Vacation and a dose of spooky

This past week my husband and I headed to the Grand Teton National Park. We had been there for a day a couple of years ago when we went to Yellowstone. We loved the amazingly beautiful mountains. They soar up over the landscape in sharp contrast to the world around them. The mountains didn’t rise so much as the land around them sunk. The spot that sunk is now known as Jackson Hole (once Jasckson’s Hole), and it has become a place for overpriced skiing and shopping.A few of the peaks have glaciers on them, and the “permanent snow” is beautiful to behold.

The park however, is like all national parks, a bargain. You pay $25 to enter it , go in and out, for 7 days.That is $3.57 a day for a carload. It is the best bargain around. When in Teton, you can enter Yellowstone (literally just up the road) with the Teton admission pass. Two parks for the price of one.

Those with not a lot to spend can camp. There are wonderful sites and a grocery, laundry, showers (real ones), and everything else a camper would want. Then in the middle are cabins. Just a room with a bathroom , but the cabins at Colter Bay are all old cabins moved to the site when ranches and other business/homes were deserted for the park use. Ours was a cabin that was part of a retreat for wealthy young girls. Ironically it was called Half Moon cabin (and we have a pow wow drum named “new” moon). Those with bigger bucks to spend can stay in the lodges that are like fancy hotels, but to me I think that is missing the essence of the park.We had a wonderful time there hiking, looking at the scenery, wandering around Jackson, learning the history and visiting the raptor center. We spoke to people from Germany, France, Canada, Japan, Russia, India and England. Hearing the different languages and seeing how they all appreciated the park, reminded me how we all arrived here. We had two rangers helping that were American Indians, so it was all rounded out. The rangers however, got to stay.

We took a million pictures that I need to upload yet, and hiked about 25 miles, walked even more. Hiking in high altitude is not for the out of shape. I was so glad that I have been running again, as I didn’t have a problem at all. Some poor woman had a heart attack on a trail and it took over an hour to get to her and medivac her out. I don’t know how that turned out for her , but I hope she made it. People don’t realize the altitude most of the time. You can usually walk around on flat surface just fine, but stairs, hills, and climbing, grab you in the lungs and make you realize where you are. Mother Nature ALWAYS wins.

The cell phone availability is hit or miss, and there is no internet except in the lobbies of the different housing areas. There is no TV, no radio….don’t worry you won’t miss it for a second.

We will return to the park one day.

I did find that on the way home that there was a place that is haunted. A closed prison. When it opened it was called the Wyoming Frontier Prison and later the Wyoming Penitentiary. It is in good shape. They offer history tours all day long on the half hour during the temperate months. There is no heat in the winter, so there are no tours then (when the prison was operational, the inside temperature was only 20 degrees warmer than the outside, many froze to death). The prison , or actually museum , was only 1 block off the road where we were traveling.

It is haunted…very. The history of the place and the stories about it are interesting and amazing. The exhibits they have there, and the condition of the place are also amazing. It is well worth the visit just to get an idea about frontier life. The architecture is wonderful and the entryway even includes a stained glass window. We plan on returning for a nighttime investigation. I am sure it will be great. The prison was on an episode of Ghost Adventures recently and well worth checking out.

So we saw the beauty of the Tetons, and visited a raptor center that is saving many raptors. We hiked, we ate, we read books together in our snuggly cabin. We saw animals, such as bear, elk, pronghorn, moose, mule deer, chipmunks, and squirrels. We saw many birds, including the Sandhill crane. It was awesomeness at its’ best. Then we tossed in some more history and a dose of the paranormal, and came home.

Hopefully it will not take long to return!

Wyoming, you are a beautiful state! Thanks for the visit!

Peshaui Wequashimese

(C) 2013 Dr. R M Wolf. May not be used, copied or reproduced without prior written permission.