Slow men at work
Trip Start
Jun 12, 2011
1
11
13
Trip End
Jun 24, 2011
Provo, Utah
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
Each adult gets a boy and off we go, around the peninsula which the boys had the foresight to shrink yesterday, so we dont have to go as far to to get to the Lake proper. We stay relatively close to shore and by "we" I mean the adults because the boys have already lost all interest in actually putting their paddles in the water. Instead, they are hanging off the sides trying to capture floating sticks and logs so they can "torpedo" the other kayak, which involves throwing the stick alongside the kayak with as much force as possible. Fortunately, its the warmest day we've had and getting splashed isnt horrible. "We" paddle out to Moose Island, where the boys find more flat rocks for skipping and then its back to Colter Bay. I try to get E to not paddle (easy), not throw sticks (hard) and just listen to the sound of seemingly nothingness. But then a speedboat went passed and that brief interlude with nature ended.
Driving south we saw pronghorn deer - oh wait, I did learn something cool last night at the ranger talk - when they are scared they fluff up the white fur on their rears as a warning signal to others in the herd. This deer is *not* alarmed. We stop in Jackson for lunch at Teton Thai in the back of a large alley off the main street. Ecstatic not to be eating sandwiches again - thank you yelp! A juicebar/ice cream stand was still being set up at the front of the alley but that didnt stop us from getting smoothies and ice cream, though R pronounced MrG's smoothie version better. We also got to see the famous antler arch in the city park. Actually, I dont know if its famous, but the boys and I saw a newspaper yesterday that had a picture of it being repaired and a caption that made fun of tourists for asking to buy antlers from the man working on it, so its famous to us.
The Jackson arch is nothing, however, when compared to the arch in Afton, which is the world's largest elk horn arch. Dont believe me, read the sign. I just checked on wikipedia and there's 3011 antlers up there. Way to go Afton!
The drive has been slow, in that the mountain stretch between Hoback and Alpine was under construction. Unfortunately the only place where we actually could drive the speed limit was around the boy scout camp that had a rope course - I wouldnt have minded sitting and waiting for construction equipment if I could watch kids fall off ropes. The valley where Afton sits is flat with not much to look at. But then we cross into Idaho and we get another mountain road and, yep, more construction. Then back down to the flatlands and you might think more boredom, but no! Every town in Idaho seems to have gotten a state grant to find 1 interesting thing about themselves and create a billboard about it. What's really great is that the title on the marker is so large I can read what the amazing historic thing is without having to stop. So we have Paris (sandstone tabernacle), St. Charles (guy who sculpted Mt Rushmore born here), and Fish Haven (founded by Mormons who discovered 10 years later they were actually in Idaho - really). Sad to leave historical Idaho, we entered Utah and yet another mountain road which is under construction. I'm beginning to sense a pattern and it involves us sitting and waiting for construction crews to make the roads two lanes wide again after a lane has crumbled away over the winter. the mountain roads really are beautiful here though and I finally remember to take a picture, which actually looks nothing like most of what we've been driving through, but isnt it lovely? What you cant see is the river running alongside the road (and eating away at the lane) and the kayaker who is about to get tangled up in the overhanging branches.
We're out of the mountains, onto the 15 - big city living! I'm surprised by the number of plastic surgery billboards that line the highway though. The kids get a distant view of the Great Salt Lake and the capitol. They show me the hotel where they stayed last year and the waterpark MrG had "promised" they could go; but alas not on this itinerary. We drive on and on and finally get to the KOA in Provo around 9:30pm , which is the least nice of the ones we've stayed at on this trip, but there's a spot so we're thankful to be done driving... for the moment.
