Catching Up

Photo by Sophie Mabry

We’ve been to the Jackson area enough times that we thought we had most of it covered but things just keep popping up that we’ve never done before so busy has been what we’ve been. We paddled String and Leigh Lakes a couple of days back and then indeed did float the Snake River from the Jackson Lake Dam. Along the way we saw another bear and an eagle decided he wanted to land on my wife’s kayak. At the last moment he veered off for the shore but my wife still had the presence of mind to snap what may turn out to be the best pic of our trip. 

I should mention that we’re putting up some of our best pics for folks to enjoy on Instagram so check them out if you’re so inclined at davidmabry8490. 

Last night we spent some time watching moose strutting their stuff in front of the most photogenic location one can imagine. Just up the trail from where the moose was munching on river grass a wedding was taking place complete with a bride decked out in a flowing white gown and groom suitably attired in a tux. All on a trail more suited to hiking boots and backpacks but the wedding party and moose had the same idea for the perfect backdrop from which to be photographed. And then on our way back to camp we saw a small herd of buffalo giving the moose a run for their money. The only thing we haven’t managed to spot is a grizzly though we’ve been hiking in some relatively secluded and supposedly prime grizzly habitat. We both carry bear spray and one always feels a tad foolish when returning to the trailhead with nary a sign of Ursus Arctos Horriblis but Mr. Murphy

predicts the one time we don’t carry our bear spray is the time we’ll see ‘ole  grizz up close and too personal. 

On a completely different note we took in a dinner theatre show in Jackson. The production was “Paint Your Wagon” which is one of my favorite musicals and the cast made up of actors from across the country did a wonderful job of bringing the story of gold fever to life and song. There’s some talented folks in these here parts and not all of them swing rope and ride horses. Oh, and the dinner part of dinner theatre was not too bad either - my wife had the bison meatloaf and it looked and smelled good enough for me to almost want to give up being a vegetarian. 

We’ve had some afternoon and evening showers lately. Not passing thunderstorms like we get in Colorado  but rain that lasts for hours which make for great sleeping weather. Temps at night are starting to creep down to the cool but not yet cold low to mid 40’s. I hear tell that the Colorado high country has already had its first taste of the white stuff but so far here there hasn’t been any snow even on the higher peaks that we’ve seen. 

Today we’re headed a little farther north to America’s first National Park celebrating it’s 150th anniversary. I can’t really remember, but I think I was in Yellowstone for it’s 100th as well when just a young lad tagging along with my folks. There’s a heightened emphasis on acknowledging the original inhabitants of this land and the Indian tribes and Park Service seemed to have formed some long overdue alliances to manage the stewardship of some of our National Parks going into the future. At Madison Junction

on the road from Old Faithful to West Yellowstone we stopped to see a celebration of native culture out on the meadow leading down to the river and it hit home that it was the first time I had ever seen a tipi actually in the Park. I’m not sure European immigrant descendants and indigenous peoples can ever fully reconcile what was a very brutal chapter but it’s heartening to see the effort being put forth by some on both sides.