Days 33-34: Craters of the Moon NATIONAL MONUMENT to Half Moon Lake, WYOMING
The next day we got up and enjoyed some breakfast with the remaining campers, until the rain put an abrupt end to that. We said our farewells, and got on the road toward Victor, Idaho, where we had a glamping tent (another first!) reserved for the night. The drive from Craters of the Moon to Victor was pretty calm, carrying us back through Arco and on through Idaho Falls, almost to the border of Wyoming. We rolled into Moose Creek Ranch mid-afternoon and took a look around, then found our way to the back of the property, over a little footbridge, to our wood-sided tent, right on the edge of Moose Creek. The cabin/tent is pretty ingenious—complete with windows, doors, and a wood-burning stove, but a canvas roof that lets you hear the wildlife and the rushing waters of the creek as you sleep.
All checked in, we hopped back in the car and crossed over into Wyoming. We decided to take a drive through Grand Teton National Park, making a few quick stops along the park's loop road. The weather was less than ideal, but the park was no less beautiful with dark clouds rolling over the Teton Range. We made a quick stop by the Jackson Lake Dam (below), then continued on toward Jackson.
After battling through the slightly painful traffic to get from Grand Teton to Jackson, we took a walk through the downtown area, which was pretty lively for a rainy Wednesday evening. We stopped by Jackson Whole Grocer (two thumbs up) and then made our way back to to Moose Creek Ranch to make some dinner and enjoy our (now super dark) cabin/tent.
The next day we got up bright and early and hit the road. Our friend Jeanne from Craters of the Moon had told us about a few different camping options along our route, and we were pretty committed to finding a good spot at one of them (most of which were first come, first served). The drive was composed mostly of roads through tree-covered mountains and funny little towns, ending in the town of Pinedale, the gateway to the Wind River Mountains. We've come across some funny/interesting town mottos over the course of the trip, and Pinedale was definitely up there: "All the Civilization You Need!" And it does have just about all that you need, including a perfect campground just outside of town and down a little dirt road.
Past the much larger Fremont Lake, we found Half Moon Lake Campground (actually a little shy of the campground we'd been directed to). We found a perfect spot in the trees, not too far from the little sandy beach of Half Moon Lake. We set up camp and headed down to the lake, just a few minutes walk. The lake is very calm and very beautiful, with one of those super-reflective surfaces that shows the tree-covered slopes around it. Best of all, it was very empty, with just a few others out enjoying the little sandy beach.
We went for a swim, then headed back to the car to get some supplies in Pinedale. On our way, we stopped at a turn-off and climbed up to the ridge overlooking Fremont Lake for a better view (see below). We picked up a few things in Pinedale, then headed back to our campsite to build a fire and cook up some dinner before calling it a night.
On a ridge overlooking Fremont Lake (below)
