Part 5: the best part of a dream journey

Mark Twain said, "Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindededness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, whole, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one's little corner of the earth all one's lifetime."

Traveling is important to me, and it is life-changing and life-expanding. Besides my frequent warm weather jaunts to East Tennessee or Western North Carolina or Northern Georgia to kayak with friends, I like to have a "big" trip in the saving's and planning stage.

Right now I'm saving, but I haven't quite decided where I'll go next. I'm considering the following places in no particular order: Charleston, SC; Highway 1 in Northern California; Mammoth Cave, KY; Rocky Mountain National Park, CO; Outter Banks, NC, Glacier National Park, MT, and Greece and Ireland. Just day-dreaming and listening to intuition for now.

The Pacific North West (Seattle and Victoria, British Columbia), the Grand Canyon, Alaska, Yosemite, and New England (Vermont and Acadia, Maine, especially) have been some of my favorite places that I've visited, And now I can add the Grand Tetons to that list!

As I exited Yellowstone and traveled along US 26/89/191 on the sixth day of my 12-day journey, I wasn't quite prepared for what was to greet me. I turned a curve in the road, and suddenly, there they were--bigger than life--the Grand Tetons--one of the prettiest parts of the Rocky Mountains. My mouth literally dropped open. There they stood in their granite majesty with their sharp, craggy, icy, rocky beauty. There they stood against the bluest skies and reflected in the waters of Jackson Lake.

In contrast to their largeness bloomed the sweetest, little yellow spring flowers with brown centers.

Oh my, the Grand Tetons are indeed the loveliest mountain range I have ever seen! I will have to paint them one day soon.

Like any other place, of course, I'm sure you know that mere pictures don't do those mountains justice because pictures are simply one dimensional and visual. If one is not there, s/he misses out on the sounds, the fragrances, the tastes, and feel of the place. But the pictures take me back momentarily to my experience of the place.

These spring beauties were captured a few days later at Jenny Lake, along with these lovely aspen trees.

This is the picture that I will paint one day, but I will make the sky blue with those white clouds and the water of Jackson Lake will sparkle from the sun's rays! The Tetons are among the youngest mountains on the continent. Together the mountain range and valley (in which sits the town of Jackson) frame a majestic landscape of eight large lakes, many glaciers, numerous snowfields, and extensive pine, fir, and spruce forests.

After many more stops along the way that afternoon, I arrived in the famous ski town of Jackson or Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Jackson Hole sits in a high mountain valley; that's why it's usually called Jackson Hole. The valley is encompassed by the ranges of the Grand Tetons, bordered by the Teton Range on the west and the Gros Ventre Range on the east. Bisected by the Snake River, the valley is 80 miles long and 15 miles wide. It is a recreational utopia.

The town of Jackson has a marvelous old town square, adorned in each corner with four elk horn arches. It is dotted with a mix of historical buildings, upscale eateries, shops, and saloons. It is an art collector's paradise. The side walks appear to be made of old barn boards.

I spent the next four days in Jackson Hole--sight-seeing, hiking, shopping, rafting, and learning some of its history. After moutain men explored the area and trapped animals, the Homestead Act drew pioneers willing to take a chance on improving a free plot of land by the 1890s. The harsh climate sent many packing, but those who stayed and toughed it out used the abandoned parcels of land to their advantage and developed large ranches.

Several days later as I was buying boots for my granddaughters Tessa and Livvy, I actually met some of those ranchers, coming into town on a Saturday night!

Besides getting back to the Grand Tetons National Park every day that I could, I was looking forward to my raft trip on the celebrated Snake River.