Rafting, Elk and Bison
Trip Start
Jul 07, 2007
1
9
14
Trip End
Jul 29, 2007
Jackson,
Wyoming,
United States
Saturday, July 21, 2007
Another action-packed day here at Jackson Hole. John (Elaine's brother) and his kids did finally make it last night after all their airport troubles, and wouldn't you know his kids were up bright and early this morning.
After we all got coordinated and rolling, we went to Teton Park, where we rode a gondola up the mountain approximately 3,000 ft straight up. At the top was a great view, a gift shop, a great view, a deli, a great view, and a restaurant. Did I mention the great view?
We all took some pictures and perused the gift shop, then rode back down and went back to the hotel to regroup. Then came the main event of the day... whitewater rafting! The four of us who did it were all inexperienced at this and in our raft were also three others who had never done it either
01
. We had a great guide/boatman named Everett who made us feel safe and adventurous at the same time and also kept us entertained. We reported to the building which houses the rafting company. They had told us to be there by 1 PM but as we slid into the parking lot at about two minutes to one, we found out that our trip didn't really start till 1:30! They just try to make sure everyone is there before the bus leaves. So, we took some deep breaths and waited for our group to depart. There was a whole bus load of people in our time slot and the bus ride took about 30 minutes. After some instruction and safety rules, we set out down the river with Everett as our guide.
It was GREAT! Some of it was quite calm, but just about the time your heart rate started to go back down, there was another set of rapids to challenge you. After about an hour and a half and several miles, we were at the pick-up point. During the trip we were invited at three different points to jump out of the raft and into the river. Several of those on the boat did just that, and more than once. We all got wet, some of us got sunburned, some got sore from paddling, but we all had a great time.
Oh, I forgot to tell you that this was an adults-only ride
03
. Mom and Dad took the four children on an excursion to "The Park" where Samuel and Jacob both got yet another set of credentials as Junior Rangers.We all met back at the hotel, went swimming, then dinner. After dinner we all piled into two cars to head out to an area of the National Elk Refuge to see some Bison. How we found out about this I don't know, but apparently it's no secret because when we got out there, there were quite a few cars on that road, many of them pulled over and taking pictures. We did see a herd of Bison coming across the field to our right, and crossing the road. I managed to snap a few pics before my camera batteries gave out.
That's it for today. Tomorrow, it's off to Yellowstone Park.
Quinn
