The Tetons are our family’s favorite place to go and camping in the Tetons during autumn is magical. We usually spend three weekends there each fall, but this year, we have some big home projects going on, so we had to settle for just one long weekend.
While longing to go back, I have to admit that we quit while we were ahead. Our rough start, which I’ll tell you about next, did not serve as a bad omen for the trip. It was just an obstacle to overcome.
The Trip That Almost Didn’t Happen
Our truck has been out of service almost all summer. We blew up two batteries, and by the time our original plans to have it fixed fell through, the repair shops had a one-month or longer wait before we could get it.
We have to have a truck to pull our camper. While we love to tent camp, it’s so cold in the Tetons in the fall, and I’m getting weak sauce in my old age. But since we weren’t going to have our truck fixed, I was planning to tent camp.
Then, our mechanic friend stopped by, and we thought we had figured out our problem: we needed two new batteries instead of one. That was embarrassing. Did we really have our truck sitting in our neighbor’s driveway all summer because it needed a battery?
The batteries seemed to be the solution, and everything was working great with the truck until we stopped for gas a mile from home, and it wouldn’t start again.
The Solution for the Trouble
Our truck could have broken down anywhere, but it did it a mile from our house and just across the driveway from our friend, who came to our rescue to give us a jump. That didn’t work.
Then our mechanic friend came to our rescue, discovered the problem, and three hours later, we were on the road again. I feel a little better that our problem was bigger than a dead battery, but I was absolutely devastated that our one trip didn’t look like it was going to happen.
After many tears on my part, Rick got back in the truck, and it started up. I thought we were going home because I didn’t know that it was fixed. When he started driving away from home, I said, “What are you doing?” And he replied, “Going to the Tetons.”
What!? I couldn’t believe it! I was overjoyed and also quite leery. I envisioned a journey of becoming stranded in the wilderness. Thankfully, I’m not clairvoyant. We were fine.
While the stress of a broken-down vehicle wasn’t pleasant, I am praising the Lord for His timing. Getting struck anywhere other than where we were would have seemed and might actually have been insurmountable. But it happened at the right place and right time, and we had the right people to swoop in and be our superheroes.
Elk, Elk, and More Elk
We headed to the Tetons via Yellowstone National Park (one of the best places to visit around Bozeman), got to our campsite in the Tetons by 10:30, and settled in.
Rick always gets up for sunrise and goes out for sunset to try to take pictures of elk during the rut. Some days are dead with no action, but this trip was full of magic.
On our last evening in the park, I watched from above while Rick got in on the elk, and I couldn’t believe the things that were happening around him! Our texts were pretty much a series of, “Whoa! Did you see that!”
After so many close encounters with elk, Rick and I are both pretty psyched about the quickly approaching hunting season.
Our Friend Brian
A couple of years ago, our very own Miss Personality, Wrenny made friends with Brian, who supervises the stores at Jackson Lake Lodge. After introducing herself as “Wrenny Penny Poo Poo Poo,” Brian started going by “Brian Wian Poo Poo Poo.”
So we stopped in to see him, but we couldn’t find him. Finally, we asked someone where he was, and she said she’d go look for him. She found him, and he told us, “I asked her who wanted me, and she said, ‘I don’t know, they have a lot of kids,’ and I knew exactly who was here.”
The lodge was abuzz with activity. Apparently, National Geographic was having their convention, and I’ve never seen it so crazy.
Chacos Were the Lucky Charm at Phelps Lake
We always hike to Taggart Lake, and it’s always a winner. The trail is beautiful in every season, and the lake always holds the hope of seeing a moose.
But I learned about Phelps Lake and thought we should break tradition and skip Taggart in favor of Phelps.
We have a new favorite now. It’s right up there with Taggart. The hike is very easy. The fall colors were stunning. I was hoping to see a bear because the trail reports I had read all talked about bears.
I talked Rick into getting Chacos because they’re my favorite, and he was wearing his new pair for the first time and struggling with adjusting the straps. So I was helping him out and tightening them when he exclaimed, “A bear!” And sure enough, right down the creek was a gorgeous black bear eating berries.
I said, “See! Chacos are all they’re cracked up to be. If it weren’t for them, you wouldn’t have seen that bear.”
Mountain View Baptist Church
Besides the camping in the Tetons being our favorite, our church away from home keeps us coming back to Jackson.
We have grown to love Mountain View Baptist Church and the people there. The regulars include some of the most interesting people, and the visitors from all over the country and the world are always fascinating to meet.
Pastor Winters and his family are dear friends, and Sunday dinners with them are so comfortable and enjoyable.
If you visit the Tetons, stop in and be encouraged!
More Fun Things
We all enjoyed the sunrise at Schwabacher’s Landing (too cloudy for a lovely sunrise, but the sun poked through the clouds to bathe the scene in warm morning light), moose on Moose Wilson Road (two bulls, a cow, and a calf), and evenings at the dam, lake, and lodge.
We did more fun things, but I have to keep some things a secret because I don’t want to ruin the best spots by publishing them for the world to see. If we’re really good friends, I might let you know, but only if you swear to secrecy.
In true romantic storybook fashion, the Tetons sent us on our way home with the most brilliant rainbow you could imagine. Farewell until next year.
