US-89 Day-4 "Behold, The Tetons"

I get up after a great nights rest in the Guinavah-Malibu campground and continue East on US 89. I find where all the people have been coming from when I hit Bear Lake. There are many hotels and homes at the foot of the mountains and the shores of Bear Lake. This is where all the people have been coming from during the last day. The lake is about an hour or two outside of Salt Lake City. 

Today the temperature is now in the 60s. It is almost like a switch was set. I went from unbearable heat to pleasant weather. 

I continued up 89 and connected with US 30. I then took US 34, which turned out to be the best road on the trip so far. The road was empty and had nice swoops and swirls at 50 miles per hour. I had 3 deer run into the road. The load deer was just standing in the road looking at me. Later on a whole flock of sheep were in the road. Then there was a black bear down in the canyon that you could see from the road. A truly great road. 

I continued on and once again hooked up with the 89. I eventually arrived in Jackson, which was a bloody nightmare of traffic. In Jackson I was able to get some motorcycle supplies, and eat at Whole Foods. I really wanted to get out of town as quick as possible. 

I continued northward and went into Grand Teton national park. I stopped at Lewis Lake Campground and decided to see if there were any available campsites. I thought that there were probably not any, but I would try anyway. There were 85 campsite, and on campsite 82 there was no gear and no paperwork on the post. I dropped my gear and ran back to the camp office. I asked the guy how to pay. The attendant then informed me that there were no campsites available and that they had sole out 2 hours prior. I told him there was no one at 82, he made some calls and finally decided to take my money. Nobody ever claimed the campsite while I was there, lucky me.

Later on in the afternoon my neighbors showed up. Tim and Hillary had been out on a 16 mile hike. Just before they crashed at 5:00 PM, Tim asked where I was going, and told me he had come from Minneapolis. Seeing my motorcycle, Tim told me that a friend of his had been in an accident and it was important to have good protective gear. Evidently, his friend’s rear wheel had been clipped by a Chrysler 300 in a corner. His friend was then heading for a cliff, so he decided to jump off the bike.  The bike continued over the cliff but the friend survived with only a back injury. Tim’s friend said he would have died without the great protective gear that he was wearing. I told Tim that I had great gear and I would always wear it. Tim and Hillary then went into the tent and I only saw them once when they went for a bathroom break in the morning.

The night was crazy. The winds picked up and at one point I head a sound that I have never heard before. I have been in many storms in the forest, but this sound was unique. At one point it sounded like a train had crashed into the 60 foot spruce trees towering overhead. You could hear the train coming and then the branches crashing and breaking. Pieces fell to the ground, some falling on the tent. I have heard people describe tornadoes as freight trains. This had the same sound. It really sounded like a train hit the trees. The banging of branches and the falling of sticks continued through the night. 

At 4:30 AM the winds suddenly stopped: stone cold quiet. Then at 4:30 AM the birds started to sing. At 5:15 AM the rains started. I got up, put down the tent and loaded the bike, all the while it rained harder and harder.