Visiting the Grand Teton NP this week took more planning than we anticipated since we weren’t able to get a reservation at a campground inside the park. Instead I booked at an affordable RV Park in Swan Valley Idaho, that google maps had indicated was 37 miles away from the park. But when we drove down from Yellowstone and through the Tetons, we kept driving and driving forever, round and through the mountains. The 37 miles was actually as the crow flies, and it was more like 90 miles of roadway and 2 hours each way to the park. So we took one day this week to road tour in the park and went back for a full day of kayaking and hiking at String Lake and Jenny Lake.

Our campground host Woody had told us about String Lake and showed us pictures of their paddle board trip there, and they even offered to dogsit for our long day in the park. Our day started before 7am when we hit the long road to the park. We were one of the first cars in the parking lot and first on the lake. Mist covered the tops of the mountains and the lake was crystal clear. As I paddled I looked down to see a whole school of large fish swimming just below me and all around the kayak. What a perfect, peaceful paddle!