Tetons, Ho!

Grand Teton National Park is one of those places that is stunningly photogenic, yet impossible to completely capture. I spent so much time gawking at it all that I would totally forget to turn the camera on, let alone try snapping pictures.

We rolled out of Ashland practically the exact same hour I finished school. That's right, I'm a proud graduate of Ashland Institute of Massage, and I've got the t-shirt to prove it! Now back to the fun stuff and more on that later...

Oregon is a freaking big state. So is Idaho. There are mind-boggling open expanses that hold nothing but sage brush, some scruffy junipers, and a pine tree or two. We split the 15 hour drive into two days, crossing Oregon, then Idaho, and finally up into Wyoming. This is a pit stop we took along the Malheur River in eastern Oregon.
Guess what, it was still winter there. They had over 700 inches of snow up in the mountains and all the waterways were running fast and high. Thank goodness I brought my down jacket to protect my thin Ashland blood. I had meant to put the cute smiling picture of me eyeballing pelicans here, but I guess I uploaded the perturbed one instead. Whoops.
We fully enjoyed playing around at the discovery centers in the park.
One day we took an excursion to the national forest to take Bubba for a hike. As much as I love the parks, I'm not a fan of their "no dogs" policy. The trail took us up alongside a creek that required us to get creative with our crossing techniques. Bubba was the only one who ended up swimming, thank goodness.
On our search for wildlife Carl decided to set up his own perimeter to wait for a bear to emerge from the willows. We soon got bored and moved on, but we later heard that she crossed the road exactly where Carl predicted she would.

Golden eagle

A moose and her calf crossing the Snake River.
Carl and his trusty steed.
Our main excuse for heading to the Tetons was to attend the wedding of the man who introduced Carl to PBR (anyone responsible for such a life-changing event certainly deserves some respect). The ceremony was down by the river with the mountains looming in the background, and the following reception was held at the National Museum of Wildlife Art. We got to wander through the galleries to our hearts' content, although we did get busted trying on the costumes in the kids' discovery corner.
Up close and personal with a moose.
This bison was checking out Bubba from a roadside vantage point.
The big news in the park this season was the three-cub litter of bear 399, the second time she's had that many. We were lucky enough to see them about 25 yards off the road.
She was a big girl.
The two seasons Carl worked in the Tetons it was his tradition to go to Yellowstone on his birthday. We were a couple days late but made it up there anyway to check out such bizarre sights as this super-heated water pouring into the river.
I guess the bison can't read because there were tracks everywhere across this thermal spot.
The Lower Falls of Yellowstone River, at the head of its Grand Canyon. Even with all the people it was still spectacular.
Bubba checking out a bison jam. He's a well-seasoned traveler at this point.
Quintessential Yellowstone: bison and thermal vents.

The day of our departure was the first day of summer and actually felt like it, too. It was hard to leave those gorgeous mountains behind, but we'll be back. On the way home we stopped in Idaho Falls at the very much off-the-beaten-path Museum of Idaho. For some reason they were host to an abbreviated version of Bodies: The Exhibition, and I couldn't wait to see it. Carl was good enough to humor me as we wandered past the preserved bodies and I excitedly pointed out all the muscles and structures I had learned in school. It's one thing to learn a specific muscle from a book; it's completely different to see how it fits in with everything else. My favorite exhibit was of the cardiovascular system. They used a process called corrosion casting, where colored plastic is injected into all the blood vessels and then solidifies, allowing them to remove everything else around it. The end result was a perfectly discernible structure of delicately branching tubules; the arm looked exactly like an arm, right down to the fingers, and the whole body was there including ears and lips. If you ever get a chance to see this exhibit, even somewhere like Idaho Falls, you should definitely go - it's amazing.

Back at home the corn has grown another foot, the peas are raging out of control, and we have salad greens coming out of our ears. Even the chickens seem bigger. Oh, and it hit 91 degrees yesterday. Hello, summer!