White water and Mountains - Yikes!

I think the last place I left off we had completed our 4 hour horseback ride. We went several days with no internet service and limited cell phone service so I have lots to cover. I am happy to report that all soreness caused by Red, the horse, is completely gone 7 days later.

On Tuesday, the day after the horseback ride, Mark, Ben, Matthew, Mary Grace and I went on a whitewater rafting ride down the Snake River. While Doris, Mark’s mom, kept the girls at the RV. We all got dressed in wet suits at the KOA kampground before boarding a bus for the first part of our trip (i.e. the Scenic part). There were 11 of us in the raft (not counting T-bone our guide). We had a family from northern California (the dad looked like Dennis Miller and they had an 8 and 12 year old). There was also a honeymoon looking couple from Arkansas.

The Scenic part was just that. T-bone was a bit giddy that this day was only their second 70 degree day this year. The mountains still were capped with snow and the water temperature was somewhere around 40 degrees. The highlight of this part of the trip was probably seeing a male, female and baby eagle. During this part of the trip T-bone went through all the safety procedures and told us exactly what to do if we got thrown out of the raft or if the raft turned over. By the end of the Scenic portion I was thoroughly scared to death!

We landed the raft halfway down our trip and unloaded our cameras, phones, hats, sunglasses, hoodies, and anything else we didn’t want wet in the waiting bus. We were given splash jackets to wear under our life jacket and some of us were given oars. T-bone put Mary Grace and I on the front seat middle section with no oars. While he assured me then that was the safest place to not get thrown out of the raft, I now know it’s the wettest place to sit in the raft and there is absolutely no place to hold on! I’m not sure which scared me more – getting thrown out or getting my teeth knocked out by the oar held by 12 year old boy from California paddling next to me. I think T-bone sensed my fear of the later and moved the 12 year old back a row and put his dad (Dennis Miller) next to me.

Well you know since I’m writing about it we all survived. No one got thrown out of the raft (but a few crazy rafters named Mark, Ben, Matthew and Mary Grace jumped in the 40 degree water just for the fun of it.) During the later part of the ride T-bone moved Matthew to my spot since Matthew wasn’t’ getting wet enough. I paddled behind Ben and in front of Mark for the rest of the way which only meant soreness in the upper body to replace the soreness from Red in the lower body. The ride really was not as bad as T-bone had let on (which is exactly what he confessed to later). I’d have to conclude that the scariest part of the whitewater adventure was putting on the wet suit. (We all gave Mark the nickname “Hans” if you’ve seen the picture!)

Later that day we went into Jackson and rode the Alpine Slide. Mark and the kids played a round of speed putt putt golf as they were rushing to get done before a nasty looking thunderstorm blew in. We ate dinner that night at a place called Gun and Barrel where Mark and the boys ate lots of wild things killed with a gun and barrel. Just kind of got the creeps looking at the animals nailed to the wall that they were eating. Elizabeth kept referring to it as Cracker Barrel. I do think I’d rather look at antiques nailed to the wall over elk, buffalo, deer, etc. Later that night we invited our new California friends (who by the way, were our very next door neighbors at the campground) over to our RV. They had driven up in a CruiseAmerica.com rental RV and were checking out the “big rigs.”

Wednesday morning we all got up bright and early to head to Teton Village for the boys to do some paragliding. After rushing to get there, filling out lots of forms, and waiting about an hour, the place decided the winds were too dangerous so they cancelled all rides for the day. Lots of disappointments for sure!

We did ride the tram up one very huge mountain though. I was okay with the heights until I realized what I thought was the top was only the halfway point. About the only way I could keep myself from getting physically ill was to put by head in my lap. (Yes, my children really enjoyed that.) Getting my feet on the ground at the top was really no better for me. Now added to my fear of heights was Anna or Elizabeth falling off the mountain that had no fence, rail, baby gate, nothing! After playing a bit in the snow we went into the only building up there and had some hot chocolate. The ride back down was not as bad as I chose my seat wisely. The tram operator informed us that a bear had been sighted down below earlier in the day so everyone was on the lookout. My only real fear coming down was when Mark’s mom spotted the bear and everyone ran to that side of the tram to see it! I caught a glimpse while trying to weigh my heaviest on the other side of the tram. I think I’d prefer the whitewater rafting over the tram ride any day.

We left Teton Village and headed to Jenny Lake to take a nice relaxing hike around the lake. Unfortunately the weather did not cooperate and rain and lightening kept us from enjoying the lake. Mark then took us all to dinner at the Grand Teton Lodge were the boys all ate wildlife again and I chose the vegetarian dish. (No, I’m not a vegetarian. It’s just something about looking at the animal’s face when you’re eating it’s relative. Just think sitting next to a wall mounted stuffed chicken next time you’re eating at Chik-fil-a.) After dinner we headed out to Flagg Ranch campground just outside the South entrance to Yellowstone and into the Land of No Internet and Cell Towers.