New Project

My new project is Stephen's bed. The goal is to make him a twin bed that will last him his lifetime. My original plan was to use painted plywood, but Jeff convinced me to use maple, instead, for its durability.

To make things even easier, we went with prefinished plywood. To add character (and keep costs lower) we chose wormy, brown maple for the trim and posts.

So my job is to turn that pile of wood into a sturdy (and damn heavy) bed.

Last Day in the Tetons

Summit of Signal Mountain

It was our last day of our vacation. The next day was all travel. We started with a short drive to the top of Signal Mountain, which overlooks Jackson Hole. You can see most of the valley from up there.

After that, we grabbed our snacks and rented a boat. We used that to tool around Jackson Lake. We took off from west from the Signal Mountain marina to Moran Bay, swung north toward Pelican Bay, circled around the island off Leek's marina and worked our way back. We saw elk and pelicans on this trip, which was about twenty-four miles all told.

Approaching Moran Bay

Everyone seemed to really enjoy the boating. It was a nice activity for the whole family. Later, we went for a scenic drive and another pizza at Leek's. This was one of our more memorable trips and will, for different reasons, be a favorite of ours.

Sarah at the helm

Hope steering the boat

Sarah playing at the water's edge

The Ansel Adams view of the Tetons

Leaving Yellowstone

Road elk

So it was with some measure of sadness that we left Yellowstone. One of its surprising features, to me, had been the variety of it all. Every area had a distinct and different look about it. The Lake Hotel was elegant. The small thermal basins of West Thumb and Mud Volcano were entirely different. The Canyon area had a very camper-like feel, despite the seventies chic design of the lodge and cabins. Mammoth and Old Faithful areas were tourist choked. Hayden Valley was full of buffalo. Roosevelt was very cowboy western, and rustic to a fault. Norris was a valley laid to waste whereas the Old Faithful geyser basins were flat plains. In the quiet morning, the entire landscape around Old Faithful smokes and steams. There were beautiful vistas driving along Blacktail Deer Plateau and around Mount Washburn. One was hemmed in by regrown pine across the Central Plateau. The landscape was all tumbled boulders around Golden Gate.

Our little cabin in the Tetons

But that was behind us now. It was time to enter a different park with its own, different look and feel.

We were headed to Signal Mountain in Grand Teton National Park.

On our way out of the park, an elk did her best to mimic a road buffalo. We had only seen a couple elk in Yellowstone, but would see more in the Tetons. They are more skittish than they were before wolves were reintroduced to the parks. Now that they are hunted, they run at the slightest disturbance.

Signal Mountain Marina

Mountains. A small set of mountains rising almost straight up, without benefit of foothills. When a child thinks of mountains, this is what they picture. Sudden peaks, without reason, a bit of snow on them even in the middle of a hot summer. Gorgeous.

Our little cabin was near the water, across from which loomed Mount Moran.

We opted for an evening float trip down the Snake River. It wasn't a well-received plan by all. My daughter had grown tired of looking at things, hearing about things, etc. She just wanted some quiet, family time. So we hemmed and hawed. But hearing that only we were interested, we decided to go ahead. A private tour for just us.

View from the Snake River

Kids oaring the raft

Stephen enjoys being the guide

Mount Moran

The famous Ansel Adams photograph of the Tetons and the Snake River was taken over a section of river that we rode, so we had a somewhat different vantage of the same spot. Since we were alone, my kids got a chance to oar the raft. Along the way we saw several elk, a bald eagle, and a couple beavers. It was a relaxing way to end the day.

I Shall Make This

I saw these tables at the Snow Lodge. I will make us one. Maybe out of oak instead of pine, though. The design is really simple, actually. Gives me an excuse to buy a chisel, too.

Geysers All Day

Old Faithful

Waking at the Old Faithful Snow Lodge, we dedicated the day to a geyser hike. I was developing blisters on the toes of both feet, but I bandaged myself up with mole skin and made the most of it. I'll be damned if I was going to let something as trivial as pain keep me from seeing this. Besides, my family was fighting off a cold so they were being troopers, too.

So, one last push before taking it easy the rest of the way.

After breakfast, we watched Old Faithful, again, then pressed on to see the thermal features of the Upper Basin.

Roughly following the Firehole, we made our way to Morning Glory Pool, then back a slightly different route to see what we had bypassed on the way out there.

By the time we got back, I was hurting and everyone was ready for lunch. I ended up cutting holes in the bottoms of my toes to drain them, then I bandaged myself up as good as I could to let me continue for the afternoon. We took a scenic drive along past Firehole Lake and Canyon, then stopped at the Midway Geyser Basin.

There we saw Excelsior Geyser, Turquoise Pool and the Grand Prismatic Spring. I, also, counted nine lost hats.

By day's end, we had seen enough of the thermal features of Yellowstone. Surely, we did not even attempt to see them all, but after awhile every hot, bubbling pool looks like the previous hot bubbling pool. Just like your first bison is magical, the twentieth one nice, the fiftieth one an irritation if it's blocking the road.

Still, upon leaving the next morning Hope wished to see Old Faithful just one more time. The rest of us thought she was nuts.

Old Faithful Inn and the Upper Basin

Old Faithful from a distance

Steve and Jim at Giant Geyser

Morning Glory

Shield Spring

Us in front of Castle Geyser

A hot spring pool

Firehole Lake

Grand Prismatic Spring