Heading northeast out of Salt Lake City I rode up Echo Canyon, one of the major impediments to the first transcontinental railroad. Brigham Young and his Mormon followers hacked a railroad grade down one side of the canyon and the modern Interstate 80 now parallels it down the other side. After topping out I quickly entered Wyoming and hopped off the highway to turn North, skirting the border back into Utah progressing up towards Jackson. Arriving at a junction the GPS told me to turn right while I turned left at the behest of a “Scenic Route” sign that took me to the shores of Bear Lake, a large lake straddling the Utah/Idaho border tinted a bright neon blue due to the dissolved limestone it contains. The Oregon Trail passed just north of here and once again the railroad and road networks follow the same general route used by their predecessor.

Crossing back into Wyoming my route followed the Snake River through Targhee National Forest up to Jackson Wyoming, the tourist outpost that guards the southern entrance to Grand Teton National Park. The twisty mountain roads are a joy after the boring drone of the Interstate and the crowded roads around Bear Lake. Rolling into Grand Teton around sunset I found that the original campground I was heading towards at Jenny Lake was full so I backtracked to Gros Venture, just on the edge of the park, to be greeted by a few pronghorns grazing by the side of the road. Hopefully they’re the only wildlife in the campground tonight, this is bear country after all.

Tags: Red Roamer, Grand Teton National Park, Rocky Mountains