Despite that varied dress, the guests at any Grand Teton lodge all share one common reaction to their experience. They all feel awed by the beauty of the Grand Teton Mountains. Their awe would no doubt increase greatly, could they picture what the future holds for those mountains. Mankind can get a glimpse of that future by viewing a different set of mountains.
The Grand Teton Mountains rise above both Jackson Lake and the Snake River. A more northern section of the Snake River runs through the mountains that stretch along the border between Oregon and Idaho. There the Snake River has shown how it can change mountains. There the Snake River has carved out the deepest canyon in the United States.
Unfortunately, only one of the many lodges within the Grand Teton National Park provides its guests with an opportunity to stay at lakeside lodging. Yet more than one Grand Teton lodge can make a guest feel warm and welcome at this majestic Park. Some guests choose to enjoy the warmth of a one room cabin with a fireplace. Other guests carry a key to a suite with a kitchenette.
Most guests at a Grand Teton lodge can easily fill a day with golfing, hiking, canoeing, hunting or fishing. Sometimes, however, the guests get to enjoy a special lodge event. Sometimes on a summer evening the area outside of a Grand Teton Lodge might look more like the traditional circle of covered wagons. On those nights, the lodge would probably be hosting a Chuckwagon BBQ.
Even during the winter months, a guest at a Grand Teton lodge could hope for some special entertainment. The lodges sometimes host a dinner sleigh ride. Guests can then admire the shadows on the snow and contemplate the possible appearance of the northern lights. They can tilt their heads up, to look at the magic of the winter sky, and forget about the coolness of the night air.
In fact, it would be difficult to decide on the ideal time for a visit to a Grand Teton lodge. During the winter, a lodge guest could go snowshoeing. During the summer, a lodge guest might paddle a canoe on Jackson Lake or take a hike along the Snake River. During the winter, a guest could marvel at the beauty of the moon on the snow. During the summer, a guest could use binoculars to watch the Park wildlife.
While some of the Park wildlife remains throughout the winter, a number of the animals in Grand Teton National Park hibernate during the winter months. Those animals do not seek a winter quarters with a view of the lake or with a fireplace. Those animals have no concerns about what they will eat while in their winter quarters. Those animals pick-out their own sort of Grand Teton lodge, a “lodge” far different from any that the Park’s human guests might inhabit.