Every morning in the summer that you are in Jackson Hole, you must do the following:
You must rise, wash, and dress when it is full dark. You must then head out to some place where you can get a full view of the Teton Range. Arriving at your view point at 6:00 AM in late August is early enough.
ou must face west, not east. You must then sit still and watch--maybe drinking a cup of coffee--as dawn comes, and the Grand Teton range slowly emerges out of the darkness. You must continue to watch as the first pink rays of the sun light up first the cumulus clouds above, then the tops of Grand Teton and Mt. Moran, and then the whole rocky mass of the Teton Range.
There is nothing to match the morning sun on the Grand Teton Range anywhere on the North American continent. (I would have said that there is nothing that comes even close to matching it, but earlier this summer I went to the Icefields Parkway in the Canadian Rockies: they come close.)
This morning, alas--for the first time in my experience ever--rain and a low cloud ceiling of 1000 fee are robbing me of my view of dawn on the Tetons. But yesterday, Friday, it was truly magnificent.
Posted by DeLong at August 30, 2003 07:56 PM | TrackBack
Bummer. Seen any moose in Willow Flats, at least?
One moose, and about twenty elk...
Posted by: Brad DeLong on August 31, 2003 08:50 PMAh, yes, the sun up on the Tetons. I would also submit that the opposite vista -- the night stars -- are worth the visit as well. I have sat out on the ground, looking up and seen more stars than I have ever seen, not to mention the incredible number of visible satellites. Then, of course, you can float the Snake River, attempting to catch the native cutthroats, while meandering along the Great Teats. I don’t go to church, but I do go to worship sessions while on the Snake.
Elk--go out to White Grass Meadow. Especially now.