Day 13: Colorado Again

After Teton, we drove across the whole state of Wyoming in the dark and into the Colorado Rockies north of Denver and Estes Park. We'd covered the southwestern portion of Colorado on our way up to Utah, so the way home was dedicated to traveling down the central axis or spine of Colorado to the southeastern border at Trinidad.

We woke at a Rockies campground to 19 degrees Farenheit/-7 Celsius and snow.

Day 12 - Part 3: The Hidden Best of Teton

The end of Day 12 brought us yet another surprise in this journey of wonderful surprises. As usual, one of us was more impatient to get to the next place, but Kain - with his impeccable sense of finding beauty - took us around one more hidden bend in the road that gave us one of the most special hours in our whole trip and definitely the most beautiful pictures. Many of them are now hanging on the walls of our house as a daily reminder that,

"Adventure is worthwhile in itself!"

There was an inn at Teton with a campground and boat launch, but it was all closed for the season. Kain decided to explore the road down to the boat launch. We're really grateful he did. Following are photos of the sun lowering over the lake to sunset. May they bring a touch of grandeur, serenity and the bigness of possibilities in life. Enjoy without captions since words are not enough to capture this experience...We were doing a lot of work in these moments connecting on behalf of all of our friends, families, co-workers, kingdoms of nature, earth and some other places at similar latitude/longitude to share the experience of that time in its very moment.
















Look closely, and you will see a Wyoming moose -
the first either of us had ever seen in the wild.

Over the sky,
under the water,
into the core,
out to the edges,
we live and work and have our being as one.
Quietness
and the silence of the center
reign supreme
as the symphony of life
beats in the still places,
water's light slap on a floating dock
as the last rays of light
touch the blue ice.

- J. Wayne, 12/26/2007

Day 12 - Part 2: On to the Towering Tetons

After our beautiful morning in Idaho and a pit stop at the most Western diner you can imagine, we headed with excitement to Wyoming and the famous Teton National Park.

Welcome to Wyoming: Crossing the border

between Idaho and Wyoming

Wyoming vista not long after crossing border from Idaho

Wyoming autumn colors southwest of Teton

Typical small Wyoming town in Star Valley
(a valley the size of Rhode Island)

Cattle on Main Street!

Real cowboys and cowgirls. Yep, that's a

cowgirl in the back in the blue shirt.

The main street through Jackson, Wyoming

Elk reserve in Jackson, Wyoming. This was
the boys field. We don't know where the girls were.

On the way in to the west entry to Teton National Park

Grand Teton Mountain (over 13,4oo feet/4084 meters)

Closer short of Grand Teton cluster

In front of the famous Grand Teton and Snake River

Happy and relaxed (and cold!) in front of Tetons

As the sun was heading down, we headed to a lake on the map. Unfortunately, most of the Park had officially closed for the winter just days before we arrived, so there were very few places we could visit.

Day 12 - Part 1: Idaho

Day 12 brought us to one of our happiest unplanned detours of the trip, beautiful Bear Lake State Park, Idaho - a lake area known for its teal waters due to the limestone geology of the area. We were able to take many stunning pictures in this special place as the sun rose.

It was quite a saga getting here. It was very late when we got to the area, and there weren't any other campgrounds or towns around that we could find. We followed signs for the camp area, which was supposedly 11 miles down the dark road. After driving 12 miles, we figured we took a wrong turn and drove all the way back to a different branch in the road. After 4 miles - and back again - on that dirt road, we went back to the small main road where we started. Kain was determined to try again, so we went BACK down the original 11-mile stretch. Turns out we had stopped less than half a mile short the first time! We went around one more turn, and there it was. Cranky as some of us were by the time we found it, the next morning proved that it was worth the extra persistence.

Bear Lake definitely expands one's sense of beauty. It is a timeless, very Western place - quiet and still and full of subtle light and color. I'm not sure there's anyplace else quite like it except for maybe Mongolia. We hope you enjoy this special place as much as we did...


Sun rising around 7 am


Bear Lake reveals herself; we arrived at night as usual so we didn't know what to expect!


Gentle early-morning light


Play of light and shadow as the sun rises


Beach in Idaho???!!! Who knew?


Greeting the morning



A sense of scale; that's tiny JW in the foreground on the beach.


Kain rested and revitalized


Morning sun with marsh grasses


Idaho autumn colors


For VW


A little more Western autumn color


Wish you could hear the wind in these grasses; you'll have to imagine it!


For Gustav Samak; he would have loved it here.

Day 11: Park City, Utah to Idaho

Day 11 was our departure day after a happy visit to Utah. Thank you, Noelia, Martha and Yasmine!

We headed up to Park City - land of the Winter Olympics, apparently excellent skiing, Robert Redford and Sundance Institute - for a hot chocolate at the end of the day. After studying the map and discovering how close we were to Idaho, we unexpectedly added Idaho to our itinerary, and decided to camp at Bear Lake State Park that night. If you are ever in Park City, stop at the cybercafe there and try their Hot Malt drink.




Dusk in Park City

Days 5-11: Salt Lake City, Utah

Our Lovely Salt Lake Hosts, Martha, Noelia and Yasmine

Day 5 found us in Salt Lake City, Utah for our seminars, 7 Life Cycles and Wisdom Martial Arts. We were able to do a little siteseeing before settling in to work!

Salt Lake City Vista

Typical Salt Lake Neighborhood

Downtown Salt Lake City

Kain working us hard in martial arts class

A well-deserved meal after 4 hours of martial arts!

Leaving Salt Lake City

Day 4: Arches National Park, Utah

Day 4 - our last day to our destination of Salt Lake City - finds us in the indescribable Arches National Park, where the stunning landscape is matched only by all the wonderful, friendly people we meet...fellow nature-lovers amazed that more people don't know about this magical place that seems outside time and modern life. We agree that this is on the "100 Places You Must See in Your Life" list. We'll just let the pictures speak for themselves...Nowhere have we seen such magnificence in nature, from the color combinations to the textures to the absolute silence.

ARCHES SUNRISE

OUR ARCHES CAMPSITE JUST AFTER SUNRISE

BEAUTIFUL PINKISH-GOLD MORNING LIGHT

MOON OVER SKYLIGHT ARCH

RADIANT SUN & JW

MARTIAL ARTS IN SKYLINE ARCH

AT ONE WITH THE ROCK

FAMOUS DELICATE ARCH (IN THE BACKGROUND)

DOUBLE ARCHES

SUBTLE GREENS OF THE DESERT:
How many different greens can you find?

IN FRONT OF BALANCED ROCK

THE LOOMING ROCK WALL KNOWN AS "PARK AVENUE"

CANYON SENTINALS GUARDING THE VALLEY ENTRYWAY

A BABY BIGHORN SHEEP ON OUR WAY OUT OF THE PARK

It's on to Salt Lake City after an unforgettable day in Arches National Park.