Western Tetons and Mesa Falls

Grand Tetons National Park is a real gem but having spent so much time on the lovely trails there on our previous trip we thought it might be nice to check out the other (western) side of them.

French trappers supposedly came up with the original name - Les Trois Tetons - or 'the three breasts'. It reminded me of something a dear friend once pointed out... that stereotypes exist for a reason. So here goes... "Typical Frenchies!"

We drove in from the Idaho side, taking a five-mile dirt road into a campsite east of the town of Alta.

Nath got up in the morning and took the Table Mountain Trail (22.4 kilometres return) which offered some closer views of the Tetons.

But we both drove away in Bessie feeling like there's a reason this is the sideshow and the National Park is the main event. The elevation change isn't as dramatic from this side and there's not the same ensemble of meadows, lakes and wildlife.

We checked out the Grand Targhee ski resort before heading north to start the Mesa Falls Scenic Byway, the highlights of which are the Upper and Lower Mesa Falls (no surprises there).

The drive is beautiful, passing through small towns and often following a river warmed by the underground thermal activity and aptly named "Warm River".

We came across a moose grazing in the shallows, only metres from the road and completely unfazed by the passing traffic.

We nighted at an RV park opposite Henry's Lake and prepared to enter one of our all-time favourite National Parks (and the world's first).