Wednesday - June 22

This is being posted from a McDonald's on the way into Grand Tetons and reflects my thoughts last night.  Expect no posts or pictures until Wednesday of next week.

Today has been a perfect day. We had to be at the campground office at 7:15 to catch our ride for out float trip on the Snake River. I must be getting use to less sleep because my eyes popped open at 5:15 and I could not go back to sleep. I laid there feeling cozy in the covers and checked my email, facebook and words with friends. Surprisingly, I have 3G service on my cell although I don’t expect that to continue after today.


We got the kids up and everyone ate breakfast and dressed for warmth because the low last night was 43 degrees. We walked over to the office, caught the bus which stopped in town to pick up a few more people and then drove us to the launch site. We noticed the whole way out that the rivers and creeks were over their banks and we heard this morning that parts of the highway in South Dakota are closed because of flooding. The Tetons and the Gros Ventres range have had 320% more snowfall than normal and many of the snowcaps that we have seen on our drive would normally be melted by now. This means that the river is high and those venturing out on the whitewater trip were sure to have an exciting ride. It also means that the river is flowing at a pretty good pace for the scenic trip. We met our guides and got our life vests. Fortunately, the four of us had a boat all to ourselves which was really wonderful.

We launched onto the river and were floating away which some great views of the Grand Tetons. The whole thing took about 2 and a half hours and it was beautiful. There were no clouds in the sky and the temperatures started to warm up. Lorelei and I put on our hats because we were cold but otherwise we were quite comfortable. Luke quickly made friends with Bryson and Morgan and they were trading jokes and stories in no time. The first animal we saw was a marmot on the back of the river. Pretty quickly after that we saw our first bald eagle. There were also many flocks of pelicans that fish by working in a group and\ trapping the fish in a cove and walking toward the shore with their mouths open. They can hold 3 gallons in their throat pouch which is pretty impressive. We saw a hawk and a western bluebird, they have light grey/blue bellies as opposed to an eastern bluebird which has a white/brown belly. Lorelei loved seeing the eagles and I was hoping for a moose but will have to wait on that one. Our guides did give us some tips for seeing some in Grand Tetons so I still have my fingers crossed. All in all, we saw 10 eagles and two nests which our guides told us was a lot for the river conditions. Usually you only see that many when the water is a little calmer. For my Hollywood loving friends, we also saw Uma Thurman’s house (she is here less than 50% of the time) and Harrison Ford’s ranch, which he grooms for the cross country ski team to practice on. He is a resident because he is here more than 50% of the time and he is apparently a snowboarder and likes to hang out at the ski resorts in the winter.

The guides told Luke that he could steer the boat and the entire trip, he kept asking was it his turn. As we neared the end, they gave him his chance. And in fact Lorelei and Scott also had the chance to steer. They use oars to steer the rafts we were on and Scott was used to paddles from his rafting adventures but he did pretty good and I had a momentary wish of us moving some place like this and him being a river guide. It would be fun. The kids seemed to enjoy themselves. We went through one bumpy spot and Lorelei really liked that. I think she is going to love a big whitewater adventure.

We landed at a little cove and the bus was there waiting to take us the 10 minutes back to the campground. It was a very nice birthday present.

It was nearly time for lunch and we were all happy to relax and warm up a little so we turned on a movie and ate lunch. Scott and I took showers and did two loads of laundry. Then we played several games of cornhole. Next we read our book aloud in the shade of our awning as the cotton from the cotton wood trees clew by. The temperature was perfect and everyone was content. I did a little yoga and meditation as the kids played some games on Scott’s iPad.

Scott made crab cakes and rice for dinner, my favorite thing to eat and we are now preparing for s’mores and a toasty fire. There’s no birthday cake but I think this great day made up for it.

Tomorrow we drive into Grand Tetons and will be hiking at Jenny Lake. I have heard it is really beautiful and I cannot wait to stretch my legs in these beautiful mountains. We will also be joined at Colter Bay in the park by my aunt Pam and Riley. We have dinner reservations at the Jackson Lake Lodge which is supposed to be great food.

On Friday we will drive into Yellowstone to stay until Tuesday. Everything I have read says that cell service is spotty in Yellowstone and I will not have access to Wifi until we reach Cody, WY so I will have abbreviated posts that are texted in at best and likely there will be none. I will be writing our adventures each night so look for a fun read mid-next week.

If you happen to be bored on Friday around lunchtime eastern time, check out the Old Faithful camera at the following link. www.yellowstone.net/ofliveoriginal.htm You might catch a glimpse of us!!