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)