Day 18 - Whitewater Rafting in Grand Tetons

One of the bald eagles we saw

You know when you have one of those days when you can't believe how lucky you are?  Today was one of those days for us!  The alarm clock went off at 6:00 am.  We each had a quick snack, a drink, got dressed in warm clothes, and headed out the door.  We arrived at the Barker-Ewing rafting meeting spot for 7:00 am. We all signed our injury waivers and picked out any water gear we wanted (booties, wet suits etc.)  Because we booked our trip so early in the season we got complimentary water gear.  We brought some with us but didn't end up using it.  Jackson is currently having a "heat wave" of sorts (they never get above 90 degrees and today that was what was forecast) so we didn't get real cold for the first part of our trip.  We had signed up for the Breakfast combo trip. Our river guide, Blake, is the son of one of my colleagues at school!  It was such luck to have him working on the day we were rafting.  I introduced myself, he got the reservations sheet and said he'd make sure we were in his boat.  The first 8 miles of the trip were scenic floating.  We saw over six bald eagles, osprey, and lots of geese. Blake was a master at finding all of these birds! Half way through the trip we stopped for breakfast.  As our guide shared, it came with a complimentary short hike up the river canyon to get to the breakfast spot.  They served fruit, eggs, sausage, and the most delicious pancakes.  I guess about 30 minutes before we arrived there was a moose that came upon the camp. Too bad we missed that! After breakfast we changed from cold weather water gear into whitewater gear.

At the end of our rafting trip with our guide, Blake

This is when the real fun began!  Blake was so gracious with both boys.  They made it very clear that they wanted to get wet, they wanted to paddle, and they wanted to "get air" when going over the rapids. He made it happen! Douglas got the very front seat in the boat.  He got to kneel and just hold on through all of the rapids.  Duncan and another boy his age were the first paddlers.  He was great about telling both of them, "No matter what, you keep paddling until I tell you to stop. Our lives are in your hands."  Blake did a quick lesson on the commands he would be yelling out and we were off.  I was able to bring a very small camera on the boat that also takes video.  I'll try to include that in this post.  Not quite sure what I'm doing but I'll give it a try!  We went through stage 2 & 3 rapids.  We all got soaked, we all laughed uncontrollably, and we were sad when the trip was over. Both boys are hooked.  They want to go again and soon.  Duncan asked Blake a lot of questions about being a river guide.  His answer: Duncan, I LOVE my job.  I have the best office in the world.  It is hard work but I get to do everything I love." (He skis and snowboards all winter long). So now Duncan has announced that he will probably become a rafting guide when he gets older.  I think he'd be great at that!  It includes everything he loves: nature, water, engaging with people, and also a relaxed personality!

Coming into Grand Teton National Park

As if that wasn't enough we headed up to Moose Junction in the Teton park to work on the kid's Junior Ranger badges.  We got there just as a ranger talk was beginning.  The talk was being led by a park naturalist who ended up taking us on a hike to look at the four ecosystems that exist in the valley.  He taught the kids the acronym SCAR so they could remember Sage brush, conifers, aspen, and rapidian.  The kids identified tracks and scat.  The visitor center loans out "naturalist backpacks" that people can sign out.  Inside they have plaster of paris, water, tracking books, maps, whistle, and bear spray.  Our ranger, Dan, didn't take time to have the kids cast a track but Duncan was so into it that after the presentation the ranger let him take the plaster kit so he could go cast a track he had found.  Ultimately, after casting the track and examining the scat Dan and Duncan determined that both were evidence of elk.  We spent over two hours at the Education Center and both boys got another Junior Ranger badge!  Through talking with people at the large visitor center we found out (just by chance) about an exhibit at the Jackson visitor center.  We went there next.  They had an incredible exhibit that had complete taxidermy bodies of all of the following animals: elk, bull elk, gray wolf, coyote, deer, owl, grizzly, bighorn sheep, squirrel.  They were all set up as they might be in nature.  This particular visitor center is located right on the edge of the elk refuge.  During the winter months tons and tons of elk migrate to the refuge where they are studied, fed, and observed.  We all agree that we LOVE the Tetons and Jackson Hole.  We'd love to come back during the winter for some snowmobiling, skiing, and to see the elks.

It is so funny to think that our list of things to do is actually getting larger.  We thought that by doing this trip we were actually crossing off "places to visit" now we have a "places to revisit" list!

(Grrrr, no luck with the video)