Finding My Way in Granite Creek and the Grand Tetons

…Let us risk the wildest places, Lest we go down in comfort, and despair.

Mary Oliver (excerpt from the poem, Magellan)

Return

Walking

this wooded path

under the shade of pines

beside the cool river

I know

this is where I’ll return

when I return

to dust.

The Ranger at the Bridger-Teton National Forest told me - “we’re really happy about the wildflowers this year. - you came at a good time.”

A magpie, tussled in the wind, perched on the roof of a shelter where I stopped to eat breakfast and plan the day.

Granite Creek Campground - Bridger-Teton National Forest. The Fortress.

The Falls at Granite Creek.

First view of the Tetons in the Grand Teton National Park.

The smell of pine was everywhere.

A little girl said there were moose at the moose pond, so I went, and there they were, huge, beautiful beasts.

Hidden Falls. Cooling relief after a hot climb.

Gros Ventre Campground. Storms threatened the first night, but passed around the park.

The beginning of a hike to Cascade Canyon.

Hawk protecting his family nest.

On my hike through the canyon, I met a family who generously let me tag along with them so I wouldn’t get eaten by bears - and one of them took this photo of me to send to my family.

Cascade Canyon Trail - Weather started to turn while I hiked back to the trailhead.

A chipmunk at Inspiration Point - a stop back along the trail

Groundhog near the Moose Pond. Think he was startled to see a human in the rain.

What a difference a few hours can make in the weather. Arriving back where I started, the Tetons enveloped in clouds and rain.

Sunset from my campsite.

My last night at the park, another storm rolled through. I woke up in the middle of the night, praying a tree wouldn’t fall on my van. In the morning, although limbs and trees had fallen and the power was out at the park office, all my fellow campers and I were ok.

And that’s how it ends. My last morning in the Grand Tetons.

When I was here, I felt my mortality for so many reasons. Bears, remote and unnavigable roads, lack of cell service, storms. I think that’s why I began to think about where I would want my ashes to be spread after I die. If I could choose anywhere, it would be in the woods somewhere…

The thing is, if I were to die out here - in some beautiful remote place, doing something I love to do, it wouldn’t be the worst thing. Life itself is risky. I would rather take some risk than never dare. What do you think?

Dragonfly

Deep in the sun-searched growths the dragonfly

Hangs like a blue thread loosened from the sky.

Dante Gabriel Rossetti

Dragonflies

Swiftly

they fly, hunting-

beautiful and deadly,

prehistoric dragons circling

a pond.

They are an ancient species. Older than dinosaurs.

Smaller now, once they were as big as eagles.

As larva, growing in the water, they shed skin after skin - feeding safely, in protective armor, on the unwary prey within their grasp.

Then, after years, they creep out of the muddy depths for one final molting.

Slicing through their own skins, becoming more vulnerable than they’d ever been, they emerge. Fragile wings and metallic bodies unfold. Many die at this stage; consumed by predators taking advantage of a temporary weakness.

Those who live become swift and deadly hunters, killing 90% of the prey they seek.

Dragons indeed.

A damselfly contemplating a single drop of water

Grasping a web, he can prey on the spider as well as the spider’s catch.

The damsels are slower and slimmer, but more flexible.

It’s looking at you!

If you want to know more about dragonflies, click here.

Hope you enjoyed this - I had fun writing it. I love dragonflies, and I know so many people see them as a symbol of good luck. I do as well, if only because I love to watch them, but I never forget that the survival instinct is ruthless, and nature is both beautiful and treacherous.

Thank you so much for being here with me! I had an amazing road trip through Wyoming and South Dakota for the last couple weeks, and I will share more from that experience in upcoming posts See you next Friday!

Blossom and Bee

For bees, the flower is the fountain of life; For flowers, the bee is the messenger of love.

Kahlil Gibran

Blossom to Bee

Come to me,

my nectar is sweet-

my fine filament caressing.

harvest my pollen,

I have plenty

for your beloved queen -

plenty for you

to scatter.

I cannot move

beyond this ground-

please carry my love,

carry my song,

I cannot speak without you

come,

drink deeply,

and help me.

Bee to the Blossom

I fly to you,

you draw me in -

your scent is intoxicating.

I see the beauty of your soft petals,

feel the electricity

of your desire.

I will sip your nourishing nectar,

and collect these offered grains

on the tender hairs of my body.

Some I will keep

to feed my hive,

the rest I will carry

across the flowering fields

spreading your love

and though you can’t move

beyond this ground

your song will continue-

I will fly for you.

I’ve been interested in bees and their symbiotic relationship with flowers for a few years now, but this week I actually took the time to read fairly deeply into the way this works. Most bees live in hives of some sort (but not all - there are many species of bee!) The hive’s worker bees (all female) collect for the entire colony - they drink and gather nectar for the adults in the hive and pollen for the feeding of new broods. While they are gathering, they move from flower to flower, releasing some of the pollen as they move, which fertilizes the other plants or flowers they encounter. Without them, many food plants would not be able to produce fruits or vegetables.

I am so filled with wonder at how interconnected everything is on this planet. Without bees, we would not survive. That is a crazy and humbling thought. No wonder John Muir once said, “When one tugs at a single thing in nature, he finds it attached to the rest of the world.

Here are some links for a deeper exploration, if you are interested:

Why do bees need pollen and nectar?

How do flowers and bees help each other?

The article that really blew me away was the one about bees and their ability to sense a flower’s electric field:

Bees Can Sense Electric Fields of Flowers

Thank you so much for being here. See you next week!