An Introduction to Idaho

Craters of the Moon
National Monument 

 After saying goodbye to Maja and Shehzad, I headed north towards Idaho.  I saw a sign for the History of the Potato Museum, but got distracted by something and failed to look into it.  It made me smile to know such a thing exists though!

I kept going to Craters of the Moon National Monument.  There is harden lava fields of various ages and textures all over! The contrast between the hardened lava and the snowcapped mountains made it especially beautiful!  I went for a few hikes through the lava fields.  It’s amazing to get see the evidence of major geologic activity from so long ago!  It makes it possible to imagine what it was like when the volcanoes were actually erupting and lava was flowing everywhere!  I even got to camp among the lava.  I also was treated to the clearest sky with the most stars I have ever seen that evening!   

Craters of the Moon 
National Monument

The view from the road
just outside the cemetery

The next day, I went to Ketchum and saw Ernest Hemingway’s grave.  He sure did pick a beautiful spot for his final resting place!  Then, I drove up through the mountains towards Missoula.  Idaho is totally gorgeous!  There are mountains everywhere!  I especially enjoyed the portion of the drive that ran along a river with the mountains towering over it!  And, I learned that I wasn’t making it up about how clear the sky was the night before; Idaho has been proven to have the clearest/cleanest air in the continental United States! 

Lovely Friends, Breathtaking Mountains, and Peculiar Social Skills

The view from Maja and
Shehzad's front door!

After leaving the farm, I drove across the bottom of Wyoming to Salt Lake City.  While, I had done a majority of this drive just a few weeks ago, I was again struck by the beauty of the landscape!  It’s not a section of the country that most people think and about and then think, “Oh, it must be beautiful there!”, but it really is!  When I got closer to Salt Lake City, I was amazed by the beauty of the mountains that are everywhere you look!  They were especially beautiful since the leaves were all                     yellow and red! 

Statue of Mormon pioneers
pulling all their possessions
across the country due to the
fact they couldn't afford an ox!
Intense! 

 

I was very excited when I finally found Maja and Shehzad’s house.  Maja is a friend that I worked with when I was an R.A.  It was really wonderful to see her!  It’s been really long since we’ve seen each other, but once we started hanging out, it was as if not a day had passed.  It was also really great to get to know Shezad a little better. . .he’s totally hilarious and wonderful!  It was also delightful to be their practice child!  Let me explain. . . First, you need to know that Maja is pregnant and about a month away from her due date, so the topic of children and parenting was coming up naturally before this incident.  So, the three of us went out of ice cream.  We were sitting outside eating and chatting when one of Shehzad’s coworkers came up to us.  He reintroduced Maja to him and then introduced me.  The coworker didn't listen to the, “this is our friend” part of the introduction, and asked, “Oh, is she your daughter?” which is totally ridiculous because Maja is only two years older than I am!  So, from that point on, there was a running joke that I was their 14 year old daughter. 

Maja and I went and walked around Park City one evening.  It was so beautiful with the fall colors all the over the mountains!  We also had fun looking at some of the cute shops there too.  She also showed me where the Olympic ski jump took place, which I very much enjoyed since I am huge fan of the Olympics!  She also made me totally delicious dinners over the course of my stay!  We ate Croatian food one night and Pakistani food the other!  Both treats were new to me and completely wonderful!  

The temple

While, Maja and Shehzad were busy being productive citizens during the work day, I had time to explore.  The first order of business was to go see Temple Square.  I was wandering around and looking at and reading the plaques next to the statues dedicated to the Mormon pioneers when two girls came over.  They awkwardly struck up a conversation then explained that they were on their mission and would like to show me around.  I took them up on their offer; after all, it is not every day that you meet Mormon missionaries from China and Norway that want to show you around Temple Square.  They took me around and shared some interesting facts such as the fact that the pioneers used really plain wood for the columns and the pews in two of the chapels, but they wanted it to be fancy, so they painted the wood in the columns to look like marble and painted the pews to look like they were made out of fancy wood!  We also got to hear someone play the organ that accompanies the Mormon Tabernacle Choir! Then, when we were in the basement of a visitor center types place, they tried to convert me.  They felt strongly that I should get the Book of Mormon to take back with me to Chicago.  I politely said, “Thanks, but no thanks” and moved on.

Antelope Island State Park

After walking around downtown for a little while, I decided to go see the Great Salt Lake.  I went to Antelope Island State Park.  The park is on a large island that is in the Great Salt Lake.  It’s rocky, wild, and totally beautiful!  There were tons of buffalo wandering around. I hiked up to a bluff and just sat and soaked up the beauty of the gorgeous, salty lake with the mountains in the distance.

The next day, I went to Provo.  I wandered around the BYU campus for a while.  It was extremely scenic!  It’s right at the foot of the mountains!  I was surprised by how big BYU was.  After my collegiate adventure, I enjoyed one last meal and even with Maja and Shehzad.  We went to a Croatian restaurant and enjoyed some goulash.  It was excellent!  The Croatian version is a most delicious soup! 

Antelope Island State Park

While, every bit of northern Utah is totally gorgeous, there didn’t seem to be too much going on unless you were involved in the Mormon Church.  Also, it seems as if the places where the culture is significantly different than the rest of the United States have crabbier than normal citizens.  It was like that in Louisiana and it was like that in northern Utah too.  On the whole, most people were less than pleasant, and those that did interact with me had strange social skills.  For example, when I was looking at the temple, a family was gathered for some major life event (I wasn’t clear one which even had taken place) and were all standing on the steps and taking pictures.  Then, someone saw me and yelled to the person taking the picture, “Get in the picture, she’ll take one of all of us” and pointed to me.  Then, after taking the pictures, they gave me a round of applause instead of saying thank you.  Strange. . .     

Farming!

View from the back of the
truck on the way to a field

So, after Harvestival was over, and I said goodbye to my friends and Uncle Lew, gathered up my stuff and moved across the farm to the intern house and began my adventure as a WWOOFer on Grant Family Farms.  WWOOF stands for World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms.  The idea is that the volunteer gets an opportunity to work on and learn about organic farms as well as a place to live and food to eat and the farm gets the fruits (or vegetables) of your labor.

So, I got set up in my corner of one the bedrooms and was overjoyed when I saw the refrigerator overflowing with vegetables!  There were generally five other interns/wwoofers living in the house, (some came and went as during my two weeks there) .  Everyone was very nice and provided quite enjoyable company! 

Fridge of veggies!

The next day, I started my farming adventure.  We walked to the office and all piled into a pickup truck.  I gazed at the breathtaking beauty of the mountains in the morning sun as we made our way to the tomatoes.  We spent the morning picking tomatoes.  Crates and crates of tomatoes!  The next time you go to a grocery store and see a huge pile of beautiful tomatoes; be appreciative of how much work it took to get those perfect tomatoes to you!  I know I will!  After lunch, we moved on to bell peppers.  It turns out that I have a knack for picking peppers!  It’s easier to figure out if they are good or not just by touch and they don’t have thorns that bite you when you pick them!  We finished the day with eggplant, which do have thorns, but are fairly large, thus filling each crate rather quickly.  I must say, there is a certain satisfaction in being able to see the results of your labor all stacked up in crates at the end of the field!  By the end of the day, I was delightfully worn out. 

A field getting watered

Most days went along the same lines.  We generally harvested two to three types of vegetables a day.  Peppers (of all varieties) and potatoes were my favorite.  Tomatoes were probably my least favorite, probably because they were on the edge of not being good anymore and it took me a while to figure out which ones were okay and which ones weren’t.  I was a total failure at broccoli.  You have to cut the broccoli stalk with a knife, which I was not able to do with any level of efficiency.  As a result, I went up on this cart that gets pulled by a tractor.  The people cutting the broccoli throw it up onto the table on the cart.  Then, the people on the cart take two or three stalks and make a bouquet out of them.  Then, the broccoli bouquet gets shoved into this machine, a button gets pushed, and the bottom of the stalks get cut off so they are even and a rubber band gets put around the middle of the stalks.  Then, the person pulls the bundle out of the machine, puts a twist-tie with a label around the broccoli.    

A small pile of squash

The second week was a little more laid back.  The weather was cooler, so there were fewer vegetables we could harvest since many of them were damaged from the frost.  We cleaned up some fields and got them ready for winter.  We also got a chance to wash eggs for a little while one afternoon.  It was fun!  You feed the eggs into this machine that washes them, then you dry and sort them by color.  We also hauled around bales of hay, which made me rather itchy. . .I still have pieces of hay in my sweatshirt!

I also enjoyed taking a couple walks with Uncle Lew and Chip (his dog).  He showed me many crops and taught me so much about farming!  It was very interesting to learn just how much planning goes into having a successful farm!  Plus, it was most enjoyable to spend time with a totally delightful man!

Chicken buses 

There were some various adventures sprinkled throughout my two week farming career. The other interns and I ventured into town for an open mic night one day.  We also went to a coffee shop for a showing of Forks Over Knives, which was quite interesting and worth a watch if you’re into documentaries about food and health.  Andy, Lew’s son and the owner of the farm now, took us for sushi and beer as a send off celebration for two of the WOOFers that were leaving.  I went to church with Uncle Lew and his daughter Brenda.  Their church is made of up the nicest people ever!  Many of them came up to chat with me and one man even gave me tips as to which of the baked goods at the snack table were the best!

Caleb watching the sun rise
while we rode to the field
one morning

Overall, I had a most enjoyable week!  I learned a lot.  I worked hard.  I realized just how lame my upper body strength is.  I met many wonderful humans.  And, I gained a much deeper appreciation for how much work goes into getting good food to people’s tables!  I also am deeply grateful for the Grant family being willing to adopt me into their family for a little while! 

A Most Wonderful Celebration in a Most Wonderful Place!

Cows were everywhere!

I had talked to a fiend a while ago about visiting her uncle’s organic farm in Colorado.  There was even talk about specific dates during which a festival takes place. But, I got distracted by my wonderful adventures in Wyoming and sort of forgot about those plans.  That is, until she called me and reminded me.  I spent a day driving though Wyoming, which is totally beautiful, and, at one point, driving through a herd of cattle.  Seriously, a bunch of cowboys were herding their cattle to their next destination on the road I was driving on.  I slowly inched my way through the cows walking right at me.  It was a little hilarious and mildly terrifying!  After my day of driving I arrived at Uncle Lew’s house and was greeted with a most delicious pot roast dinner with many accompanying vegetables that were grown on the farm.  I was also treated to the company of some of the nicest and most generous people on earth!       

Chicken bus!

The next morning, I got up early-ish and had some time to visit with Uncle Lew and his daughter Ann.  We had a lovely chat about various adventures and the farm.  Ann mentioned that if I was interested in staying for a while to work on the farm, that could be probably be arranged.  I perked up at the mention of the possibility, but didn’t really think too much about it.  After all, there was a festival to get to and many farm sights to see.  After listening to a lady explain how to set up a chicken coop in your backyard (which was quite a foreign concept to the girl whose last permanent address was in Chicago), I proceeded to eat my way through the rows of booths!  I ate several slices of the best cheese ever as well as other assorted treats.  Then, it was time for tour of the farm on a chicken bus (the farm has several old school busses that serve as a shelter for some of the chickens).

Chickens! 

After our tour it was time for a short afternoon break at the house.  Then Uncle Lew took us on a tour of the packing shed.  It was amazing to get to see the vegetables getting packed up and organized before they got shipped all over the country!  It’s astounding just how complicated getting food from a field to people is!  Then, it was back to Harfestival because Joe Purdy was playing!  What a lovely surprise!  It was the perfect evening and a wonderful show! 

Sheep!

When I got back to the house, I learned that was going to be a big meal at Uncle Lew’s son, Andy’s, house.  When we got there we were greeted by a table piled full of platters and bowls full of an assortment of the most delicious food ever!  There sure is something to be said for getting your food from field that you can see from your dinner table!  The day got even more incredible when we had the good fortune of sharing the dinner table with a polar explorer!  It was amazing to get to hear all about various astounding adventures from the actual adventurer!        

More beautifully
decorated chicken buses!

The next day brought even more wonderfulness!  After a short chat with Isaac (who is in charge of the interns) in a potato field, I procured myself the opportunity to be a “WWOOFer” on the farm for an undetermined amount of time (I will more fully explain this in the next post). Then, Ann put me on garbage duty.  I helped people find the right garbage slot for their trash (the choices being compost, recycle, or garbage) and corrected any mistakes that were made with my official grabber tool.  I was amazed by how little trash was generated by the event!  While I made several trips to the compost pile and a few trips to the recycling, I never made a trip to empty the garbage!  I took a break from garbage duty when it was time for the most exciting event of all!  Temple Grandin was there to speak!  It was really interesting to get to see and hear her in person.  It was even more interesting because she was speaking about the humane treatment of animal and not Autism (well. . .she mentioned it a couple times, but it wasn’t the focus).  Then, it was time for one last delicious home cooked dinner at Uncle Lew’s, which was a wonderful way to end a fantastic weekend!

Here’s a link to the website for the farm:

http://www.grantfarms.com/

Birthday Geysers (and so much more)!

Old Faithful 

I’ve been reliving fourth grade during this trip.  Fourth grade was the year that we learned about each region in the United States.  As I’ve been traveling I’ve caught myself thinking back to what I learned in fourth grade and thinking, “Oh wow, it really is like that!”  For some reason, the geysers of Yellowstone were the thing that intrigued me the most.  I’ve literally been dreaming about seeing Old Faithful since I was ten.

Daisy Geyser 

I decided that I would make that dream come true on my twenty-eighth birthday.  I was so excited!  You don’t even know!  I half ran and half skipped from the parking lot to get my first glimpse of Old Faithful smoking away until her next performance.  I rushed into the (extremely fancy) visitors center to check the time of the next predicted eruption.  I also got a chance to talk to a very friendly ranger.  I announced to him that he was talking to the most excited girl ever and he gave me a high five then proceeded to highlight must see sights on a map for me.  Then it was time to get a seat for the highly anticipated event!  I had enough time to have a birthday lunch while waiting, then it happened!  After a few warm up spurts, Old Faithful shot about 100 feet into the air and kept shooting water for about three minutes!  It was totally spectacular and mesmerizing!  It is such an amazing natural phenomenon that people clap after it (as well they should!).

Hot spring!

After checking the notes I took on the predicted times of eruptions of several geysers in the vicinity of Old Faithful, I realized that if I hurried I may be to Daisy go off!  I rushed down the bike path and about two minutes after my arrival Daisy erupted!  Daisy was more spread out and not quite as tall as Old Faithful, but nonetheless totally spectacular!  This geyser drew a much smaller crowd, so I was able to be right next to it.    As a result, I was able to see the water that came out of the geyser running down over the rock and towards the river.  That part was just as beautiful as the actual spout of water (yet doesn’t get as much press)!  The beauty was augmented by the fact that there were fields of brilliantly colored microorganisms living on the rock that became even more brilliant and beautiful when the water was rushing over it! 

I then proceeded to wander around Upper Geyser Basin, which has the highest concentration of geothermal features in the world!!!  I saw a few other geysers spitting water and several smoking away!  I also saw many hot springs!  While these features do not seem as if they would be conducive to fostering life of any kind, it turns out they are!  You can tell what temperature the water in a hot spring is based on the color because different types of microorganisms can live the various temperatures.  It also turns out that the diversity of the life in the springs may rival that of the rain forest!  Nature is so mysterious and cool!

After wandering around in the geothermal features for quite a while, I made my way to the back country office to inquire about backpacking.  I started chatting with the ranger that was extremely excited when I announced that I was able to explore the park without a set end date.  She immediately got out a map and started marking things and annotating the highlighted portions with specific directions about what to see or how to explore the area!  Shortly after she started this process, another lady came in and started chatting.  It turns out she was the nurse for the clinic and one of the bravest, most adventurous women ever!  She shared many stories about her adventures and even some pictures!  The two ladies, another tourist who joined the conversation after a short while, and I chatted for several hours!  It was so much fun to talk with other adventure enthusiasts! 

At that point, I realized that it was about time to figure where I was going to be spending the night.  I headed to the nearest campground and got in line to find out if they had any spots left.  A man went through the line to ask if people had reservations.  When the man in front of me replied that he didn’t the man looked rather concerned and said he may get the last one.  Then he got to me.  When I told him no he looked like there was no chance.  I replied, “Well, maybe it’ll be a birthday miracle.”  Then, birthday miracle number one happened when the man behind me said that I could camp behind his RV if they ran out of spots.  Then, birthday miracle number two happened when the people in front of me told me that they would just register me with them for the night and we could share the spot.  Then, birthday miracle number three happened when the man came out and hung up the “campground full” sing , looked at me, and announced, “You got the last one!”  I set up my tent on the last available spot then headed back to Old Faithful.  I got a burger and coleslaw from one of the restaurants and took it over to a spot near Old Faithful.  Then, I proceeded to have the prefect birthday dinner while watching super-heated water shoot 100 feet into the air!  It was perfect!  For dessert, I headed over the Black Sands Basin.  I thoroughly enjoyed wandering around the multitude of hot springs while soaking in the odd, yet not completely unpleasant smell and the glorious warmth from the steam.  I even had the pleasure of eating a bit of birthday cake by a hot spring, while completely surrounded by steam! 

The next morning I headed to the north-west corner of the park.  There are huge, beautiful sculptures made out of the deposits of materials that were left by the water in the hot springs that used to run over the area.  As I slowly worked my way back south, there were active hot springs and streams working on making new sculptures.  All this strange, other worldly beauty was made even more amazing due to the fact that it all was surrounded by mountains in the distance!  That’s the thing about Yellowstone. . .it has breathtakingly beautiful natural features and views everywhere in addition to the totally amazing and rather peculiar geothermal features!             

My exploring took me towards the eastern edge of the park.  There, I found a trail to go look at a waterfall in the canyon that the rangers highly recommended I go see.  Shortly after I began hiking, I got to a fork in the path.  I decided to go on the less traveled path first.  After a short walk through the woods with a few great views of a waterfall and the Yellowstone River!  It was so peaceful and relaxing!  As an added bonus, I was the only human there!  After soaking up the beauty and savoring the solitude for a while, I hiked back to take the other path.  The other path wound its way down the side the canyon a ways.  Then, I came around the corner, and, without any warning, was greeted with the most spectacular sight of my life!  I was standing right at the top of a water fall twice the height of Niagara Falls that plummeted down into the most majestic canyon I have ever seen!  There’s a reason they call it the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone!  And, just as if it weren’t prefect enough, there were rainbows created by the sun and the spray from the waterfall!  As I was examining the view, I saw a platform about three quarters the way down into the canyon across the river on the South Rim.  Obviously, that was my next stop!  After walking down about 300 stairs, I got to the platform.  It’s situated right in front of the falls!  I was better able to appreciate just how tremendously far the water was dropping!  There were also tremendous views of the river rushing through the canyon! 

As I slowly started making my way south, I came across a pullout with a view of a field with at least forty bison resting by the river!  I sat and watched the bison for a while.  They are such amazingly huge animals that really don’t seem to be designed in a structurally stable way!  Their fronts are so massive, but then they tapper into rather small backsides, and all of it is mounted on the smallest, skinniest legs ever!  Somehow the design works for them though! 

The next stop was at the mud volcanoes.  There were several mud pots along the path.  There’s something about a pond of boiling mud that is even more amazing and perplexing than a hot spring!   It’s so strange to see such a thick liquid boiling!  It made a different and odd noise too.  I rather resembles oatmeal that is boiling.  You can see start to form bubbles, but it takes it a while to get enough force to break the surface.  When it does it make a rather significant “blooping” sound.  It’s rather like watching water boil in slow motion.  As I walked along the path, I learned something amazing.  The geology of Yellowstone is moving at a much quicker pace that it does anywhere else.  Most places they tell you something happened recently in “geologic terms” and that means millions of years ago.  In Yellowstone, things change drastically within a lifetime!  For example, I was standing by a huge, steaming mud pot with a sign explaining that in 1948 the area was just a hillside covered in tress.  Then, without any warning, the earth exploded and shot the trees out of the ground.  The mud pot was tremendously violent and active for several years and it migrated about 200 yards from the original spot.  Then, it became the more calm and dormant mud pot that is there today.  That all happened in 63 years!  That’s amazing!   

By this point I was rather tired since I had worked my way through a good portion of the park, which took a while because it is gigantic!  Seriously, Yellowstone is bigger than Rhode Island or Delaware!  At that point, I started heading back to Old Faithful.  At this point I was starting to become moderately aged faithful since I was consistently drawn back to Old Faithful before I ended my adventuring for the day.  I found a spot away from the crowds on the boardwalk for this viewing.  Being a little further away really allowed me to better comprehend just how high the water was shooting out of the ground!  It’s so amazing!  I don’t think that watching water spontaneously explode out the ground and create a totally beautiful and natural fountain would ever get old! 

After spending the night at a lovely campground just outside the west entrance, I headed back into the park.  As I was driving, a bison started crossing the road right in front of my car.  I stopped for him.  He started walking right next to my car, at which point I rolled down my window to get a picture of him.  He was so close that when he turned his head to see what the noise was I was rather nervous that he was going to poke his head into my car!  After the bison moved on, so did I.  I decided to explore the geyser basins near Old Faithful.  The first one I got to had a heard of bison milling around the hot springs.  It was incredible to see such large animals walking around steaming ponds on the tremendously delicate earth! 

I spent the whole day totally immersed in a world of totally incomprehensible geothermal features!  It was grand!  After a morning full of hot springs, geysers, mud pots, and fumaroles (these are the hottest feature in the park. . .it’s a vent in the earth that just had steam shooting out of it because the water all evaporated before it got the surface due to the heat), I decided to join a ranger walk around the Old Faithful area.  When I got there, there were tons of people all crowed onto the boardwalk.  While I can totally understand everyone wanting a deeper understanding the geothermal features, it seemed like a little bit of an excessive turn out for a ranger program.  It turned out that Beehive, a huge geyser that only goes off about ever fourteen hours was set to erupt at any moment!  I got a great vantage point, then, it exploded 200 feet into the air!  It’s a much more narrow stream of water than Old Faithful is, and it also makes a really loud noise because the water is going so fast, it is breaking the sound barrier!

After wandering around the amazing features in the area again, I found a spot on the boardwalk with a good view of the back of Old Faithful and waited for her to put on her show.  It never failed to amaze me with its magnificence and grace!  Then, I went to get a good look at the Grand Prismatic.  The Grand Prismatic is the largest hot spring in the park (and the third largest in the world).  The ranger in the backcountry office had given me direction to walk down a trail for a while and then climb up into the trees to get a good look at it.  You can walk right next to it on the boardwalk, but all you can really see is the very edge and a ton of steam.  When you climb up into the trees, you have a bird’s eye view of it.  You can see the impressive size and the even more impressive displays of colors!  It is totally awe-inspiring!

The next day, I meandered north-east through the park.  I stopped at a section of geothermal features and saw the most amazing mud pot ever!!!  The mud was so thick and it was so hot that the mud bubbles shot up into the air and then plopped back into the pond of mud!  It was hypnotic!  After prying myself away from the boiling mud, I drove through the mountains up to the north­­-east corner of the park.  Then I took a short hike to go see the gigantic petrified redwoods!   Then I started heading back south and hiked a little ways to go see a natural bridge.  Yellowstone has a little bit of everything!  It’s a totally amazing land! 

The Grand Prismatic 

I finished up my Yellowstone tour by driving along Yellowstone Lake, which is huge and beautiful!  Then, you guessed it; I headed back to Old Faithful.  First I went to get some souvenirs at the general store.  When I was paying, I mentioned to the clerk that Yellowstone is the most amazing place ever, which got us chatting.  After he found out about my adventuring, he told me that I should come back as an employee for next summer. . .something to think about!  Then, I headed over to Old Faithful one last time for the visit and just after I got there, she erupted!  I’d say it was the perfect way to say farewell to the park!   

A Grand Time in the Grand Tetons!

Flaming Gorge

After leaving Rocky Mountain National Park I headed north towards Wyoming.  Then I proceeded to drive across almost the entire southern part of the state.  It was a beautiful drive!  The landscape was a combination of the Rocky Mountains, the rolling plains of Oklahoma, and the beautiful dessert rock formations of Utah.  I decided that it was about time for a shower, so I check into a hotel with plans to go explore Flaming Gorge after procuring a room.  However, I was struck by the splendid comfort and of being inside with so many modern conveniences, so I skipped adventuring for the evening and savored the luxuries for the evening.    

The path into the mountains!

The next morning, I drove around Flaming Gorge. . .it’s quite ruggedly beautiful!  Then I proceeded to weave my way through Wyoming, Utah, and the very edge of Idaho as I made my way towards Grand Teton National Park.  After driving through a little corner of the park, I found my way to the visitor center.  I am pleased to report that the atmosphere of Grand Teton Nation Park is similar to that of the Needles section of Canyonlands National Park.  The rangers are more than happy to give you tips as to where to explore and recommend hikes, and then, they turn you loose to go adventures on your own and at your own risk.  Then, you get to go explore the fabulously beautiful wilderness teaming with wild animals at your own pace!    

Holly Lake
(site of my campsite in
the back country)

My first adventure was a two day, one night, backpacking loop.  The first day, I hiked a little over eight miles up to a serene mountain lake.  The lake was totally still and calm except for a few ripples when the wind stirred, this amazing stillness allowed the water to reflect the rugged and strikingly tall mountains all around it! Now, I’m sure you’re thinking, “Of course they’re tall. . .they’re mountains!”  But, unless you’ve seen them you don’t understand.  The Rockies are amazingly tall too, but you don’t really get a chance to see or comprehend just how tall they are because they are totally surrounded by other mountains (after all, even the foot hills are really foot mountains).  At the Grand Teton, however, the mountains and the foot hills are spread out, and the space between them is fairly low and flat.  As a result, you get a chance to see mountains shooting straight up from the ground!  This allows you to see and attempt to understand just how huge and impressive a mountain really is!

My very large friend!

 After setting up in a spot with an incredible view of the mountains and securing the rest of my gear in the bear locker, I headed for a large rock situated on shore of the lake.  I sprawled out on said rock and proceeded to alternate between gazing at the incomprehensible beauty all around me and dozing.  After dinner, I got into my tent to read for a while when I heard an unusual noise.  It kind of sounded like a cross between moaning and grunting.  I decided to check it out.  As soon as I rounded the corner, I saw a moose!  A huge, male, moose with gigantic antlers (and well, to be honest, gigantic everything!).  I stood there for a while and checked him out while he checked me out.  After he lost interest in me, he walked down to the lake and had a good drink.  He even scampered (almost running) along one side of the lake.  I don’t know how he pulled off that scampering. . .I’m not even sure how he pulled off the walking or staying upright and balanced for that matter!  Moose are tremendously top heavy creatures and when you throw those antlers into the mix, I don’t know how any of them can move at all on those long, skinny legs without tipping over! 

View of the mountains just
over Indian Paintbrush Divide 

The next morning I thought I heard my moose friend again.  After briefly surveying the scene and not seeing him, I continued to pack up my stuff.  I went back to my rock by the lake for breakfast.  As I was munching away, I looked out across the lake and saw the moose!  We enjoyed each other’s company for the remainder of breakfast, then we parted ways.

               

The next three miles of the journey were straight up!  I made slow but steady progress.  I was a little wary of crossing the first snowfield I got to.   The snow was very solid and rather slippery.  I was very careful to make sure I didn’t slip and slide down the steep snow bank, partly because it was rather dangerous would most likely have resulted in an injury of some kind, and partly because I had worked quite hard to climb up the mountain and didn’t relish the idea of having to do it again.  After making it safely across the snow and finding the path, I continued up and over the mountain.  That’s right. . .I  climbed up and OVER and mountain range through Indian Paintbrush Divide!  When I got over the ridge, I was greeted by the most beautiful canyon carpeted in an array of the most spectacular wildflowers I have ever seen!  They were brilliant blue, purple, yellow, white, and orange!  After zigzagging my way down the side of the mountain, I got to Lake Solitude, my favorite mountain lake so far.  It was another amazingly calm lake situated at the foot of the mountains.  It was totally surrounded by a meadow of wildflowers and had an especially magnificent view of the mountains at the other end of the canyon.  I found the perfect spot with a view of it all and had the most spectacularly perfect lunch hour of my life!  This was all complimented by the fact it was the most beautiful, sunny, 75 degree day ever with the bluest sky I have ever witnessed! 

Lake Solitude (a small preview of heaven)

After lunch, I continued hiking in the canyon for several hours.  There were wildflowers and bubbling streams and waterfalls along the entire length of the path!  Eventually, I got into the woods, then slowly worked my way out of the canyon and around to the other side of the mountains.  The other side of the mountains was awash in brilliant fall foliage.  There were bright orange, red, and yellow leaves everywhere!  It was as if they were showing off for the first full day of fall!  The tail end of the hike worked its way along the edge of Jenny Lake.  I must say, this was the most difficult and most enjoyable solo backpacking trip to date! 

Amphitheater Lake

The next day was my last day as a twenty-seven year old, so I decided to send twenty-seven out with style.  I hiked a slow five miles up the side of a mountain to Surprise Lake and Amphitheater Lake.  I was able to have another perfectly peaceful lunch hour by the banks of Surprise Lake.  It was another beautifully sunny day and I found a lovely rock with a backrest to lounge on while munching and marveling at my surroundings.  For dessert, I continued a short distance to Amphitheater Lake.  It was amazingly clear and still!  I found the world’s most perfect rock; it was shaped like a beanbag chair with indents that seemed as if they were designed exactly for my body!  I settled into a lovely reclined position and basked in the sun and the beauty for quite a while!  After a most enjoyable and gorgeous retreat down the mountain, I went to the campground near Jenny Lake and procured a spot for the evening.  Then, it was time for dinner.  I was due for a warm meal that someone else cooked, so I headed to Snake River Brewing Company.  Shortly after sitting down, a lady came and sat next to me. We started chatting immediately.  It was quite wonderful to have someone to chat with!  The only part of my trip that I don’t really love is eating alone.  For me, sharing a meal with someone makes it so much more enjoyable!  So, it was lovely to have a lovely human to interact and drink beer with until my food came!  After enjoying a totally delicious stout and pizza, I moved on with my life. 

Surprise Lake

While walking to my car, I realized that it would not be prudent of me to start driving anytime soon!  So, I chatted with two of my dear friends and watched the sun start to sink down over the mountains.  It’s so lovely to be able to hang out with my favorite people even when we’re several states and time zones away!  

View of the larger, lower lakes on my way down the mountain

Backpacking in the Rockies

After renting a bear canister, getting some dinner, and alerting my family that I would be immersed in the woods for the next three days, I went to find a campsite.  I found a site at the foot of Longs Peak, the tallest mountain in the park.  I set up my tent and settled in for the night.  It was extremely windy!  At one point, my tent tipped over, with me in it!  This made me a little concerned about how well I was going to do on my backpacking trip (but not enough to detour me from taking the trip of course!).  After finding the perfect way to angle my body across as much of the surface of the floor of the tent as possible, as a result it was a stable enough structure to allow me to get some rest. 

I got up early the next morning to get my gear packed into the backpack as compactly as possible.  Then, I headed to the trail head.  After pulling on my boots and strapping on my pack, I was off!  The first day didn’t require much mileage to get to the campground, so I took a detour around Bierstadt Lake.  I ate my lunch while gazing at the snowcapped mountains that were framed by some pine trees between me and the peaceful mountain lake.  There was a swift breeze coming off the lake that was both refreshing and frigid at the same time.  After a while, the frigid part gave me the motivation I needed to keep moving.  After walking around the perimeter of the lake, I headed up the trail to Miller Creek Basin.  My campsite was situated in a gorgeous mountain meadow!  I found the perfect perch on a fallen tree branch and soaked up the sun and the glorious tranquility of my private meadow in the middle of the Rockies for quite a while.  Then it was time to follow the signs to the privy.  When I got there, I found a compostable toilet (quite a cool concept) and a bin with woodchips to help with the composting process.  What I did not find were walls around said toilet.  I found the experience of going to the bathroom on a toilet while still totally exposed to nature, strangely enjoyable!  It was certainly the best view I’ve ever had while using the bathroom!

The next morning I hiked for a bit until I found the prefect rock with an outstanding view of Cub Lake, another idyllic mountain lake.  This one had a tremendous amount of lilly pads that formed a ring around the middle of the lake.  I met two extremely friendly hikers and chatted with them a bit.  As they left, they said they’d see me down the trail.  After a snack and some more hiking, I did in fact see them down the trail, and boy was I lucky I did!  The man saw me heading down the wrong trail (it seems as if this is a pattern on my solo backpacking trips).  He rushed to catch up to me and tell me of my mistake.  I’m so lucky he did otherwise I would have hiked 1.7 miles to the nearest parking lot and would have been 3.8 miles away from my campsite for the night.  What a kind gesture!  People tend to be so nice when they are in nature!  It’s as if the wilderness somehow brings out the civilized side of people! 

The next 2.1 miles were the miles I was most nervous about since I gained 1,130 feet of elevation during that stretch.  I guess I must be in better shape than I realized because it wasn’t terribly challenging.  Of course, it does help that I was distracted by magnificent waterfalls, and majestic mountains!  Before I knew it, I met a lady who asked me where I was headed and when I replied, “Fern Lake.” She replied, “You’re there.”  And, indeed, I was.  I set up camp in a lovely wooded nook, then took my significantly lighter backpack down to the lake.  I had a snack and boiled water for tea.  As I enjoyed my tea, I realized that there was a rock situated at the perfect angle for reclining.  Recline I did. For the next couple of hours!  It was glorious!  I was in a state somewhere between being alert and asleep.  It was the most relaxed a person can be and still be awake.  I watched the ripples in the water, the clouds moving by in the sky, the several birds flitting around until they found the perfect perch, and basked in the radiating warmth of the sun as it peaked out from the intermittent cloud cover.  After a while, I went back to camp.  There was a large rock by my site that was shaped rather like a couch!  I sprawled out on the rock sofa and read for another several hours.  When the sun had moved on to a different section of the park and my grumbling stomach became impossible to ignore, I went at least 200 feet away (bear safety) and found a great spot in the woods that was perfectly suited to become my kitchen/dining room for the evening.  There’s something so splendid about a day that both starts and ends in the wilderness without any interruption of civilization in between!      

The next morning, after a fairly steep climb, I got to yet another serene mountain lake.  This one was so clear I could see the fish swimming about!  I could also see the mountains reflected on the surface!  I plopped down to enjoy the moment.  Not long after I plopped, there appeared another hiker who plopped down right beside me and we started chatting away. . .nature sure does bring out the best in people!  It turns out he was a professor of psychology and social work!  I told him I was thinking about going back to school for social work and he proceeded to give me some tips as to good schools in the general region I was thinking about looking for programs!  Then, after a bit of hiking together, he said, “Enjoy your life kid.” and was off.  And let me tell you. . .I sure am enjoying my life of adventure! 

After hiking on random old trails (probably made by fishermen) by the stream that feeds into the lake, I realized that I needed to retrace my steps and find the main trail.  Although, it was an extremely lovely detour!  I continued to climb higher until I had an outstanding view of the mountains as well as the lake so far below!  At this point, I started seeing more day hikers.  I think many of them will go home and report, “No, we didn’t see any moose, but we did see this backpacker and she was all alone!”  It was funny. . .it really was as if they were sighting some kind of wild animal that they had heard of, but never seen, when they met me and confirmed that I had spent two nights in the backcountry.  Luckily, my backpack also attracted the interest/attention of a man who works in the information office for the park.  He told me to call him on a Sunday morning and he’d give me lots of insider tips for my next trip to the park.  He also turned out to be a retired psychologist and was very interested to talk about my potential switch to social work.  He assured me that Portland was the place where I should go to pursue this dream, so I guess I can’t finish my trip until I make it there!  After just a bit more hiking downhill, I was back in the parking lot.  I unloaded my backpack and freshened up in the visitor center bathroom. . .probably my most outstandingly homeless moment thus far!  Then it was time for my post backpacking trip ritual.  I found an all-you-can-eat situation and ate my body weight full of what they had to offer!

This particular all-you-can-eat affair was an inn situated in Rocky Mountain National Park (it must have been grandfathered in) that offered two types of soup, a salad bar, muffins, cornbread, honey wheat bread, and cubes of cheese.  I proceeded to eat three bowls of soup (one bowl of corn chowder and two of cowboy buffalo stew), two plates of salad, one slice of each kind of bread, a muffin, and several cubes of cheese!  It was all homemade and outstandingly delicious!  The experience was even better because I got to sit in the sun porch of that had a fabulous view of the Rockies! 

After stuffing as many totally delectable calories as I could into my stomach, I drove through the park on the outstandingly scenic Trail Ridge Road.  It didn't take long to get up to the section of the park that has an alpine tundra climate.  It was extraordinarily beautiful and cold!  It was snowing while I was hiking around!  There were odd and striking rock structures and view after breath-taking view of the snow covered mountains!  It was so harsh and majestic and beautiful!  As I drove down out of the mountains along the Colorado River, I had the good fortune of see several moose!  What large and odd looking, yet totally amazing creatures they are!