Sabbath in the Tetons

Today we took it easy after church at First Baptist Jackson. We had an easy lunch at the house and Anabelle, Bryce, and I rode bikes to the National Elk Refuge (which is currently empty). After hanging out for a while around the house we went downtown and walked around some of the shops searching for souvenirs and just enjoying the town.

Yippi-I-O Candy Co. This place stressed my mom out but for us it was a lot of fun.

After we got back from exploring the downtown area, we packed up food for supper, planning on grilling bison burgers at String Lake in Grand Teton National Park. However, the area at String Lake was not as my aunt and I remembered it and there ended up not being any grills there so we played in the water for a while there and then visited Jenny Lake on our way out of the park.

String Lake

Let me tell you about my obsession with mountain-fed water. I get it from my mom. She likes to tell a story of when she and my dad and aunt and uncle went to the Smokey Mountains when she was pregnant with me and they swam in one of the cold creeks in the mountains. She recalls that I started moving like crazy when she got in the water. I think that day was the beginning of my 16 year long fetish. Ever since then, every time I see clear running water I am automatically drawn to it. It has a sort of magnetic force that I can't resist. I just have to get into the water. My mom is the same way. So, naturally, we were the first to enter the icy String Lake. It was wonderful. After we dried off and warmed up there, we stopped in at Jenny Lake and let me just say: words and pictures cannot describe the beauty of that place. The color of the water is beyond description. It is a perfect (as close to perfect as possible) rich blue and every ripple reflects the sun's light like a crystal. I think part of the dark blue color comes from the shadow that the towering Tetons cast over the water. And again, my siblings and I had to get down to the water.

These pictures do not do the landscape justice at all.

We had a nice drive back to the house as the sun was setting, turning the mountains into grey silhouettes across the backdrop of an orange sky. We sat outside and enjoyed the fresh air while we grilled bison burgers. Bison is very similar to beef in taste and texture but it is more flavorful than beef. It was delicious! By the way, Clayton just reminded me to tell y'all that it doesn't get dark until 10 o' clock here and it is completely bright outside by 5 o' clock. And we are one hour behind central time. We had a fantastic day today and have an exciting day planned for tomorrow.