Page 3 of the the RV Gypsies at Grand Teton National
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---- String Lake ---- |
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Glacial lakes such as String Lake go through may changes. Once the lake is filled with meltwater from a glacier, the lake begins to fill with sediment. The inlet for String Lake is the outlet for Leigh Lake, just to the north. Sediment flowing out of Leigh Lake fills in the upper end of String Lake.
Each winter avalanches bring a fresh crop of rocks, boulders and trees down the slope directly across the lake, helping to fill it in.
Eventually String Lake will be reduced to a wandering stream flowing between grassy banks and today's lake bed will become a field of wildflowers dotted with boulders. The shrubs and trees that are now seen here will slowly move in from the edges to form groves of willow and eventually lodgepole pine stands.
All will wait patiently for the next glaciers to move down out of Cascade, Paintbrush and Leigh canyons and begin the cycle again. Many of the lakes in the park have slowly filled with sediment, becoming ponds, marshes, meadows and finally fields of wildflowers. |
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Below: Jenny Lake at Grand Teton National
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Oxbow Bend
The favorite area of the two RV Gypsies in Grand Teton National Park. |
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Below:
The two RV Gypsies by the slow-moving channel of the Snake River at
Oxbow Bend. They met very few people here, which was really surprising,
but allowed for great scenery and photography. |
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Below: The mountain is reflected in the
water, but the smoke from the fires still loomed heavily in the air.
The reflection can be seen better in the zoomed-in photo. Although the
two RV Gypsies found this scenery to be breath-taking, they could only
imagine how much more fantastic this would be if there was not any smoke
in the air. |
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Below: Karen Duquette by the Snake River at Oxford Bend - but Karen was in fall colors and blended in with the bushes. Lesson Learned. |
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Below: The boat launching area at Grand
Teton National Park |
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According to the sign above, this is Pacific Creek Landing leading to Deadman's Bar: This section of the river drops in elevation significantly, increasing the current. Braided channels make route finding difficult and requires skill and constant awareness. |
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The Snake River, wild and dynamic, provides challenges that rapidly test the skill of boaters. Braided channels and shifting log jams present difficulties found on few Whitewater rivers. Boaters boating the Snake River must watch for areas of swift current, blocked channels and hazards such as submerged rocks or logs, sweepers and strainers. River water remains cold throughout most of the year, increasing the risk of hypothermia. |
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Further on down the road, the two RV Gypsies
came to Snake River Overlook. Here, there were a lot of people were
taking photos at this overlook, but the mountains were still covered
with heavy smoke from the fires. Three more fires have recently been
reported at this park. |
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Below: Buffalo Fork - photos taken from
the moving car on the bridge |
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