I'm Goin' to Jackson

The scene on our drive when we were somewhere in the vicinity of, say it with us, Kemmerer. This is before we hit the deer.


Despite the traumatic roadkill events of the night before, there's no summer day better-spent than kayaking Lake Jackson.


We also rafted the Snake River, where we saw two bald eagles, a moose, and umpteen beavers. To liven up a raft full of accountants, we antagonized our guide, a lifelong resident of the Jackson Lodge, with the following statement: "Isn't the skiing at Targhee better than Jackson?"

Fighting words, yes, but we do not take responsibility for the 2-ton raft getting stuck in the middle of the river while he was on his soap box. It took him and his partner (and their boss, three boats behind us) 20 minutes to unlodge us.

We also hiked up and camped at the back of Cascade Canyon, then continued on up Avalanche Divide. I have never hiked another mountain to a scene more stunning than the backside of the Grand, South, and Middle Tetons. Unfortunately, we didn't bring our camera up to Avalanche Divide, so no photos to prove it.



We woke up to this guy's claws under the rain-fly of our tent. He was eating my shoe. We chased him away once, but he came back to chew Spence's pack.


Just as infommercial Charlie Amoratti—Jackson Lodge activity guide—promised, we saw some of the six bull moose up Cascade Canyon. "All my guests are seeing 'em—YOU WILL TOO!"

We did miss the wolf kill that everyone else and their dog saw on our last day, which leaves the wildlife checklist at:

Moose: 4
Bear: 0
Cougar: 0
Wolf: 0
Elk: 500
Beaver: Umpteen
Bald Eagles: 4
Marmot: 2
Buffalo: 2
Porcupine: 1