A dangreous forest fire near Jackson has brought lots of firefighters to the area, and depending on the prevailing winds, your view of the Grand Tetons can be obscured by smoke.
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We drove from our condo in Wilson (west of Jackson and on the way to the Jackson Hole ski area) on the back road to Jackson Lake Lodge. Along the way, we were stopped: gridlock on the dirt road. It seems that several people were ignoring the copious Park Service warnings about wild animals, and were chasing a good sized bear with their digital cameras and zoom lenses ready. I wouldn’t have blamed the bear if he’d turned around and attacked them!
Jenny Lake is spectacular and the aspen trees are at the height of their color. It’s been as dry here as in Colorado.
Halfway up the narrow road to Signal Mountain, we were stopped by a young bird – it looked like a falcon – in the middle of the road. I stopped. He didn’t go away; instead, he jumped on the car and glared at us. When I started to drive, the bird hung on and rode with us around a hairpin turn to a scenic turnout where several other tourists saw our stowaway and started snapping pictures. Perhaps they found the falcon perched on a green Honda CRV with LT WORF license plates a little unusual. I cracked the window a bit and handed my camera to one of the bemused tourists (afraid that if I opened it any more the damned bird would jump inside) who took our picture.
The falcon then glared at Georgia, pooped on the hood, and jumped off, to the amusement of everyone.
Ken Burns was right. The national parks are one of America’s best ideas. And their $10 lifetime senior pass is the deal of the century.