Hej! from the Tetons,

WiFi is very spotty in these mountains, which, believe me has been great. The WiFi spot is near the general store, and it can get crowded here while everyone checks in with their respected worlds they “left” behind for this moment in time. But a world without distractions can leave room for….many thoughts, scenarios, pondering, musings and the such.

This years residence in the Tetons has been wonderful-but man oh man the mosquitoes have been a beast. Forget about the black or grizzly bear, it’s the damn bugs that have made us insane. Which has led me to today’s ramble. I always praised myself as a healthy Momma to Henna. I always chose organic foods, went the less toxic route with cleaning products trying to limit her exposure at an early age (the time I had some control of what entered her body). Among the list of items I banned were suntan lotions with chemicals (which left us looking like we had white war paint on) and bug spray containing Deet. As regular campers you may wonder how I accomplished this feat? Well, I’ve tried various oils, wrist bans, long shirts, smoke from the camp fire and cursing. Luckily, we haven’t had too much trouble throughout the years-but when we have it’s been rough. And to top it all off, these pests love Henna. LOVE her. And she doesn’t just get bit. She reacts with massive swells. One year she woke up with a huge swollen eye, like she had been part of a bar fight the night before. We happened to be in Canada at the time and had to tell her to not joke about getting a beating while going through border crossing. Anyway, I digress. Back to the present. Henna was having a horrible time here. Her mood was rough. She was sullen and one night said she wanted to just go to bed so she wouldn’t have to be awake any longer (fighting bugs). Ugh. That was the worst. So the next day, I urged her and Noel to buy bug spray. I have often done that over the last few years, urged them to buy it. Use the stuff….my reign of control was over. But they never would. But last night they finally did. They sprayed themselves and their clothes. They walked around in a Deet mist……and guess what? My Happy Henna emerged. She was amazed how the bugs flew away from her. Oh the power she now had. She was elated. But she would comment every now and then about how she felt guilt using it, or it made her feel like she’d done something wrong. Holy crap. I hoNestly had unknowingly brain washed her. Our kids are always listening, watching and taking in our every move and belief. It’s a crazy power we have. I’ve always wanted her to have her own ideas and beliefs on everything, but we’ve shaped her for Better or worse. Of course she’ll go into the world with this first foundation and build upon it. I know that. But as she turns 16 I wonder and to be honest worry what other “ideas” I’ve inadvertently instilled in her. Hmm. Things you don’t ponder while at home with Netflix to sidetrack you. Oh well. My favorite saying is “you can’t go back, only forward”. So, I’m moving forward…..especially as both Noel and Henna are awaiting me to take a hike.

Corey

carpenter ants at work. We’ve been watching this over the last few days with wonder. Not missing Netflix at all……well maybe Fleabag just a little.

They had Derek on the run. With sharpened sticks and a blood curling yell they chased him into the woods and past our campsite. Tired of watching this crap go on, I grabbed a flashlight and walked toward the mob. And just like that a dozen ten year old boys scattered in mock terror.

Chilling at Gros Ventre Campground

The boy scout troop camped next to us really sucked. Picture, I don’t know, maybe 3000 ten to twelve year old boys and one well meaning but absolutely inept dad. They cut down live branches, ran recklessly through the campground, were way too close to a ledge, and chased a poor buck around. The kids went to bed way too late (and way too loud) then were up at the crack of dawn mostly to yell at one another. And for some reason they were out to get Derek and thought it was a good idea to threaten him with spears.

Sunset at Gros Ventre (above) and Signal Mountain (below)

By noon they left and Signal Mountain Campground reverted back to its peaceful, calm self. And then they returned back to get Derek.

Just kidding.

Playing cards (moment made possible by Ray’s nifty carpentry skills- thank you Ray!)

Writing you from Laramie, WY which is home to one of the highest (sorry Madison) college campuses in the country; University of Wyoming. Home of the Cowboys it was established on a land grant in 1886. Nice place. Laramie is a very nice college town with stunning views of the Snowy Mountains. It also is the kind of place where almost every bar is flying a multitude of Pride flags. I even spied a few “Hate has no home here” stickers. Which is why we like to drive. However tempting it would be to fly into Jackson and rent a car, there is something about traveling 1,000 miles through the Midwest and then suddenly coming to a great mountain town like Laramie. Howdy y’all!

The “Library steps” – a cool brewpub in Laramie (great beer, mediocore food)

Laramie’s answer to the High Line (NYC) and the 606 Trail (Chicago)

And just like that we find ourselves again in Lincoln, Nebraska. A nice place, Lincoln is probably the place we would choose to live if for some reason we had to live in Nebraska (2nd choice is Kearney).

There is a lot of empty in the 500 mile space between here and Chicago. A few urban dots too, but mostly a gentle rolling landscape of corn and other crops. This trip is going to be a bit of an odd one for us. For starters it will be about three weeks. And we will probably not see many new places. The plan is to get to the Tetons and then sit awhile. Maybe if we have time we will drive north to Waterton Lakes National Park. Or maybe we will get bored and head to Yosemite.

But the trip begins now.