The Grand (Mis)Adventure: Day 1 – Laramie to Grand Teton National Park

“The Grand (Mis)Adventure” is a blog series chronicling my fourteen-day-turned-seven-day adventure in July 2025 through the rugged, awe-inspiring northwestern corner of Wyoming. From hiking and backpacking along the Continental Divide to paddle boarding on alpine lakes and camping under the stars, I’ll be sharing the highs, challenges, and misadventures from my summer vacation that didn’t go quite as planned.

July 13, 2025

Finally the much needed vacation was here! Though originally the plan for 2025’s grand adventure was driving to Alaska, by March I had begun switching gears to staying more “local” (is something 7 hours away really local?!). Fueled by winning a decent time slot in the Yellowstone National Park early access lottery for backcountry camping permits (I actually WON a lottery for once!), I compiled an itinerary together for the northwestern corner of Wyoming, complete with overly-ambitious backpacking plans across Yellowstone and the Wind River Mountains and new experiences in Grand Teton National Park.

By 7:30am I was headed west from Laramie , armed with a slew of downloaded playlists and podcasts. Driving diagonally across Wyoming usually goes one of two ways: painfully slow, or delightfully quick. Thankfully the latter was occurring for me today as the miles and landmarks clicked off.

Though the Gros Ventre Campground in Grand Teton National Park was the day’s goal, the thing I was looking forward to the most was making a pitstop in the uranium mining bust town of Jeffrey City for some pottery. Huh?

Yep, that’s right, pottery! For years I have passed by Monk King Bird Pottery, Byron Seeley’s eclectic studio in Jeffrey City without a second thought aside from a curious glance. After a recent conversation with coworkers about the sign for “primordial soup dishes,” I did a bit more internet sleuthing and realized I just had to make a stop to buy myself a new coffee mug and meet Byron personally!

After being personally greeted by Floyd (the dog) at my car, I wandered inside to be greeted by Bryon, who was wrapping up with another customer. He took the time to explain his unique style to me and how it is all dishwasher safe. I browsed and found my dream coffee mug and a piece for my parents before Byron and I took to chit-chatting and swapping small-town Wyoming stories that really only Wyoming folks get, like whole thing about our county numbers on our license plates. (Byron and I are both guilty of registering our vehicles in a different county than we live in, both our “home” counties!)

With my carefully wrapped package of pottery under my arm, I bid farewell to Monk King Bird Pottery and Jeffrey City after about twenty minutes or so, setting a course to Lander (gas stop), Dubois, and beyond to Togwotee Pass (pronounced “TOH-guh-tee”). This high mountain pass consisting of U.S. Highways 26 & 287 (reaching 9.655′ at its summit) is the most direct route to Grand Teton National Park from eastern Wyoming, and is named for Togwotee, a subchief of the Sheepeater tribe. Togwotee Pass is a recreation haven in its own right, very popular among snowmobilers in the winter, and hikers and campers in the summer months. The Continental Divide National Scenic Trail (CDT for short) crosses the highway!

Time was still flying by as I made it up the pass, and before I knew it the Tetons were in front of me as I swung into a roadside overlook.

Y’all.

You are not convincing me that the Tetons are not one of the most beautiful views in the world! Though it is standard operating procedure for Wyoming residents to roll their eyes about the Tetons because they are the number one representation of our great state, I find myself completely in awe of these mountains. I can stare at this mountain range all day long! There is a reason they are world-famous!

Knowing I’d have a face full of Tetons for the rest of my drive, I tore myself away from the overlook and continued west. I had all the best intentions of stopping at the Grand Teton National Park entrance sign, but as I approached there was a park employee very enthusiastically leaf blowing around the sign, appearing to not care if people wanted photos, so I continued on since I have photos of the sign already. I did stop at one of the pullouts along U.S. Highway 191 for some photos and excited, internal screeching about Grand Teton (and how I hope to summit it one day).

One reason the Teton Range is famous is because of the dramatic elevation profile visible from the eastern side, which rises sharply from 4,000 to 7,000 feet (1,200–2,100 m) above the valley floor. Unlike most mountain ranges, the east side of the Teton Range lacks significant foothills or lower peaks which might obscure the view. This is due to the presence of the Teton Fault at the base of the east slope as well as the range being too young to have eroded into soft hills. The Snake River flows southward through the valley before turning to the west and entering Idaho.

Wikipedia

Chores such as expensive gas stop at Dornan’s and getting my standup paddle board (SUP) inspection card completed, I hung out in the visitor center parking lot at the Craig Thomas Discovery & Visitor Center awaiting the adventure friend I had invited along to join on my trip for the Yellowstone backpacking to arrive from their journeys in Montana. Passport stamps, postcards, and boating permit acquired, it was time to head to the campsite for the night at Gros Ventre Campground. (Gros Ventre is pronounced “grow-vont.”)

Grand Teton National Park has eight campgrounds (with three being in Colter Bay, and then Gros Ventre, Jenny Lake, Lizard Creek, Signal Mountain and Headwaters), all fully reservable six months in advance. Camping reservations in GTNP are highly competitive, though you can get lucky utilizing the “Availability Alerts” feature of recreation.gov to score campsites closer to your travel dates when someone else cancels (that how I got Jenny Lake later on in my trip!). The downside to the campgrounds are they are very pricey, over $60 a night which I find to be a bit steep for the basic amenities they offer.

Home for the night was site #367 in the G loop. This is a tent-only site with room for two vehicles. Large cottonwood trees provided much needed afternoon shade (I cannot believe it was nearly 90 degrees!). Bathroom facilities with running water and flush toilets were just down the hill, along with the very strange dishwater “sink.” Just over Blacktail Butte I could see the highest reaches of Grand Teton (which reaches 13,770 feet/4,199 meters), which I found to be quite awesome (I’m obsessed with the mountain!).

As campers rolled in, the campfire smoke settled among the campsites (disgusting!), and I got to witness the comedy show that is someone blowing up one of those queen-sized several-feet-thick air mattresses outside of their tent, and then trying to shove it through the tent’s door. And early morning awaited me, so I settled in for a restless night’s sleep. Tomorrow’s agenda would include SUP-ing on String & Leigh Lakes before settling in for a night in Jenny Lake Campground. Stay tuned!