Action Jackson

I had always thought of Salt Lake as a city next to a lake in the middle of some high desert area. Very arid and barren. As we drove out of the city and through the valleys I was surprised to see so many fertile valleys. It was lush and vibrant. I changed my attitude about the area immediately.

It was a long haul to Jackson (254 miles). The scenery was nice and entering into Jackson was a treat. We gassed up just outside of town (a wise move) and drove into Jackson proper. The architecture is impressive. Almost everything has an arts and crafts feel to it with the most imposing buildings being the banks. Nothing is taller than three stories, but it appears that everything is built of massive timbers and large stone.

Our RV park is in the middle of town in a not-so-private lot where the neighbors are withing spitting distance. It began to rain as we made dinner and we noticed quite a bit of water leaking through the windscreen. We set up a line of bowls and cups on the dashboard to collect all the water. Thankfully it was not a hard rain but it lasted all night so Teresa and I were up often emptying rainwater. We collected about 2 cups of water within an hour of rain in the beginning. We called the RV company and they told us to get it fixed but to contact them so they could approve the repair.

We awoke early and called a couple of glass shops. We found one just a couple of blocks from the RV park and made an appointment for later in the day. The rain had stopped for the most part and we had some white-water rafting to do!

Teresa and I have rafted before during my “Bachelor Month” before our wedding. We ran the Nu River in West Virginia with many friends and family including the “man behind the plan” of Bachelor Month, Rob Pitera. We hit some class 5 rapids on that day. Because we had some small children with us on this day, we planned for an easy section of the Snake River hitting some class 3+ rapids. It was a 10 person raft and we plopped Bryce and Samantha in the middle. The group chosen to go in our raft was a bunch of college-age girls and one guy. Normally this is not a problem for me but when you need everyone in the raft to paddle, even if you are getting hit with a wave and feel the need to stop what you are doing and scream as loudly as you can in octaves only the wolves waiting downstream for the bodies of two small children to float ashore can hear, I could think of better rafting companions.

The trip down the river was cold and gray with a light mist that turned into a steady drizzle. Samantha enjoyed herself and seemed to have a great time. Every time I looked over at her she was smiling. Bryce, on the other hand, was cold, wet, and while not entirely miserable, less than thrilled with the entertainment value of such an excursion. He had a point. The river was about 44 degrees and the outside temperature was around 55. This is not turning out to be the SUMMER vacation we had planned.

After the trip we went to dinner while the RV was repaired, and left for Grand Teton National Park. The drive in was spectacular with the mountains jutting up from the ground at a such a severe angle and the clouds scattered in a cyan sky. The valley is filled with sediment so that there are no foothills. The appearance as you drive toward them is that you will eventually run into them like a wall at the end of the road. We see bison and elk and many birds as we drive through the park. The road winds through the valley and we are enjoying looking at every detail we can find.

We arrived at a lovely campsite in the middle of the park on Colter Bay and set up the RV. We are too late to go to the store so we enjoyed a dinner in the RV.