Finding My Way in Granite Creek and the Grand Tetons

…Let us risk the wildest places, Lest we go down in comfort, and despair.

Mary Oliver (excerpt from the poem, Magellan)

Return

Walking

this wooded path

under the shade of pines

beside the cool river

I know

this is where I’ll return

when I return

to dust.

The Ranger at the Bridger-Teton National Forest told me - “we’re really happy about the wildflowers this year. - you came at a good time.”

A magpie, tussled in the wind, perched on the roof of a shelter where I stopped to eat breakfast and plan the day.

Granite Creek Campground - Bridger-Teton National Forest. The Fortress.

The Falls at Granite Creek.

First view of the Tetons in the Grand Teton National Park.

The smell of pine was everywhere.

A little girl said there were moose at the moose pond, so I went, and there they were, huge, beautiful beasts.

Hidden Falls. Cooling relief after a hot climb.

Gros Ventre Campground. Storms threatened the first night, but passed around the park.

The beginning of a hike to Cascade Canyon.

Hawk protecting his family nest.

On my hike through the canyon, I met a family who generously let me tag along with them so I wouldn’t get eaten by bears - and one of them took this photo of me to send to my family.

Cascade Canyon Trail - Weather started to turn while I hiked back to the trailhead.

A chipmunk at Inspiration Point - a stop back along the trail

Groundhog near the Moose Pond. Think he was startled to see a human in the rain.

What a difference a few hours can make in the weather. Arriving back where I started, the Tetons enveloped in clouds and rain.

Sunset from my campsite.

My last night at the park, another storm rolled through. I woke up in the middle of the night, praying a tree wouldn’t fall on my van. In the morning, although limbs and trees had fallen and the power was out at the park office, all my fellow campers and I were ok.

And that’s how it ends. My last morning in the Grand Tetons.

When I was here, I felt my mortality for so many reasons. Bears, remote and unnavigable roads, lack of cell service, storms. I think that’s why I began to think about where I would want my ashes to be spread after I die. If I could choose anywhere, it would be in the woods somewhere…

The thing is, if I were to die out here - in some beautiful remote place, doing something I love to do, it wouldn’t be the worst thing. Life itself is risky. I would rather take some risk than never dare. What do you think?

Dragonfly

Deep in the sun-searched growths the dragonfly

Hangs like a blue thread loosened from the sky.

Dante Gabriel Rossetti

Dragonflies

Swiftly

they fly, hunting-

beautiful and deadly,

prehistoric dragons circling

a pond.

They are an ancient species. Older than dinosaurs.

Smaller now, once they were as big as eagles.

As larva, growing in the water, they shed skin after skin - feeding safely, in protective armor, on the unwary prey within their grasp.

Then, after years, they creep out of the muddy depths for one final molting.

Slicing through their own skins, becoming more vulnerable than they’d ever been, they emerge. Fragile wings and metallic bodies unfold. Many die at this stage; consumed by predators taking advantage of a temporary weakness.

Those who live become swift and deadly hunters, killing 90% of the prey they seek.

Dragons indeed.

A damselfly contemplating a single drop of water

Grasping a web, he can prey on the spider as well as the spider’s catch.

The damsels are slower and slimmer, but more flexible.

It’s looking at you!

If you want to know more about dragonflies, click here.

Hope you enjoyed this - I had fun writing it. I love dragonflies, and I know so many people see them as a symbol of good luck. I do as well, if only because I love to watch them, but I never forget that the survival instinct is ruthless, and nature is both beautiful and treacherous.

Thank you so much for being here with me! I had an amazing road trip through Wyoming and South Dakota for the last couple weeks, and I will share more from that experience in upcoming posts See you next Friday!

Finding Beauty in the Flawed

Nothing we see or hear is perfect. But right there in the imperfection is perfect reality.

Shunryu Suzuki

The Woodchuck

If I had weeded the garden,

he wouldn’t have come

standing on his hind legs-

savoring dandelions

and wheat grass,

resting on an old stump

and then waddling, content,

back into the woods.

The Crow

I welcome the glossy black bird

when he comes into my yard

frequenting my feeder,

nearly too big for the pole

quivering under the weight

of his heavy body.

I do not judge

the bloodiness of his beak -

it is crow nature to eat meaty things.

I welcome him here,

in my half wild garden-

where he is not expected

to want to be.

I welcome him here -

wondering.

The Deer

Their coats, like moth-eaten clothes

imperfectly stored for the winter

are changing for summer,

shedding extra layers -

lightening

to a beautiful reddish brown.

but their eyes are still as deep

as winter.

Beauty is the moment of transition, as if the form were just ready to flow into other forms.

Ralph Waldo Emerson

What a magical week. The woods are bursting with wild things. I was actually trying to get a picture of the crow who has become a regular at the feeder when I saw the woodchuck (aka groundhog) outside my window. The crow flew off, but the groundhog was having a feast and I don’t think he even saw me.

It wasn’t until the next day that I was able to get pictures of the crow. I have to confess that I cleaned him up in the three pictures I shared. (If you want to see what he looked like before I cleaned him up, let me know!) I was afraid that there was just a little too much grossness on his beak. I feel pretty honored that he keeps coming back. I guess crows don’t normally use backyard feeders. He’s become a member of my wild family.

The deer have been a little less present in the yard lately, but I see them everywhere on my walks. I sometimes wonder if they’re wary while their coats are changing. If you know, I’d be interested.

Thank you so much for being here! I hope you have a wonderful first week of June. See you next Friday.