I didn’t want to disappoint Dane before we arrived, but he had decided what kind of horse he wanted on the trail ride and I wasn’t sure they’d have what he wanted. But it must have been his day, because there was one horse of the color he wanted (black and white) and it was still tied to the fence after the other groups had left for the trail. I don’t think the wranglers had planned to send Dollar on our trip, but when Dane asked, the black and white horse was his. Sweet! Our guide, Chris is a native to the area and wrangling is her summer job; the rest of the year she is a schoolteacher.
Our 2-hour ride took us high above the Snake River, and climbed into the hills where we were able to see three mountain ranges: the Tetons, Gros Ventre, and Uintas mountains. In the aspen forest, the scars from bear claws were visible on one of the trees we passed. A stone cairn allegedly marked the place where a Native American was buried, but Chris didn’t know any more or if it was just a legend. Fireweed and Indian Paintbrush were blooming profusely among the sagebrush.
An enjoyable ride was suddenly chaos when a group (herd? pack? gaggle?) of bicycles suddenly passed by and the odd buzzing sound they made caused Tim’s horse to bolt. He had to jump off and the rest of the horses, startled by the commotion, also began to act up. Fortunately, Tim wasn’t hurt but his horse was nervous the rest of the way back to the corral.
After our exciting ride, we picked up Dan and Deb and went to lunch. We shared stories of the morning’s events and planned the rest of the afternoon. It seems everyone had a different idea of what they wanted to
do, so we split up again for our own activities. Dan, Tim, Dane and Sierra went to the alpine slide; Deb got a manicure and pedicure, and Gin and I visited the National Museum of Wildlife Art. The museum itself is a work of art. It is a stone building that has a resemblance to a castle, and is perched on a hillside overlooking the wide green meadows of the National Elk Refuge. Two interesting exhibits we enjoyed were the Traveling Trout (a statewide art competition which challenged 37 Wyoming schools to turn plain white fiberglass trout into distinctive works of art) and the Federal Junior Duck Stamp Contest (students of the Junior Duck Stamp educational program may draw, paint or sketch a picture of a North American waterfowl species; one image will become the next Junior Duck Stamp). It is amazing to see the talent of these young people. Once again we assembled, only to go our separate ways once more. The Wrays wanted to shop some more in Jackson; Dane wanted to see Ripley’s Believe It Or Not Museum so the Fords and I accompanied him there. As you might expect, Ripley’s contains an odd assortment of eclectic sculpture, unusual collections, and strange exhibits. Of course, Dane loved it!
Back in Teton Village, Tim and the kids took a gondola ride up the mountain. We all met at the Mangy Moose for dinner, and Dane and I ended the day with some Foosball and pool at the hostel (he beat me at everything!). Everyone is exhausted; I think we may all need a vacation to recover from our vacation! Time to sleep…g’night all!
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