A Weekend In the Tetons

When people ask me about my favorite trip in the van, it might be this one. I met back up with my friend Mel in Salt Lake City and she asked if I wanted to go up to the Tetons with her for the weekend. I had never been so I said “Let’s do it”.

She was planning to meet up with some friends once we got there but when we got into town, her friends had decided on somewhere else. This is probably the only trip in the van that I had done zero research on before heading out. Since Mel had been before and knew a couple of places to stay, I wasn’t too worried about it. 

I followed her lead and saw the Tetons for the first time. It was the perfect time of year, still snowy in the mountains but melted below. It’s true what people say about the Tetons, there’s just something magical about seeing them for the first time. There are also so many wild animals in the area so it’s the perfect place to see moose. 

When we got to camp, there were two guys starting a fire nearby. They looked to be about our age so we parked near them and decided to try to make friends with them. I got out and quickly said hello. I think I actually said something like “Hi, I’m Abby. This is Marv. He isn’t nice” - quite a way to say hello to people I have never met. But they were kind and offered to let us join in on their fire. We ended up hanging out together for the evening and made plans to all go hiking in the morning in the national park. 

The next day, we got up and hiked in the rain/snow around a lake and had a really great time. Then we met another girl in town and learned that she also had a van. The four of us ended up hanging out and grabbing beers in town and sharing the weekend together. 

This was one of those spur of the moment fleeting trips that was just so much fun in such a short window. I am still friends with all of them and it was one of the most memorable weekends in the van so far.