The first park on the National Park circuit with Jake and Jill is one that we have passed by several times in our life, but have not dedicated any amount of time to. Its a place that has always been of interest, especially for its rock climbing potential, but somehow, someway, life never brought us to this destination.

One thing we’ve discovered about this life of travel is that while it is fun, it takes a toll on the body and mind. Sleeping in a new place every night and not knowing where we’re headed on a daily basis is difficult to endure as time goes on. At least while we are aboard the sailboat, our home follows us. But on land, we have nowhere to call home [yet]. And we would hate to wear out our welcome with friends and family. Maybe we’ll get lucky and find a place from which we can come to during those in-between sections of this traveling life.

After we got back from hiking in New Zealand, we decided that in lieu of returning to Bosco boat, we wanted to take the next few months to explore the possibilities and maybe, with some luck, find our next home. I’ve said it before, but there are only 3 “must-haves” on this list: Mountains and Trees, peace and quiet and space to grow and build Bosco Station (which I will explain later).

Operation Land Grab was the primary mission, but not the only mission. We are Jake and Jill Adventures after all, and that means we have to find ways to keep it fun, too. If we find a home, great. If we don’t, at least we have a lot of memories to recall and maybe the journey will reveal something about where we should go next?

Colorado seems an obvious choice to start. We know Colorado, we do love Colorado. But we have done that already and I think we’re both ready for something new. That left us with a choice of north or south. We opted for north, and sought out the next place along the path that looked appealing.

The northwestern corner of Wyoming, we know, is very beautiful and lush, housing 2 major National Parks. We knew only of one town, Jackson Hole, in the area. However, we also know that its a place not unlike the city we used to live. Its very overcrowded and touristy and, sadly, quite expensive. But perhaps there nearby areas with similar terrain and at a fraction of the cost? Cody, Wyoming is not too far outside of the area of Yellowstone and the Tetons. Perhaps it could be a good place to begin our hunt.

And so, that’s where we begin. Old Blue is all geared up to be our home on the road for the next few months. We planned to camp (and specifically, free camp) as much as possible along this voyage.

And so it begins

Grand Teton National Park

We have spent many days exploring all that the Tetons has to offer. It is just down the road from Jackson, WY and it often gets overshadowed by big brother, Yellowstone.

We spent our days hiking along the foot of the grand mountains or lazing about at camp. Thankfully our visit wasn’t overly crowded and that made camping much more enjoyable. There was tons of animal activity, especially around dawn and just after sunrise. Thankfully we did not encounter anything too dangerous, though we spotted several bear tracks and scat on one of the longer day-hikes (about 8 miles round trip).

And one of the best things about this area is that you can swim in the lake! Its icy cold but that’s nothing compared to the frigid waters we used to bathe in just a few months earlier.

So as National Parks go, this is a good one, not to be missed.