Floating down the river

Yesterday, in our trifecta of busy days, we went on a raft trip with Paul. It was a relatively short trip as such trips go. It was about two hours long, maybe a little more. We drove in two vehicles, Paul's truck and our car, to West Table (where we would come off the river later), left our car there and then drove about 10-12 miles further northeast to a put-in spot just a little above the Snake River Sporting Club where Jenny works. Max was with Jenny at a golf camp at the Sporting Club that he's attending this week.

Paul's raft has to be inflated by handpump. So he and Ellen worked on that. I would've helped Paul, but my shoulders just don't allow me to do that sort of thing anymore. I can't even swim anymore because it's too painful. Needless to say, I wore a life jacket on this trip, although the chances of being dunked in the water were very, very small. There was no real white water on this float, though there were some fun, interesting spots.

It was lovely floating down the river. And of course we had some bottled water along and some granola bars and cheese sticks that we could snack on. We got a good view of the Sporting Club from the river as we passed by, but we didn't see Max. We did see a golfer though, just a few feet from the edge of the river. That must be an interesting hole!

We put in at West Table, Paul and Ellen went back in our car to get the truck, and I watched over the raft. While I was there, I must have seen at least a dozen or more large rafts full of young rafters going down into the real white water section of the river. A few years ago, Ellen and I watched rafters and kayakers go through that section of the river, and it is wild. On that occasion, Paul actually flipped over in his kayak, but he knew how to handle it. And Christian Petrach was there to help him. Nothing like that for us today. Just a leisurely peaceful float down the river.

              Pumping up the raft

               View from the bow

                                     Our pilot

                             The Sporting Club

                    Heading down into the rapids 

Later in the evening, Ellen and Max and I walked up to the corner store to get creamies.  Max had his new pocket knife that he had gotten at Cabela's on their raft trip on Sunday. He's very proud of it.

        The corner store - sort of a truck stop

                 Max and pocket knife

I think that today,  I'm just going to enjoy a quiet day at home.

The heart of Mormon Country

I have been aware for over a decade that here in Alpine, WY, I am in Mormon Country. Alpine itself does not have an LDS (Latter-Day Saints) Church, but nearby Etna and Thayne do. A few years ago, I even went to a service at the LDS church in Thayne, just out of curiosity. It was very interesting. I am both repelled and fascinated by Mormonism as a religion. I cannot imagine becoming a Mormon practitioner, but as an historian of religion (trained in the study of ancient, biblical religion), and also as sort of an amateur anthropologist of religious systems and behavior, the Mormon religion is a very rich and multi-faceted, and yes, in some ways, bizarre, case study. For some time I have wondered just what Salt Lake City is actually like as the heart of the Mormon phenomenon. What is the Mormon Tabernacle really like? What does the Mormon Temple actually look like? What is in Temple Square? What is it like to be there? How do Mormons present all that to the "outside," non-Mormon world? Well, Sunday, I got at least a glimpse of that world and some answers to my questions. Ellen and I made a day-trip to Salt Lake City.

It was quite a trip - a 500-mile round-trip. A lot for one day, although  when we travel, we often cover at least 500 miles. But that's all we do. To do that and take in Temple Square was a lot. But we did. We left at about 8:30a.m. We were aiming at a specific event, an organ recital at 2p.m. in the Mormon Tabernacle. We had considered going to hear the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, which sang at 10a.m. But you had to get there by 9a.m., and that would have involved getting up at 4a.m.  We decided against that. It was a 4-hour trip. We went one way and came back another. We went through Freedom, WY and Soda Springs,  ID - a really lovely drive, and then over to I-15 near Pocatello, ID and straight south to SLC. That was not lovely, because it was a 100-mile long commercial strip with lots of traffic. But it was fast (speed limit - 80 m.p.h!!! - that meant we were passed by everyone, since we were only going 65-70 at most). We got to SLC at about 12:30, got oriented, found a free parking spot on the street only two blocks from Temple Square, and walked in.

First you are struck by the flowers and the utter cleanliness of the place. And then the buildings. Temple Square is quite a place. We found an information kiosk right inside the gate, found the door we needed to enter for the organ recital, got a program, and were told the door would open in 30 minutes. So we looked around.

                     The Mormon Temple

The Temple does dominate the scene - it rises high with its many turrets and the crowning gold statue of the angel, Moroni.

Replica of the Angel Moroni in the Visitor's Center

But there are many other very striking buildings; large striking buildings. The Tabernacle, however, is a large, odd building. It is quite a contrast to the Temple, which is right next to it. It is a relatively low, sort of hanger-like, round, brick building with a very shiny metal roof. 

               The Tabernacle is in the right foreground

During our 30-minute wait, we went into the South Visitor's Center, the central feature of which is a model of the Temple, which is cut away on two sides, allowing you to see the interior. The public is not allowed inside the Temple. Even Mormons can go in only for special rituals - like being commissioned as a missionary. So the model satisfied the curiosity.

            Model of the Temple

                The Temple interior

There were a number of other exhibits in the visitor's center about the building of the Temple, aspects of Mormon history, and also several exhibits about the importance of Jesus Christ in Mormon faith. Those exhibits featured a portrayal of Christ by Heinrich Hoffman, a painting very familiar to me from my childhood. All in all, we had no trouble filling up the 30 minutes. Then we went back to the Tabernacle.

H. Hofmann's Portrait of Christ

I'll have to say, I was shocked when I entered the Tabernacle. The organ was set off by the most lurid colored lights imaginable. They illuminate the ceiling behind the organ case. They were violet when we entered, but changed during the recital to yellow, green and blue. I was not expecting something that garish, and to this moment I wonder, "Why?" That was not the only time, however, that I wondered about the aesthetic taste of Mormons during our visit.

                   Entering the Mormon Tabernacle

The organ itself is quite an instrument. I studied organ in college. I went on an organ study tour of pipe organs in Germany, Austria and Switzerland 20 years ago. I know something about organs. This is a very large organ - over 11,000 pipes, and a five-manual keyboard. Not the largest in the world, by any means (that is in Passau, Germany, which I have also visited and heard -  it has over 17,000 pipes!) but this one was still big. It was essentially built by the Aeolian-Skinner Company, probably the most prominent American builder of large, romantic  organs (as opposed to baroque organs of the J.S. Bach era). The program played by the organist was designed to "show off" the organ. It was very satisfying if you like a lot of sound! I can get into that, and I loved it. Ok, with the colored lights, it was sort of over the top. I would have liked more real music and less "showing off." But it was what it was, and I enjoyed it.

Another view of the organ. The bunting is interesting too! What's that about?

After that, we went to the North Visitor's Center.  Entering there was sort of shocking in a different way. The spacious room you enter is dominated by a series of large murals - maybe 12-15 in all, depicting the life of Christ, from birth to Ascension. These murals were in a style which was very reminiscent to me of illustrations on the cover of  Sunday School materials from my childhood - in other words, what I would consider inferior art, but also art of a particular era - the 1930's and 40's.

Murals in the North Visitor's Center, Temple Square

Ellen noticed that there was a movie, titled Legacy, that we could see in the North Visitor's Center about the Mormon pioneers who were persecuted in Illinois and Missouri, came out to Utah, founded Salt Lake City and built the Temple. We asked about when it would be shown and learned that we could have our own private showing in one of scores of small video rooms, and so we did. It was, again, sort of melodramatic, and reminiscent of religious movies I had seen in my dad's churches in the 30's and 40's, although it was recently made. I was expecting something in a more documentary style - a la Ken Burns. Not at all. This was a movie designed to move you to become a Mormon.

Based on this very brief exposure, I would say that Mormons have enshrined an earlier era in this nation's history, the era I grew up in, which must seem to be a era more compatible with Mormon values, perhaps especially values concerning the family. I don't know if that is right or not, but I was certainly struck by the aesthetic that is on display in Temple Square! It is decidedly retro!

So, it was interesting in an unexpected way. One more interesting little note - the two great prophets of Mormonism, Joseph Smith and Brigham Young, were both born in Vermont, Smith in Sharon, VT and Young in Whitingham. We interacted with several Mormon young women missionaries who serve as guides in Temple Square, and they all asked where we were from, but when we said, "Vermont," no one said, "Oh, that's where our prophets came from!"

We had a lovely trip back, a different way. We took I-80 to Evanston, WY and then came up along the Idaho/Wyoming border to Alpine. It was a lovely drive and we got home before dark.

                       Scene from our homeward trip

Camas N.W.R.

Today, Paul, Jenny and Max left for a two-day raft trip on the Snake River with overnight camping along the River. That means Ellen and I have two days on our own! Today we decided to go to one of our favorite places which is usually utterly peaceful this time of year: the Camus National Wildlife Refuge in Hamer, ID, about 25 miles north of Idaho Falls, about a two-hour drive from Alpine.

We were right. We had it to ourselves. It is a popular spot during the spring bird migratory season, but July? No one was there. Except an abundance of wildlife! We started out on a bench just listening to birds frolicking nearby and watching two rabbits right in front of us. Then we walked over to a cottonwood grove for more listening. It was warm but it was hazy, there was a breeze. And distant thunder. Then we drove slowly along the canals, ponds and marshes, getting out frequently.  We had binoculars. We saw both red winged and yellow headed blackbirds, an abundance of coots, ruddy ducks, trumpeter swans, many ibises, both wading and flying, a  blue heron, several ducks and waders we couldn't identify. and a black-crowned night heron new to us but common in this refuge. And thousands of grasshoppers! It was all we had hoped for and more. 

                           Grasses at Camas

                              Along the canal

                                     Blackbird 

                           One of the many ponds

                                     A blue heron

              A bold grasshopper posing for his portrait on our car roof.

We saw scores of these ibises

We saw one of these through the binoculars from a distance - a black-crowned night heron

We were loath to leave, but finally drove to Rexburg, ID, for some supper. We went to Freddy's which featured frozen custard and had a fifties decor. And yummy deep-fried cheese curds! 

                                         Freddy's

The founder was two years older than my brother and was born in Kansas, the youngest of nine children. The first Freddy's was in Wichita. 

                        Freddy's family - he's in the center

This Dodge Dart was parked outside - I wondered if it was an intentional part of the fifties decor! 

Genealogical research

Yesterday, I walked to the library - about 1.4 miles - to use their free access to ancestry.com. I had success in finding a Harris ancestor - my children's ggg-grandfather Harris on their mother's paternal side - that we've been trying to track down for decades: William Henry Harris of Bear River, NS, Canada, b. circa 1815. He seems to be in a line of Harrises in Bear River who go back to a John Harris, a c. 1755 arrival in NS, though my son John tells me there were four "John Harrises" in that area at about the same time, so it's confusing!

Meanwhile, Max had Aiden over:

            Aiden and Max in hammock at the condo

Disturbing news

This week we learned that my son-in-law, Rob Shay, had fallen while he was hiking with his fiancé at Aspen last week, and fractured the C2 vertebrae in his neck. That would've been bad enough, but x-rays showed that that vertebra had already been compromised by bone cancer. Test results are not all in yet, but blood tests point toward the likelihood that he has multiple myeloma. Our hearts go out to him as he goes through many more tests and decisions are made on treatment options. We are praying for as good a result as one can hope for.

The day we were absorbing that news, a lovely  bird hit the glass sliding doors leading to the patio here at the condo and we found it's dead body on the floor of the patio. Ellen made a little casket out of cardboard, Max named the bird Dave and made a little gravestone, I dug a hole, and we buried her in a little grave just  over the berm beyond the patio. We are going to make hawk silhouettes to put on the patio doors so that, hopefully, this will not happen again.

                                     R.I.P.  Dave

Jackson Rec. Center

Today we brought Max and Aiden to the  for a swim. This time, instead of going to the library, I came to the pool too. While the boys played and went down the waterslide, I went in the hot tub, the pool, the therapy pool, and in the sauna. After the pool we went to get ice cream at Moo's. Outside Moo's there is a series of bronze statues of well known figures: George Washington, Mark Twain, Albert Einstein, etc., And I got a picture of the boys with George.

                                  The JRC

The boys in the water

    

Aiden, George and Max

 

Max came home!

Thursday was the day Max came home from camp. At 5pm. It was also the day of the Alpine Farmer's Market. It was the day I got a prescription refilled at Alpine's new pharmacy. Otherwise, it was a day to sleep late and do things at home.

Max said he didn't like camp, but when he talked about it, he described a lot of things that he had fun at, like the huge water rec area in Pinedale that had a "Lazy River" you could float down. And he liked his tentmates.  It turned out some kids made fun of how much ketchup he put on his hot dog. That tipped the balance, I guess. 

Today, we've brought Max, Jayda and Aubrey to Afton. We'll have pizza and see  a movie  (Hotel Transylvania 3), but right now we're at the bowling alley/arcade next door . 

         Jayda and Max competing

        Aubrey shooting big game

Now I confess that when I was a kid, I loved what was called the "penny arcade." There were actually things you could do for a penny. Mostly for a nickel. Now it's a dollar or maybe 50 cents each. And there were fewer shooting games back then (though there were some). But the one Max and Jayda are doing is actually a driving game, which is not all that different from 75 years ago. 

Later:

Movie was actually quite entertaining in its own way, incredible animation, quite clever, a lot of subtle humor, both visual and verbal.  The kids seemed to enjoy it; pretty boistrous in the car coming home. The girls are here overnight.

      Scene from Hotel Transylvania 

When we came out of the theater, we looked across the road at a new Mormon church in Afton:

 Amazing to have this temple-sized church in a little town like Afton. 

Laurence S Rockefeller Preserve

On Tuesday, Ellen and I went up to Grand Teton National Park and went to a part of it we had not been to before - the Laurence S Rockefeller Preserve. A good part of the Park was donated by the Rockefellers. There is a lovely and really unique visitor's center and a network of trails. The visitor's center embodies Rockefeller's philosophy of the power of nature to renew the human spirit, and he was particularly enthralled by the sounds of nature. Ellen was particularly interested in the building because it was designed by Carney Architects. Ellen worked both for the Carney family as a nanny, and for the architectural firm as an administrative assistant, so she knows them and their work well. She was able to point out a number of features of the building that were "signature Carney."

The Visitors' Center is a very peaceful place. It is very simple, and invites one just to pause and look and listen. The most striking feature for me was a chapel-like, circular room, illuminated by narrow slit windows, where there are benches to sit on. Hidden in the walls are some pretty impressive speakers, and when you sit and listen you hear the sounds of birds, a grouse beating its wings, the wind, a thunderstorm. It is a ten-minute soundscape recording made on the Preserve over time, covering the four seasons. I sat there for some time and enjoyed the sounds, but also was fascinated by the way people who entered the room were affected by it. It is unexpected and maybe a little bewildering to most people. Some didn't quite get it and left. Others sat down and were visibly affected by the sounds. I don't think anyone stayed the full length of the recording, however.  One family came in and a child asked me, "What are you doing?" Leave it to the child to speak honestly! I replied that if he would sit on the bench and listen, he would hear some wonderful sounds of birds and other animals. So he did, and his family with him, and they seemed to be enchanted by the sounds.

In another wing of the center is a wonderful library which contains just about every classic work on the natural world, environmentalism, etc.,  you could think of, and more besides. Comfortable chairs invite you to sit and browse, and even stay and read.

When you enter the center, you are greeted by a large diorama which depicts the Preserve in 3-D. Behind it is a huge picture window framing the Teton Range. You then move into an area which provides changing videos of the changing seasons - again with benches, inviting you to pause. Another area features Rockefeller's vision for the Park and the Preserve.

After enjoying the Center we took a hike up to Phelps Lake, about 1.1 miles away. It was just a notch more challenging than anything I had attempted so far this trip, and I did ok, and came back down the stony trail at a good clip. We came back a bit differently, so it was about a 2.5 mile trip, r.t.  Not long by any standard, but a bit more than I have done recently. I was glad to have my walking stick.

The Visitors' Center

The diorama of the Preserve with Tetons beyond

Hallway leading to the "chapel"

The "Soundscape Chapel"

A remarkable montage creating a scene from the Preserve made of thousands of nature photos from the Preserve

A close-up of one little section

Information on the Soundscape recording.

You can hear the recording at http://sinelanguage.com/Sine_Language/Soundscape.html

At Lake Phelps

A somewhat rare wildflower - Pinedrops

Another we hadn't seen before on this trip - Horsemint (or hyssop)

Grey's River Road

There is a road that goes east out of Alpine into the Bridger-Teton National Forest. It follows the Grey's River as it bends to the south, and about 30 miles from Alpine, intersects with a road that goes due east up and up over the Wyoming Range, through McDougal Gap, and then down into the high desert where you leave the National Forest and all trees behind, enter Sublette County,  and go through a vast expanse of nothing but sagebrush, no sign of human habitation, no trees, maybe an occasional cluster of open range cattle foraging for whatever they can find among the sagebrush, and if you are lucky you might encounter a family of pronghorns crossing the road.  This is all unpaved road. Eventually you descend into "civilization," hit pavement, intersect with US highway, and swing north through Bondurant and west over to Hoback Jct., and then SW to Alpine again, about 100 miles and 5-6 hours in all. It's a gorgeous ride, a bit bumpy at times, but not bad. Ellen and I drove it Wednesday in Paul's pickup truck. It was a fantastic tour of the diversity of Wyoming scenery.

                The Grey's River

               Man Peak from Grey's River Road

Memorial to a Wyoming state patrolman who died in 1981 at age 30 when his vehicle was rear-ended by a drunk driver. Patrolman Visser was investigating a crash at the time. 

       A sea of wildflowers near McDougal Gap

Sublette County - Wind River Range in distance

                              Pronghorns in the road