The Mountains Called and WE found the quaking Aspens!

Day 3 started out with time to relax. Don headed out early to do a solo visit to some of his favorite spots. I slept in a bit and then after breakfast enjoyed walking around Teton Village and just enjoying the atmosphere.

the view from our balcony

Teton Village is a winter ski resort with many hotels/restaurants/shops and lots of activities for the family. In the summer it is a great location for being close to the parks and also lots of hiking/activities for all ages right on the grounds. We love it!!

This open space is an ice skating rink in the winter and is usually filled with families and kids running around in the summer. It was so peaceful with a nice chill in the air. I hung out her just appreciating the views and quiet for a while.

I had to get a coffee from the General Store, a favorite place for fancy smoothies and coffees in the summer with Carleigh and Katie.

The Tram, also known as Big Red takes you on a 4 minute ride to the top of the highest peak in Teton Village and there's usually snow up there and also a great waffle restaurant. In the winter, people take it up to ski off the peak and in the summer, you can go up and go hiking and exploring. Carleigh and Katie have paraglided off the peak in the summer. 

Meanwhile, Don was exploring Schwabacher Landing and enjoying his solitude out in nature. :) 

We reconnected at about 11:00 am and plotted out the rest of our day. A goal of this trip was to find the Aspen trees and see the colors. As I was researching this, I learned a lot about quaking Aspens. I was determined to see the "quaking" part. 

When the leaves change to yellow, as the breeze blows through, if the sun is at the perfect position it looks like the tree is shimmering. I was on a mission to find the perfect shimmer. There were lots of  Aspens in the park and they were beautiful. 

We decided to head to Two Oceans Lake to see what the sun was doing there. Don and Carleigh found this hike during our July, 2021 visit. It was a beautiful hike along the lake with groves of Aspen trees. 

a picture from July, 2021

We ventured out hoping they would be shimmering and "quaking."

The colors definitely didn't disappoint! The pictures don't do it justice, yellow everywhere!

insert video

Here are two videos that captured the "quaking Aspens" on the Two Ocean hike. If you look closely you can see the shimmering in the breeze.

After a modified hike at Two Ocean Lake, we drove around a little and found some other fun spots. Don has explored this area so much over the past 13 years, that he knows all of the out of the way, hidden spots. We found one and drove down to the water beyond Oxbow Bend. The water levels are so low right now, compared to previous visits.

 

We were still recovering from our 14 hour day yesterday, so we decided on an early  dinner and going back to the room and relaxing.  We finally returned to an old favorite, Calico. It is an Italian restaurant close to Teton Village. We've been there a couple of times with the girls. 

After dinner, we returned to Teton Village and rested up for tomorrow. 

Stay tuned for Day 4! The Bingo Card is filling up and we are on the lookout for BEARS. Did we find one? 

It's always Seldom A Dull Moment with the Rahns!