I have actually been to the Rockies on vacation before, twice, with Art, in fact, via land transportation. And it was beautiful both times – Rocky Mountain National Park on the near side (for Missouri) just north of Denver. So the trip to Yellowstone and the Tetons was a first for me. I am also relatively new to small planes. The only times I have ever been in one are with Art as pilot since he started flying again about two years ago.
So let me start by saying I have a fear of heights (meaning cliffs or high bridges or precipitous roads) and I don’t harbor any desire to become a pilot. I am not a hiker and for me wild animals have always been in zoos. This makes my perspective on our vacation a bit different from his, though the bottom line is that I loved it and would go back again. It was breathtakingly beautiful, remarkably empty, and entirely enjoyable – except for that 1.5 hour drive to the closest open medical facility to check out a bad case of food poisoning.
The pictures he has posted are a small fragment of what we gathered. The variety and scale of the natural features was astonishing. And I was thoroughly spooked by bison on the road, unconcerned by traffic, close enough to reach out and touch (though I did not). Elk made a similar crossing during that emergency room trip. It’s not so cool when you can’t stop to watch.
The flights over the mountains were not as intimidating as I’d expected. In fact, they were often exhilarating. And the view was amazingly clear. We only saw bad weather once – a thunderstorm in the mountains as we landed in Lander – but it held off till we got to the restaurant for dinner, just putting on a light show in the crags until bursting upon the town while we watched from inside.
Aside from the beauty and the wildlife and the lakes and the peaks, the clearest impression for me is the emptiness of the land we flew over and the high winds we experienced on every landing in Wyoming. Our GPS had nothing on it at all for great stretches. Empty country is beautiful. And you figure there is probably good reason for so much land to be so empty of towns. I think among the most lasting mental pictures I will carry from the flights are the stretches of Wyoming east of Lander, beautiful in an almost desert-like way.
For me, this trip was a gem to be treasured all the more because it is not one I would have chosen to take. I would have gone to a lake or oceanside. But it was hurricane season, so the mountains seemed a better choice. And Art’s enthusiasm is irresistible. I very rarely regret accompanying him on an adventure. This was no exception. I am grateful to be able to visit places like this. Whenever I do, I wonder what it would be like to live in vacation country. I realized on this trip that I am not cut out for frontier or mountain life. It’s awesomely beautiful. And I’m glad to be home in the suburbs again, despite the swamp-like climate we tolerate here, full of memories, and eager to take on another adventure soon.
