Let It Snow

It's snowing! Big flakes, but they are wet, so not sticking. Still, Jarrah is delighted. Just now walking from the lobby to our room (it's a hike) she kept sticking her tongue out to catch them. Really cute.

We woke up around 8:00 because David had to work, and rushed through breakfast in the Mural Room, which has the most incredible view and the food didn't suck, either. J. was especially thrilled because she got Lucky Charms—heaps of them—and she's not allowed to eat like that at home. From the lobby, you can see the lake with the Tetons behind them, and endless meadows with yellow trees. I hear they are aspens, but don't take my word for it.

The night was hard. Hotel rooms are always too hot or too cold, and the beds are doubles—too small for me to share with someone 6'2”. And Jarrah was coughing up a storm, which was both worrying and distracting. When she sat up and trilled “Good morning!!!” at about 7:00, part of me wanted to laugh and part of me wanted to bury myself under the pillows (the room has eight pillows!) and not come out until spring.

The lobby is abuzz with excited filmmakers in down vests, networking and socializing. I feel a bit jealous about that part. Jarrah seems to be the only child for a 10 mile radius. I can imagine this must be a really convivial location for a small film festival.

Now we are back at the room, because I must confess I am too nervous to go driving in the snow without David. And the various hikes and boat trips I had planned don't seem quite so alluring in a snow shower. Hopefully, the weather will clear up soon. Jarrah just asked me what is up with a hotel room that has no TV. I can see her point.

Talked to David, who has discovered “bugs” and probably won't be able to hang with us today. So we're going exploring in the car on our own, perhaps back to the town of Moose, where there's a Nature Discovery Center, indoors. Wish us luck!
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The snow is starting to stick, and it's crazy cold out there. Jarrah just came back in from our porch, where she was throwing “snowballs” (more like handfuls of snow) at the bushes. She was loving it until her gloves soaked through. Hey, did I know it was going to snow in September? She also kept falling on her ass every time she tried to run. I have to admit I giggled.

We haven't seen David all day. He texted that he's giving his presentation now. I would go, but I can't imagine Jarrah would sit through even five minutes. I took her to the promotional film about the Grand Tetons at the Visitor's Center in Moose earlier today, and she was done in less time than that. “Mooommmy!” she kept stage-whispering. “It's so borrrring!” I made her sit through it anyway, because I was kind of fascinated by all the mountain-climbing and baby bison footage.

The Visitor's Center in general was mostly a hit. We got to feel the actual fur of all the local animals, and play with actual antlers of deer, elk and moose. It was a long-ish drive to Moose (probably about 45 minutes) but it was lovely driving—hardly anyone on the road, and only one lane. Except for feeling like I'd just had a big dose of Propofol, I enjoyed it. I was actually sort of proud of myself—I've gotten very “wifey” about vacations since David appeared, and I usually let him do all the driving (though you better believe I do all the planning.) I felt brave driving off into the unknown with Jarrah today, but then it was hardly a harrowing experience, even if it did snow on us a bit.

We stopped at the Signal Mountain Lodge for lunch overlooking the lake, and Jarrah was very happy I let her have hot chocolate. So happy that the only other food she ate was garlic bread, but oh well. Trips are hard for us because the child pretty much eats 24/7, and doesn't really understand the concept of filling up at a meal. But I really loved my sweet potato fries—light and fluffy, no grease, and tossed with what seemed to be baked garlic and frizzled parsley, not to mention some wicked hot pepper to balance out the sweet. Yum.

We stopped to take photos and admire some of the views from the many roadside “outlooks,” including the Cathedral trio of the Tetons, and the whipped frenzy of Jenny Lake on a blustery day. I would have happily made other stops, but honestly, the cold is pretty severe, and Jarrah took it hard whenever she had to be subjected to it.

The locals are really happy about the snow, since there are a couple fires raging right now, and this should take care of it. The gentleman at the Signal Mountain general store, who sold us enough junk food to plunge us into an afternoon coma, said as much, and then told us he has a son in San Diego. He told me that his son thinks soon everyone will live in San Diego, “since once someone goes there, they never leave.”

“Well, it's pretty nice right here,” I countered.

“Yes, but in the winter, you start wanting to escape. We just saw a show in Jackson where they talked about cabin fever, and how it's hard on relationships, and that was the best part...because it's true.”

I laughed. “Those are the best parts, I agree. The ones that are true. And the funniest.” He gave Jarrah some free candy before we left, just because everyone in the entire tri-state area is so freakin' nice.

P.S. Thank you to you lovely people who expressed concern about my Kindle. Miraculously, it has been found, and awaits my return at the airport. Hang in there, little Kindle. I'm coming for you.