Day One

Thunder rocked the airplane as I descended into Grand Teton National Park. The stewardess announced, "If we have to do an emergency evacuation please leave all carry-on items behind". That was reassuring, I thought. With a great piece of flying, and a fortunate little opening in the clouds, we landed safely. On the tarmac it was pouring rain. Thunder and lightning filled the cool air. I was wet in seconds as I made my way into the shelter of the airport, but grinning ear to ear. I was thankful to be back in the valley I've come to love.

John, who had made is way via car from Washington state, met me at the airport and we headed into town to take care of a few things. By morning of the next day it was snowing and temperatures were below freezing. Fortunately, it didn't last long and never really accumulated. John and I met with the new Director of the Photography Program at the Jackson Hole Center for the Arts and spent a few hours organizing all our gear. By noon, the sun was beginning to peak though the clouds and we decided to get out for a while. We hiked straight from our cabin at the Cowboy Village Resort to the top of Snow King Mountain, a local ski area. 1,571 vertical feet in about an hour. We hit the hot tub afterwards, and then finished our list of things to do before the students arrived.

The students landed in much better weather, and right on schedule at 6:30 pm. We were all relieved everyone had made it safely and all our luggage was accounted for. We crammed the van and John's car and headed into town for dinner.