Tetons

It’s 7:48am. We’ve already packed up our second camp at the Tetons and are halfway to Yellowstone. We won’t have time to stay and explore Yellowstone, but will press on to South Dakota.

Last night was epic. Camped overlooking Jackson Lake in the Tetons, tall trees swaying and the 4 of us laying in our tent, a thunderstorm came up. We don’t get real thunderstorms in Seattle. Sometimes we get a bit of thunder or lightning, but not a real storm with the wind whipping and the clouds clapping and lighting up. Thunderstorms are a part of my history that brings excitement and joy. I have many memories of waking up to the smell of a just finished storm. It smells like electricity, invigorating and full of promise. So last night with my son gripping my neck for fear of the thunder, Nate and I laid there enjoying the familiar sounds and smells, almost giddy, wishing we could leave the kids in the tent and find some bluff to stand on feeling the wind fly by and kick up our spirits.

The whole day, in fact, was grand. We had camped the previous night in the southern part of the park and had decided we wanted to find something closer in with better views. So we set out, it took us a couple hours, but the timing worked out perfectly to place us in such an amazing spot. After setting up camp we decided to take the kids hiking and swimming for the morning. For a 4 year old, we have a brave one. He jumped right into the icy mountain lake, knees, waist, then chest high. I think for him, being in the water is much like being in a thunderstorm is for us, as long as its safe being on the edge of safe is the best place to be. He is fearless. Baby girl also found herself in the water enjoying some time to move around and play, I see now she is as fearless as her big brother. An afternoon thunderstorm put us in the tent for a nice snooze and the evening found us fighting off mosquitos by the dozens as we drove up to an overlook to see the valley below. Along the way we ran across a male grous attempting to attract a mate. His feathers fluffed up behind him, all his glory on show, this for the female who was aimlessly wandering around about 100 feet off paying no attention. It made me think of how often we are like that male grous, all dressed up, trying to live life, to connect with someone, and for many people they find themselves shouting hello to perfect strangers just to talk to another person. The Tetons themselves are the grandest of reminders that many times we need to simply revel in the grandeur around us and in the people around us. Today reminded me of that with my family. Finally feeling freedom from the rules of everyday life, we all reveled in one another. Less ‘no’ and ‘don’t do that’ and more laughter and giggles. Being less like a bunch of female grouses ignoring each other, we took time to invest in our family and it has brought a closeness that had been run over by the mundane routine of the everyday. My hope is to build on this and bring it back to the everyday with us.

On to South Dakota and beyond. A photo album will hopefully be put up soon, but as there isn’t wi-fi on every corner (?!) it may take some time.