Over the last 10 years, I have been trying to see as much of America as possible. I am not big into driving, so I haven’t done the cross-country drive thing, and never even did it in my youth. Never even drove to Florida, because driving to Brooklyn, frankly, wears me out.
But luckily, we were able to fly direct to Jackson Hole, Wyoming. American Airlines has a direct flight from JFK. Jackson Hole sits at the footsteps of the Grand Teton mountain range. The Tetons are part of the Rocky Mountains, although some geologists disagree about that, insisting that they are their own range. Whatever they belong to, they are staggeringly beautiful and awe-inspiring. They are icons of the old west. In fact, if you ever saw the 1953 movie, “Shane,” they are the backdrop for the entire movie. We got to visit the cabins they shot the movie in. Jackson was named after a guy from the old days, and the hole part refers to the huge valley that is the base of the mountains. We spent a couple of days walking around town and then headed up to Mammoth Springs where some very strange geological outcroppings exist. The Springs are at the upper part of Yellowstone, and Yellowstone is one big, inverted volcano known as a caldera. That collision of underground plates, steam and hot water all come together to form geysers and hot springs, the most famous being Old Faithful. They are fascinating to see in person and dangerous to be nearby. The colors cover the whole prismatic spectrum. One wonders what a person in 1860 would have thought coming across them as they made their way across the country.
One of the highlights of our trip was a drive through the Lamar Valley, or what is known as the Serengeti of America. Animals exist in the wild here: bears, elk, moose, wolves, coyotes, bison all wander about freely. Guests are cautioned not to treat these animals as if you are at Great Adventure, because they are very unpredictable. The internet was recently filled with videos of a grandfather tossed about by an angry bison. I didn’t want to be that grandfather, trust me! And if you wandered too far down a path you were warned to bring bear spray. Whoever controls the algorithms of our phones must have known I was there, because all I saw were videos of guys without bear spray meeting bears. But beyond the fear factor, the scenery with the wildlife was achingly beautiful. Again, I wondered how in God’s good earth did the pioneers make it out here. It’s not like the original inhabitants were happy to see them out there either.
Our last stop was the storied Jackson Lodge. This is the hotel that the Federal Reserve has its yearly late summer meeting to determine how high interest rates will go. This year they decided a quarter of a percent. The ceiling to floor windows looks out on to flats that have all the above wildlife intermingling as if you were watching a scene out of “The Lion King.”
We were able to squeeze in a white-water rafting voyage on the Snake River with some mildly (OK, scarily) convincing rapids. And a bike ride along the base of the Grand Tetons. All in all, if you ever want to get out of our little corner of paradise and see how expansive our country is, I highly recommend the Grand Tetons and Yellowstone. I truly saw and believed “For purple mountains majesties, above the fruited plain, America, America, God shed his grace on thee.”
