Ground Squirrel

Sat, 8/2/08

Grand Teton National Park, WY: Fire danger “very high” here. They raised it because of the fires in Yellowstone. It has been very dry here with low humidity. We decided to have a fire this morning. I made smoothies and we sat around the fire and burned up the last of our wood. Later in the afternoon we got the laundry together to take over to the Laundromat. Got it all loaded in the truck along with the outboard propane tank to be refilled and the gasoline container for the generator. Got it all loaded in the truck and the truck wouldn’t start. Battery absolutely dead. So Mike hauled the battery charger gismo out of the storage compartment and then hauled the generator out so we could plug the gismo into it to charge the battery. The generator was out of gas (sigh). So, off he went walking with the gasoline container up to the service station. About a mile each way. While he was gone I hauled some water and put it in the tank. He came back, filled the generator, cranked it up, hooked up the gismo, and eventually the truck started. Took the laundry over and finished that and came back and relaxed for a while. We decided to go to the restaurant here in Colter Bay for dinner. Had a great meal. Three mule deer wandered through our campsite today. We leave here tomorrow for Hoback Junction—12 miles south of Jackson. Hate to leave here—we love the Tetons. By the way, the Tetons got its name from some Canadian explorers -who when seeing them for the first time coming from the west called them “les trois Tetons”—the three breasts. The name stuck. The Indians called them Teewinot—jagged mountains. Whatever—they are beautiful. I’m sure we’ll be back here.