I had read that in Driggs, Idaho on July 4 there are free hot air balloon rides. While I mentioned this to Charlie at one point, I had no idea how deeply it resonated with him. He became fixated on the idea of riding a hot air balloon. I had no idea what time the balloons were going up, but I guessed it would be early. As I was brushing my teeth, I saw the first one rising in the sky. “Quick, Charlie! If you want to go see the hot air balloons, you have to get going now!” He went from asleep to dressed and at the front door ready to go in under two minutes. I don’t think he brushed his teeth. No one else wanted to go, so off we went. I had no idea where I was going, but I thought I would head for the balloons.
It was at the fairgrounds, just past the airport and pretty easy to find. the place was wall to wall people. There must have been a few thousand there. I had no idea how one made the short list to be one of the two or three in the balloon basket, but it was clear we weren’t going to win that lottery. There was only one balloon still on the ground and as I watched the crew, I grew uneasy. I don’t know what it was about them, but I knew I wouldn’t want to fly with them. Charlie was very disappointed that we didn’t get to fly on a hot air balloon, but he seemed pleased with the hot chocolate I bought him, along with a local paper for myself. When we got back to the cabin, I found the local paper had a two page spread on Fourth of July activities. The Grand Targhee Ski Resort up the road was having $4 lift tickets and a bike race. There was also a running race, but I was sure that would be over. (Lesson learned: keep running stuff in car at all times.) I also read that the balloon festival continued to July 5. We vowed to try again with the balloons and be earlier this time. According to the paper, the festival started at 6, and breakfast at 5 AM.
There was still snow on the ground in some places at the ski resort. It was like a super compact Telluride. More my speed – less Beverly Hills, more Santa Monica. We went for a great hike about three miles long that gave us some great views of the val
ley below. Charlie and Bruce wanted to ride the ski lift to the top. I was happy to stay at the bottom with Mary and Cory, but after watching for a short while, I thought it looked like fun. Somehow, I talked them into it. As soon as the lift left the station, my stomach was in knots. I questioned my sanity. Cory and Mary chatted on and on about how this wasn’t as bad they had expected and it really wasn’t that high up. It wasn’t helping me. Finally, I asked them to talk about something else, keeping my panic to myself. At the top we ran into Bruce and Charlie. It was worth it.
We ate burgers at the bottom. This was Day One of Mary’s vegetarianism and I helped her order a burger without the burger. I wondered to myself how long this will last as she ate only the bun and some mustard. We watched the beginning of a mountain bike race. That looked so hard! The runners were just getting ready to head out as well. I was jealous.
We came back to the cabin to nap so we could stay awake long enough to see the fireworks at 10 PM. Charlie wanted to drive to town, so I took him. The other three stayed at the cabin to watch from here. I was amazed at the recklessness of people in town launching fireworks. I consider us lucky that we have no injuries. The firework show was very nice, but according to my calculations, 15% of the fireworks launched were duds. I wondered how they conduct quality control on fireworks and if a 15% fail rate was acceptable.
We set our watches for early Sunday morning. Bruce decided to come with us to watch the balloons, but Cory and Mary would have none of it. We got there just before 6 and paid $5 to park. The place looked deserted compared to the day before. There were maybe a dozen other cars already parked with people sitting inside watching. We sat inside our car until after 6 and then Bruce said “Let’s walk around.” I saw the people from the day before who made me nervous about their skills. Charlie begged me to ask someone for a ride, but I was just checking it all out. A woman overheard him and said to me “Would you like to crew for me? My passengers canceled and I have no crew.” I was a little surprised but said “Sure!” She told me later that because this area is heavily Mormon, they won’t attend on Sunday. That’s why Saturday was jammed and Sunday was comparatively deserted. We followed her to her balloon where her husband and a few others were standing around. They had us sign waivers and told us how to help set up. They explained as we went and it was so interesting and fun. I grew slightly apprehensive after signing the waiver. What if the canopy caught fire and we fell to the ground and died? What would Mary and Cory do? I told myself to go with the flow and not freak out. We launched the balloon at 6:35 with Pat, our pilot, Bruce, Charlie and me. It was amazing floating above the landscape. The sun was just rising over the Grand Tetons, so the view in that direction wasn’t great, but the valley was beautiful and it was awe inspiring to see all the other balloons taking off and in the air. Turns out, Pat was one of the most experienced pilots there. She could land on a dime, it seemed. We saw the people who made me nervous. They were trying to land near where we did, but they missed the mark and bounced wildly along the pasture before becoming entangled in a fence.
We came back to the cabin and made blueberry pancakes before heading over to Grand Teton National Park for hiking. 
We stopped at the Jackson Hole Ski Resort and it was $24 per person for a lift ticket. More for one person than we paid the day before for the entire family! We left quickly and drove on to GTNP. We got lucky and found the Laurence S. Rockefeller Preserve. Without question, this was the best national park experience I can remember. And I have had many of them. They made us wait before parking because they are trying to limit the number of people on the trails. We used the time to apply sunscreen and didn’t even mind the wait. The trails were so well done – preserving nature, but easy to navigate. A woman warned us of a bear sighting, but we didn’t see one. We did see a huge bald eagle fly low overhead as we stood in the lake. It took my breath away. The people we ran into on the trail were friendly and not too plentiful, but this was obviously a popular spot. The Preserve Center was gorgeous! The multimedia exhibit of four screens showing wildlife up close with natural sound was the best I have seen. I wished my colleague, Frances, were here to see it. I think she would really appreciate it. They also had a sound room that reminded me of a meditation chapel at the Franciscan Renewal Center. The three dimensional maps of hiking trails throughout the park made me want to hike them all. I am amazed at the generosity of the Rockefeller family donating this land.
Leaving the park, we saw 5 or 6 moose on a hillside next to the road. We stopped and got out to take a look at them. I learned the other day that a moose can dive up to 30 feet to get something to eat under water and can stay submerged for a minute. I had no idea moose were such adept swimmers.
Tomorrow: white water rafting!
