John Colter has grit

POSTED IN | 10:42 PM
The rents and I toured western Wyoming and Idaho recently, on my way back Oklahoma-side (nothing like a 3,000 mile detour vacation in the wrong direction).

I can only imagine what trapper/adventureman John Colter thought when he stumbled into what is now Colter Bay in the winter of 1807 and discovered the lake and what would come to be known as the Grand Teton Mountains. Hory Mory. Hands down they are the most impressive as ere I saw.

Can you imagine what it would be like to come upon those beauties for the first time?

"Oh, what'd you do today at work, honey?"
"Oh you know, just discovered the bombest mountain range in the United States."
"Ah...that's nice, dear. Dinner's on the table. Dried venison and hardtack again..."

It's amazing to me that something as impressive as those jagged-toothed peaks were discovered (by the modern world) scant more than 100 years ago. Certainly the West is but a blushing bride.

And a tougher man than I is the one who traverses Wyoming's back country in the dead of winter in the early 1900s. Move over John Wayne. Colter's got the True Grit here.

At any shake, I have a mind to post more pictorial bloggery soon but here's a little snack before supper if you will.


Colter's iconic Bay. Something tells me the high-dollar V-cruiser vessels weren't around in his day, but they're picturesque all the same.


Just your typical Teton family. Ma and Pa Stu posted up for the road-trip revelries. They can't squelch their gypsy roots of old. A sign nearby read "Bear Active in Area."
Still haven't seen one though. Lame...


We saw Yellowstone too (just north of Teton Nat'l Park). Here's a Lower Falls panoramic of about 40 photos. Really magnificent, Mammy. Glad I made my parents hike the half mile down to see it. They were glad too.

More to come...
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2 Responses to 'John Colter has grit'

  • http://justpixels2.blogspot.com/2009/09/john-colter-has-grit.html?showComment=1251954382538#c2448668375448559831'> 12:06 AM

    For a second this made me miss Wyoming. One, very brief, literal second.

     
  • Hannah said...
    http://justpixels2.blogspot.com/2009/09/john-colter-has-grit.html?showComment=1251954891288#c3869345366682135445'> 12:14 AM

    I call that bold talk for a one-eyed fat man.