Monday, August 22, 2011

A DAY IN GRAND TETON NATIONAL PARK


7210 feet above Jenny Lake. I felt like I had scaled
Mt. Everest!
 We're staying at a motel in Jackson, WY for a couple of nights so we can take advantage of the myriad wonders of Jackson Hole. We spent ALL DAY driving out of Jackson, north into Teton National Park. The folks at the Visitors Center outlined a trip we could take via car and foot. Although we didn't encounter any unique wildlife (afterall, we have herds of bison at the Witchita Wilderness in Oklahoma), the Teton mountains were spectacular! One of the highlights of our day: a climb up to Inspiration Point at an altitude of 7200+ feet. For us flat-landers it seemed a heck of lot higher.

Joan opted out just short of the summit. But I forged ahead to the top. I have to admit I am no longer the mountain goat I thought I was back in the carefree summer days in Idaho while working for the Forest Service (1955 & 1956) when my brother, Mike, and good friend, Joe Ulliman, thought nothing of hiking up-country and surprising the folks in fire towers atop the many mountains in the Sawtoooth Range of the Rocky Mountains.

Anyway, I was determined to make it to the top! (I overlooked the fact that some of the people passing by me were toting their young'uns on their backs!) Well, I finally reached the top. Thank goodness for light-weight walking sticks!

We made a final stop at the Laurance S. Rockefeller Preserve. But we were too pooped to take another 2 hour trek. Had to get back and do laundry!

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