The Grand Tetons

A few weeks ago DH and I took a drive to Lander, Wyoming.
There is a good reason to go to Lander, Wyoming if your best friend is there.
Dave, who is DH's best friend was there.
Dave and DH were carpool buddies for 30 years in Arizona.
They were buddies before that, when we lived in Idaho, so we went on a drive to see Dave.

From our house to Lander, Wyoming you drive through incredible country.
We passed The Grand Tetons, and drove through Jackson Hole, Wyoming.

Even though I was raised in this country, I never get tired of seeing the Teton Mountains.

On a clear day I can see them from where I live.

Here is a zoomed in photo I took as we were leaving to take our ride.

They are HUGE.

When we got close to those magical mountains we stopped and spent about an hour just taking pictures.  The light changed, the shadows of the clouds were creeping across the mountains, and the weather changed.

Like I said, we both took pictures.
DH got into it and really took some fabulous photos.
He has an eye for composition.
But I am only sharing some of my photos....
And he is one of them.
I just want to hug him when I see this!

I'll do that later, first I have to show you some of the sights I enjoyed during that hour.
I took about 105 pictures, so it is hard to pick just a few to show you.

I want you to imagine how high we are.
The air is clean and the oxygen is thinner up here at this elevation.
You can smell the fragrance of the sage brush, and hear the water running near by.

Because of the clean fresh air, the colors are more vibrant.
The sky is indescribably blue.
The clouds are white, gray, pink, purple, and moving constantly in the wind up there.

Within moments the wind carries clouds to the tops of the peaks, and lets them sit there for a few moments, then off they blow and we can see the top of the peaks again.

Remember what the mountains looked like when we left....not a cloud....and it changed quickly while we were there.

Many people who have tried to climb these mountains have been caught in terrible storms on the mountains.  Only real experts even try to climb very high on the Teton Mountains.

Snow is on these mighty mountains all year long.

There are glaciers up here.

I have a favorite spot along this mountain range.

Someone is living there and taking care of my favorite spot until I can live there.

When the run off of snow isn't as bad, the water is crystal clear. 
Fish live there, waiting for me to catch them and eat them.

But for now the river is muddy and and nobody is fishing.

I don't need the fancy cabin.  I would be thrilled with a log exterior, plumbing, and electricity.  It could be one big room for me.  I would make a quilt for the bed, have a wood burning cook stove, and a garden which the deer and elk would eat.  And while they ate my garden I would take their pictures.  And maybe DH would hunt one of them and we would eat it.  That is what you do when you live here.

There are lots of critters who live in this area. 
Moose, elk, deer, badgers, squirrels, coyotes, bison, and many birds.

There is grass for the wild animals to eat.
And a lovely place for a elk to have a picnic.

The Teton Mountains are so high, trees don't grow on the top.
About half way up those mountains those beautiful trees said, "I don't want to go any further."
And they just stopped climbing up.
It is hard for them to breathe, too.

The elk, deer, etc. are really happy the little trees decided to stay lower, where the ground is flatter.
The hunters are glad about that, too.

And the flowers...............they really like it down on the flats, with the sage brush.

With all the moisture from the snow, the late spring thaw, and recent rains, the flowers were growing more than I have ever seen before.

And if you look closely at the lower left photo you will see the bison.
Someone is raising them.
They are good eating!
I love a "buffalo burger"!

I hope you enjoy seeing some of the things I get to see.

I never take for granted the beauty of this earth, and all that God created.

Next time I will show you some pictures I took while we walked through the flowers, sage brush, and squirrel poop.  You will love the little creatures I found hiding in the ground.

See you soon,

Bye.