The Greg Outdoors: Mountains

Leaving The Gates of Lodore, Joyce and I packed up and headed out to the Grand Tetons National Park. We had a long way to go and on line decided to try for Kozy Campground on the Hoback River some 35 miles shy of our destination. The route took us to a gravel road, and we turned around and instead took the 191 through a lovely northeast corner of Utah and into Wyoming across expansive high plateau grasslands undulating with rivers and gorges. We went for miles wondering why someone built this road just for us, since we hardly saw a soul on it, other than the occasional alert Pronghorn. As Joyce says, it gives room for the soul to breathe! The desert landscape in Arizona appeals to us for that reason.

Kozy Campground is a first come first served with no reservations campground costing $10 per night. Our Senior Lifetime Multiagency pass has already returned our investment of $80 several times over by now. A site tucked into a corner with a view through the vegetation of the Hoback river was our home for the next 2 days, and a great place to hear and see the yellow-rumped warblers with their young playing about in the trees. We were alone at the camp but for a bike-packer and another couple on Monday.

Kozy Campground lives up to its name

We took walks along the river, and found out there were falls and a hot spring nearby. We slept to the sounds of the gurgling river. So the second day we drove the 9 miles up a gravel road to Granite Falls. The tremendous thundering sound of the water was so satisfying.

Granite Falls

The hot springs were build by the CCC. There was a large pool with a gradient of heat from the source to the edge. Joyce found it not quite as steamy as she likes. We met a number of folks relaxing from Rock Springs nearby but also 2 lovely young ladies--a Park Biologist and a student from Colombia that Joyce quickly befriended. I thought about hiking the 9 miles back to camp and then thought better of it.