Home in the Teton Valley

Idaho is very dear to our hearts, specifically our corner of heaven in the little town of Tetonia. A decade ago we fell in love with the valley and the spectacular 4-peak Teton view. We bought a 3 -1/4 acre piece of property (affectionately known as “Lot 5”) with the intention of eventually building what Linda likes to call a “lobin”, half lodge, half cabin. In any case, a dwelling of some sort. Right now, it’s looking like it will be the place where we finally settle down when we come off the road. Whenever we can, we come “home” for a visit. Among the many lots in the development, there has only been one house built. We’ll eventually break ground but not for now.

 
We are lucky indeed to have a little slice of heaven right here in the Teton Valley.

An aerial view of Lot 5 in Tetonia.

We stayed at a campground in Tetonia last year and really enjoyed its proximity to our property and its closeness to Yellowstone, Teton National Park and Jackson Hole. We lucked out at that time because we got a great deal just before peak season began. Not so this year. The price had risen to $65 per night and was out of our budget range so we looked around for alternatives.

Linda found a boondocking spot called the Big Eddy. It’s just a few minutes drive from neighboring Driggs, right on the banks of the Teton River with a to-die-for view of the mountain peaks. We had read it was a little tricky to get to – the roads in the area are unpaved so we’d have to take it pretty slow through the dust, dirt and loose gravel.

Driving in Scoopy felt like we were rolling over washboard upon washboard. We got rattled more than we did during our entire Alaska trip. At one point, the driver’s side electric front window shade became unhinged, fell and nearly clocked Linda in the head. Thankfully we arrived without injury. More negotiating through potholes was necessary to finally land at our campsite. There were only a few other people camping and some left over the next couple of days. It felt like we had the place to ourselves and the best part…it was free! Did I tell you we love this life??

The sun rose from behind the Tetons each morning with lots of cloud drama. Sandhill Cranes filled the sky and we had a visit from some moose from time to time. One day, I looked out of our front window and saw a bull moose, complete with big rack, trotting right past Scoopy. I pointed outside to Linda and couldn’t even speak the words “moose” because I was so excited….it was a very cool sight to see 🙂

The light on the Teton peaks was forever changing…always dramatic!

A bald eagle flies across the Tetons.

 
Hot to trot – a bull moose from Scoopy’s window and a Great Horned owl wants you to heed the signs.

A mother moose and her two young whippersnappers have breakfast together just outside our window.

This photo by Linda looks like a painting. So serene by the Teton River.

We saw Sandhill cranes in a nearby field most mornings.

Scoopy was pretty comfortable with this view.

We had vowed upon arrival to start walking about 10,000 steps a day in preparation for our upcoming Amazon gig. There were lots of trails and roads to walk and the sprawling yellow and gold surrounding farmland made for a beautiful backdrop. This walking thing wasn’t too bad we thought. We also made a concerted effort to begin a more healthy diet. The Amazon job was going to be like a daily workout at the gym so we decided we wanted to take full advantage of the opportunity to lose a few pounds in the process.

 
Our walking trails were always interesting with plenty of eye candy.

 
We finally got a Selfie Stick but only for emergencies and weird Tiny Planet shots like this one.

There is a ten-day limit at the Big Eddy which is rigorously enforced, so we stayed nine. Our plan was to move on to another favorite campground of ours in West Yellowstone called Bakers Hole. We set off one day on a reconnaissance mission to check out the campground and also visit our beloved Yellowstone. We stopped by Henry’s Lake State Park on the way and, with a wonderful view of the lake and its relatively close proximity to Yellowstone, we decided we would stay there instead. Besides, it had full hookups and we needed to get laundry done and just not worry about finding a place to dump, etc. Between all the boondocking we had done in Alaska and now at the Big Eddy (and a mouse problem we’ll get into in the next post), we deserved a little time with all the amenities.

An aerial view of Scoopy in the Big Eddy!

All in all, our visit to Tetonia was productive and relaxing. It’s always good to check out what’s happening at our property plus we got a lot of walking in and saw plenty of wildlife. What else is there??

UP NEXT: Henry’s Lake.

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