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Grand Teton National Park, Hiking, History, Travel, Wildlife, Wyoming

Yellowstone and Tetons Roadtrip 2025: Part VII

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Day 8: The Tetons

Our last day of the trip we had intentionally left fairly open as far as our itinerary. We had gone to the visitor center the day before and saw that there was a ranger-led hike at Taggart Lake on the southern end of the park at 9AM.

Since we had never been to Taggart Lake this seemed like a good activity for the morning. The ranger-led portion was just to the lakeside for about 2 miles. Then we could continue on our own to complete a 4 mile loop back to the trailhead.

Instead of the usual cereal and protein shakes in our cabin, we decided to have a hot breakfast at John Colter’s Ranch House. It was a nice change of pace on a less busy day. Yes, we save quite a bit of time and money by not dining out every meal, but sometimes it’s good to have pancakes, eggs, and bacon.

Taggart Lake

It was about a 45 minute drive from Colter Bay to the Taggart Lake trailhead (with another stop for air in my right-front tire). Once we arrived we waited for the ranger to appear along with the rest of our group then started the guided hike.

It was a bit windier and chillier early in the day as a cold front began to move into the area. That was ok though, it was still a very nice day and we had just gotten really lucky to have such ideal weather the whole trip.

As we made our way along the route the ranger would ask questions of the group. We answered most of them. And he had no qualms about letting us answer them all :).

We’ve been teaching our youngest to not feel embarrassed about ‘showing off’ his knowledge and intelligence. Some kids at school made him feel awkward in science and other class for being a nerd or know-it-all. Let them feel stupid all day long.

So we answered the name of the plant with the yellow flower as ‘arrowhead balsamroot’, that grizzlies love to eat moths, and every other assorted question the ranger had. We also walked into the forest off trail with the permission of the ranger to remind us to take time to let our senses appreciate nature free of all the noise and distractions of life.

As we continued from the lake shore around the loop we saw plenty of vistas of the Tetons, wildflowers, and butterflies, but no significant wildlife.

The Taggart Lake area leads upward to many more trails that I might try in the future such as Delta Lake.

Jackson Hole

I know the town is called Jackson, but everyone calls it Jackson Hole. Which sounds cooler.

We decided to have lunch in JH since we were fairly close to the south entrance and hadn’t been in JH since 2010. Back then we stayed in Jackson, which I realized was pretty distant from the park’s main areas and a bit unsatisfying if you want to enjoy the park.

Jackson has changed a lot in the past couple decades with all the billionaires moving in. We drove past the city park with the elk antler arches (which are pretty cool) and parked on a side street.

We decided to eat at the Merry Piglets because we wanted Mexican food. I had heard of the Merry Piglets because of a famous, recent missing person, murder case that ended in the Tetons not long ago. But regardless of that sad notoriety, we just wanted some burritos.

My food was lukewarm when served, and Shelley’s and Evan’s was almost cold. We sent their food back. I was too hungry to stop and think that my food should have been warmer. They got their remade dishes, which were correctly piping hot. But overall, I can’t really recommend it.

After eating we drove back north into the park and along the way we saw a bison herd. Plenty of junior bison as well.

That was pretty cool and made up for a lackluster lunch.

Colter Bay

We drove back into Colter Bay and parked at our cabin. We wanted to go to the two-mile loop trail that leads to a peninsula off of Colter Bay and afterward we could visit the gift shops one last time.

Shelley and Evan had hiked this trail the day before and were able to point out many things along the way, such as the bear claw marks on a tree (a warning to other bears) and some frogs lurking the mud near the Jackson Lake waterline.

Wile we were hiking back a few people told us a black bear was just seen crossing the path where we were walking. But unfortunately, we missed it.

We walked over to the general store to get some ice cream and met an unusually unfriendly, odd looking guy behind the counter. Almost all the staff we met working at the resorts were nice. This guy was not. Oh well.

We stopped at the visitor center and while inside we heard that the juvenile grizzly had just run past the marina. We stepped outside and there was a crowd there, as well as some rangers at the far end of the marina path. The grizzly was in the woods and the rangers seemed to want it to continue going in that direction.

Well, I had seen bears 6 days of the trip, but so far had struck out today.

We returned to the cabin to start packing up in preparation for departure the next day. We rested a bit, then at dinner time made our way over to the Ranch House again for dinner. It was good and we like it. As far as national park eateries go it’s a good place.

Day 9: Tetons and Wyoming

The next morning I got up early to do the morning hike around the loop trail, hoping to see some wildlife along the way. It was a very chilly 30F degrees and other than the random squirrel or bird in the dim light, the animals were not out and about.

I finished reloading the truck and walked to get some coffees at the coffee shop in Colter Bay. It’s always nice to start a drive with some good coffee. And it helped warm my hands after the biting chill of the hike. The weather had certainly changed overnight.

We left Colter Bay and made one last stop at a pullout before exiting the park.

We’d had a great trip and enjoyed ourselves. But we could still stop along the way at anywhere that looked interesting.

As we were ascending Highway 287 to cross the continental dive, it started to snow. June can still be winter in northern Wyoming.

As we made our way back down toward Dubois, Wyoming the temperatures increased and we were back in summertime.

Entering Dubois we saw a sign for the National Museum of Military Vehicles. Sure. Why not?

The National Museum of Military Vehicles

This museum blew us away. We were thinking we would have an hour stop and peruse the museum like most any other. Instead, after two hours we still weren’t done.

The museum is absolutely huge and full of historical military vehicles, rifles, and everything else related to American military history. It is laid our in chronological order and delves into the experiences of war at places like The Battle of the Bulge in WWII, in Korea, and Vietnam.

Included in the exhibits are German, Soviet, Japanese, and Chinese equipment from the various theaters of war. It was fascinating to see and we wondered how this immense, impressive museum had remained under the radar since it apparently opened in 2020.

Whatever the reason, this museum is a definite stop to make in Dubois, Wyoming.

I will be make a video of the museum and will be posting it here when it is ready.

After the museum we were pretty far behind schedule and needed to make up some time on the drive back.

We tried to get coffee again at the Buffalo Bean in Casper, but it had close for the day by the time we arrived. We had to settle for coffee at the travel center down the road (not as good but decent).

Final Thoughts

We really enjoyed this trip overall, and it was a good change of pace back to a roadtrip after several years of plane travel. I was also glad that we gave ourselves a few more days and this made it a bit more relaxing, allowed us to see and do more, and never feel rushed.

I always have a number of goals for a trip and this trip really met and exceeded in everything we hoped to accomplish. We saw more wildlife than I could have hoped for and all the major ones (bears, moose, wolves, etc). We completed all the hikes that we had planned out. We used our new cooler and hiking equipment to save time and money and to improve our overall experience. We got great photographs and video footage. We did fun activities and still left some places and activities for future visits.

I don’t know when we will be back, but it won’t be six full years again. These parks are only 1-2 days away and I’d be curious to visit in the fall even if visitor services are starting to close for the season. I’d definitely return in June though.

Cruise, Greece, Travel

Mediterranean Cruise, Part 9: Athens Museums

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I think of all the places we were going to be visiting on the trip, the one that most excited me was Athens. The reason was simple: it had the most bucket list sites and I had never been there.

Our NCL ship docked early at the port of Piraeus and with our luggage in hand we set about the process of self-debarkation. It was rather easy since we were literally one story above the exit gangway and didn’t need to use the elevators (which are always packed on embarkation and debarkation day).

Almost every time we’ve ben on a cruise the last day has been rather depressing. But knowing we had two days to enjoy Athens, and having gotten to the point we had in dealing with lackluster food, pushy people, and generally unfriendly staff, we were ready to get off the ship and be done with the cruise.

We had paid more to go on a Norwegian cruise and at the end of the cruise I can genuinely say that the only great thing about it was the itinerary. The food quality was subpar except at Cagney’s Steakhouse, the shipboard entertainment was pathetic, and we never even bothered trying to use the pool because we were kind of jaded by the pushy, rude people on the decks and around the ship.

Once off the ship we set about finding our driver who would take us to our hotel in the Plaka district. We found him and he helped us load our luggage and ourselves into the van for the drive to the city.

Driving into Athens was interesting. The city was certainly sprawling and full of graffiti. I mean, covered in it in places. It was somewhat unsettling.

Plaka, he told us, was one of the most beautiful places in Athens. We had chosen well. That was something I was counting on. I wanted to be as close to the major sites as possible, in a district that offered plenty of good restaurants.

As we neared the hotel he told us he could not drive all the way to the hotel itself. There was a pedestrian walkway that led to it. All we needed to do was going about 100 feet up the walkway and the hotel would be on the corner.

We exited with our luggage and found that the pedestrian walkway was indeed the case, and yet other drivers would in fact drive the narrow path causing some startled looks from pedestrians. Was it a walkway or a street?

The Kyria Boutique House was right on the corner. Well actually the doorway was right next to the souvenir shop on the corner. We arrived at the door and after a quick Whats App message the maid appeared to allow us to stow our luggage. It wasn’t yet even 9:00 AM and way too early to check in.

I chose the Kyria Boutique House because of the location and chose the largest suite room for our family. Two rooms and a big bathroom with a tub. Ideal for a family of four

But the location. I kid you not, the location is the best probably in the entire city. From the doorway to our room we literally needed to walk about fifty feet to the entrance of the Acropolis and the Acropolis Museum was just a tiny bit farther on the opposite side. We could walk to dozens of restaurants and souvenir shops. The location was utterly fantastic. Just what I intended.

With our luggage safely stowed we could visit the Acropolis Museum. The museum opened at 9:00 but our debarkation and trip to the hotel had gone so effortlessly well we were in line before the museum even opened.

People were gathering on the steps in front of the museum and we took our place there as well. It was good to be there when the museum opened because the museum was sure to get crowded shortly thereafter.

The Acropolis Museum

A Visit to the Archaeological Museums of Athens

Once inside we found that we needed to check our backpacks in at the entrance. No big deal. I had a smaller, sling pack I bought on Amazon that was allowed in the museum, and into which I could put everything I needed for perusing the museum. Including my GoPro.

Acropolis Museum

The Acropolis Museum contains the treasures taken from the Acropolis on the hill next door. Well, almost all the treasures. The Elgin Marbles aren’t here yet.

The museum collections are fascinating of course. We often think of the statues as having been colorless marble, but in many originally were painted and traces of the original colors can still be seen. In certain cases the museum displayed a reproduction to show how it would have looked with color.

The museum collection also spans centuries, as does the history of Athens. Classical Athens which covered the period from about 500 BC until around 300 BC is the most represented, as would be expected since the great monuments on the hill above were largely constructed in this time frame.

Before coming to the museum I had heard about the Caryatids and in particular their complex hairstyles. It’s interesting to think that women in ancient Greece might actually have had hair long enough to be styled in such a manner.

Regardless of whether the hairstyle was really possible, the statues are something to behold, as well as the fact that for over 2400 years they supported the weight of the Erechtheion Porch on the Acropolis. Now they are safely inside and replicas stand in their place.

After we had a rather slow breakfast in the museum cafeteria, we spent some time viewing the area below the museum. There is not a single area of the modern city that doesn’t have history buried beneath it. And that includes the ground below which the museum stands.

Beneath the Acropolis Museum

Beneath the museum are the ruins of an ancient neighborhood dating back to Roman and Byzantine times. The entire museum is supported by pillars just over these ancient dwellings.

As it was now approaching lunch time, and it was still not yet time to check in to the hotel, we wandered down one of the Plaka streets to find something to eat and drink. It was hot and a cool drink would help. Athens is always very hot in the summer, though we were fortunate to have arrived after a heat wave the prior week.

As we sat there eating, a tour group appeared behind us. The guide was talking about the craziest Athenian of all: Diogenes. We knew right away who he was talking about. He’s our favorite philosopher. If that term applies to a guy that lived in a barrel in the Agora. Because he wanted to avoid earthly comforts. Or so he claimed.

So after eating and discussing Diogenes and whether or not we’d find his barrel the next day in the Agora, we were ready to check in. We walked over to the hotel and were finally able to crash in our terrific suite. Right in the heart of everything and yet somehow quietly away from it all once inside. The perfect place to be in Athens.

We took some time to rest and relax. We were far from done that day, of course. But it does help to have some air conditioning to counter the midday sun in Athens.

Once we were fully rested, or rested enough, we walked down to the outside to a taxi stand. We overpaid for a ride to the National Museum of Archaeology. But getting there was worth it.

The National Museum of Archaeology

National Archaeological Museum

If you go to only one museum in your time in Athens (which would be a shame), it needs to be this one. As good as the Acropolis Museum was, it paled in comparison to the National Archaeological Museum.

The collections in the museum cover all of Greece, through every era of its history. You’ll find Minoan artifacts, artifacts from Troy (yes, the city burned in the Illiad and Odyssey), artifacts from Mycenaean graves including the death mask that Heinrich Schliemann called the Mask of Agamemnom.

You’ll see the evolution of Greek art as it became more sophisticated and they began making statues. You can see the artistry grow ever more intricate over time and by the late Classical and Roman era the statues are utterly beautiful (look at the statue of the girl resting).

Finally, there is the artifact that was the inspiration for the Dial of Destiny in the latest Indiana Jones: the Antikythera Mechanism. Of course modern research has determined that it was actually useful for tracking moon phases, which is an incredibly sophisticated achievement in itself. As well as a replica of Ptolemy’s astrolabe.

So by the time we were finished exploring we felt pretty convinced that this museum was the best we’d seen in Greece.

Return to Plaka

You can use Uber in Athens and it turned out to be the easier and cheaper way to hail a taxi. For half the price of our ride to the museum we got a ride back to our hotel. We walked a short distance and found a place tucked away beneath the hustle and bustle in the neighborhood above.

Having Dinner in Plaka

The restaurant was a bit pricy and kind of pretentious (we don’t really care what famous person ate there – especially if it’s a politician), but we were all feeling good and looking forward to exploring Athens more the next day.

Cruise, Greece, Travel

Mediterranean Europe, Part 6: Olympia, Greece

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Originally NCL had designated Corfu as the first stop in Greece. The stop was supposed to be a total of six hours, which really meant around 4 hours of actual time to visit the island. With such a short amount of time available, we were effectively limited to taking the ship’s excursion to a beach on the north side of the island (which was sure to be horrendously crowded by cruise goers).

Also, I know Corfu is a scenic and historic island, but the stop just wasn’t that interesting to me in comparison to much of the rest of Greece. There was simply nothing “bucket list” worthy for me among the sites available within a four hour window. If the original itinerary offered more time, we could have taken a boat to some of the beaches on nearby islands, which are often the most photographed in Greece.

So when NCL announced a month before departure that the port had been changed to Olympia, I was really quite excited. We would also now be in port from 11:00 AM to 7:00 PM, giving us eight hours of time to explore. A port stop that felt like a throw-away day now featured something much more interesting: Ancient Olympia.

Also, I really felt like seeing the Peloponnese was important to really getting to see Greece. It’s a separate region historically and culturally from Attica (where Athens is located) and the islands. Visiting the Peloponnese (even for five hours) was better than not visiting.

Soon after the announced change I looked online and found a Viator private tour in a car for a maximum of four people. That was perfect. We could get away from the crowds and be by ourselves and go where ever we wanted for five hours. I booked it and looked forward to arriving.

But now there was one problem, as I mentioned in the prior post. Shelley had fallen in Sicily and hurt her arms. Her right arm was in a sling and her left arm felt only marginally better. The x-rays taken the prior day revealed no bone fractures, but the medical staff on the ship suggested that she could get a CT scan at a medical clinic once we arrived in Katakolon to check for soft tissue damage.

As it turned out in the intervening hours, the medical staff wasn’t able to make contact with a clinic in Katakolon to have a CT scan performed. So there would be no trip to a medical clinic after all. And since we were taking a private car for the day, it would be much easier for her to take the excursion with us than otherwise. So we would be visiting Olympia together as a family. The way it should be.

Also, with her arm immobilized and the vacation only continuing for four more days, we had started to conclude that waiting to return home for an examination would be a better option. The x-rays showed no breaks and she could see an orthopedist once we returned home. Until then she would just be reliant on pain medication and our help to assist her as needed.

The next day we told the medical staff we would decline further medical care until we returned home.

Arrival in Katakolon

Our ship arrived at 11:00 AM in Katakolon and we quickly exited the ship to find our driver for the day. We found her rather quickly holding a sign with my name, and the four of us climbed into the seats of the nice, air-conditioned car while the rest of the cruise tours waited to board buses.

We started off toward Olympia and the driver told about the local area. The region between Katakolon and Olympia is an agricultural region and the orchards and vineyards made it feel similar to California’s Central Coast. I always enjoy traveling into rural areas and seeing how life is enjoyed away from the cities. it was a pleasant drive.

As we neared Olympia she suggested that we go first to a Honey Farm since we mentioned that being one of the places we would like to visit in the area. The archaeological site, she said, would be particularly busy and if we waited many of the tours would depart before we arrived.

Klio’s Honey Farm

Figs at Klio’s Honey Farm

I’m not sure why we don’t have any more photos than my single one of a fig tree, but Klio’s Honey Farm was a quiet respite from all of the craziness over the last week. The honey farm is a genuine farm alongside a stream where honey is produced as well as other products like lotions.

We enjoyed sitting and drinking fruit juice while learning about the evolution of beekeeping in Greece over the centuries. We did not get to see the bees themselves, but we did get to see the equipment and they told us to look for an ancient bee-keeping smoker in the archaeological museum (we did find it).

We bought some honey and it is very good stuff.

Olympia Archaeological Museum

The Olympia Archaeological Museum is nearby the Archaeological site. We first went to the museum which was air conditioned on a very hot (104 F) day to see the incredible display of artifacts from the Olympia site.

I was fascinated by the helmets and other artifacts to be found in the museum. The ancient Olympic games dated back to 700 BC, but the site itself has artifacts dating back to the Mycenaean Period going back to approximately 1000 BC.

There were two helmets that were particularly interesting to me situated next to each other in a display. One was the helmet of Militiades, the general that led the Athenians to victory over the Persians at Marathon. The other was a Parthian helmet (modern day Iran) that was captured by the Greeks and kept it as an offering to Zeus at Olympia.

You can see the helmet in the video, which also includes the archaeological site.

Exploring Ancient Olympia

Olympia Archaeological Site

Now for what we were most excited to see. The site of Ancient Olympia. Where the ancient games were held from 700 BC until around 300 AD.

The heat was stifling. It was 104 F and it was humid. But there is no way that was going to stop us from enjoying Olympia.

Olympia Archaeological Site

We started at at the gymnasium and worked our way through the site, stopping by the Philippeion (the partially circular structure), The Temple of Hera, the Treasuries, the Stadium, and the Temple of Zeus, before deciding it was time for a cold drink.

The Philippeion was ordered constructed by the father of Alexander the Great, Phillip II of Macedon. Phillip II successfully conquered and united all of Greece before his son went on to create a huge empire stretching into Egypt, Persia, and into India.

The Temple of Hera is the oldest structure at the site. It is at the Temple of Hera that the Olympic flame is lit every Olympiad (and 2024 is an Olympic year!).

Next we were very excited to enter the stadium under the arch and to do as the ancients did thousands of years ago. Daniel and I didn’t care how hot it was and neither did the dozens of others who ran the length of the ancient stadium. It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity.

Afterward, we wound our way back to a onsite shop selling cool drinks. And boy did we need one! Then we made a quick visit to the gift shop (and the air conditioning), before deciding it was time for an authentic Greek lunch. We were all smiling brightly, as you can see.

Enjoying Olympia

The Town of Olympia

We asked the driver where we could get gyros in Olympia and she took us to this restaurant. The food was good but the restaurant was a tad pricey. Still it was nice to sit outside and enjoy the day and the wandering cats while we ate.

Afterward we did some shopping and found the first of the Pythagoras Cups that were a priority of ours to find in Greece. And we got some shirts and a shot glass.

We were tired and hot but it was a fun and enjoyable day. I highly recommend taking a private tour if you can. It made it more relaxing and we never felt rushed. The driver was nice and taught us some Greek words and how to pronounce various letters. We had a few more days in Greece so we needed all the help we could get.

Now it was onward to Santorini.

Ευχαριστώ! Ef horisto (thank you very much)!

Hiking, History, Travel

Exploring New Mexico

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Exploring New Mexico

I’ve had the chance to explore several areas of New Mexico which I’ll detail in this page. New Mexico is a state full of historic sites dating back many hundreds of years, as well as natural wonders encompassing mountain and desert regions. Read on..