Day 16

July 2 (Grant Teton National Park, WY)

We kept the relaxation going in the morning, which we all definitively still needed. Two weeks into this trip, we've been getting at it and keeping the children moving, on top of them staying up later with both the sun and time-zone changes. They haven't been getting the amount of sleep they typically do, and Cassandra and I can see it wearing on them a bit. I finished Travels With Charley, by John Steinbeck and am really happy to finally read that book this summer. A colleague, Sean, loves this book, and I understand why. It is a really fascinating window into the beginning of a camper-road-tripping experience that has exploded the last few years (Cassandra and I obviously are part of it). He provides an interestingly relevant book and much of his commentary is still on point today. We will cross paths with Steinbeck as we head further westward, and it's fun engaging with this important American author in these new and atypical ways.

Ev and I went horseback riding in the afternoon. The four of us rode bikes to the corral. Our ride was calm and absolutely gorgeous.

Having never ridden a horse before, this was really special for Evelyn too because she loves horses! She rode Gopher...

and I was on Cupid.

The power of being on that horse was cool and strange. Cupid could go anywhere and do anything if she wished, but she "let me" guide her around. I'd had more experience with houyhynms than horses before that ride! Evelyn was so excited for me and tried to help however she could. It's cool seeing her in her element, and it was nice being able to spend some time with just Evelyn: that doesn’t happen too much these days. We learned about aspen trees and arrowroot flower (aka cowboy's toilet paper, because its big soft leaves were just right…).

After the ride, we chatted with the corral manager about yarn and knitting (she used to own a yarn store and her daughter does fancy yarn arts and yarn dying).

While we were riding, Cassandra and Tilda rode around Colter Bay Village and ate some ice cream. Tilda was disappointed to not be able to ride (they only allowed rides for ages 8 and older), but we were sure we will find more horseriding opportunities on this trip, and that she will eventually be able to get at it.

Later in the evening, we attended a Ranger Talk at the Colter Bay amphitheater featuring Kelly Looking Horse of the Lakota Red Nations. It was a whole bunch of fun and kids loved it, until the program was rained out about halfway through the talk and performance.

Ev and Til played with some new friends they made on the campground on one of their bike loops just around the corner from us. Their parents came by our campsite (with their beautiful all-black German shepherd) and chatted with us for a while, and knowing we were leaving after the following night, they invited us to dinner tomorrow night! They are really nice people from San Francisco (a police officer and a teacher). They and their kids are so friendly and kind; I understand why Ev and Til want to play with them. They ran and giggled and played live-action dinosaurs and just had a blast. 

I'm was already so excited for our last full day in the Tetons - and our new friends just gave us more to get excited about!