Final Lessons from the Tetons

"We have fallen heirs to the most glorious heritage a people ever received, and each one must do his part

if we wish to show that the nation is worthy of

its good fortune."

- Theodore Roosevelt

Leaving Jackson Lake and The Teton Mountain Range

I am home.

Having driven, miles-deep, across Wyoming plains and Nebraskan cornfields I found myself on a sentimental return of sorts.

1885 Home of John Cunningham - Historic Landmark GTNP

I couldn't help but look back at the Teton mountains in my rear-view mirror, along with my longing to stay with them, and watch them begin to fade.

Ahead were new yet familiar sights - acre upon acre of wide-open plains, the vast sky at sunset which was distractingly pretty, so much so that I missed the unmarked police cruiser on Rt. 287 heading toward Cheyenne.

There are many things to be thankful for, I came to see, in my return.

Heading East and Heading Home

The luring views facing East that Saturday night, that simple "warning" the Wyoming police officer gave me, and the understanding I achieved in
these jagged and lovely peaks, name only a few.

Most important to me is the deeper appreciation I have come to have for The Tetons and our National Parks.

The idea of a "national park" was born over 140 years ago when President Ulysses S. Grant signed Yellowstone into law. Years of conservation efforts lead to the making of 58 national parks - each unique - offering resources, inspiration and ideals for generations ahead. (National Geographic Traveler)

The Idea

The land and wildness of each of these parks speaks for itself.

The Tetons offers its own- the appeal of its young mountains, elk herds at dusk, glacier-fed lakes, wildflowers adjacent to snowfields, the courage of Native guides, homesteaders and mountaineers.

(I have found a place here to insert the legend of the 2nd woman ever to summit "The Grand": 58-year-old divorced, retired NY school teacher, Geraldine Lucas, who by 1908 broke all sorts of rules and barriers).

Pioneer Geraldine Lucas

Female Elk - Forest Habitat

August Days

It is in the Tetons I learned that Mountains bring certainty. They are powerful, alluring and inspiring - in our greatest and smallest of moments.

It is here I learned about investing in protecting wildlife.

No Herculean effort by Teton Park Rangers, day two of being a Park Ranger, was to bring back the male grizzly cub struck by a distracted motorist - but the Park's immediate attempt to do so and then to track and learn about that bear - with its intent to educate itself and the public of safety and wildlife protection - were profound.

It is in these mountains I learned
that life is dynamic. Climate, weather, ecology, habitats, resources, demographics are constantly changing and, as a result, redefine our Parks and what exists in them. Then the question remains - how will we continue to exist within them?

This force of change is greater than any need we may feel to control it.

Ranger Brassard introducing the Teacher Ranger Teacher Program
and Grand Teton National Park
CTDVC

And it is in The Tetons I learned that Parks - protected, preserved, unique spaces - cannot survive alone. They depend on engaged partners - land and water conservation programs, foundations, youth conservation programs, educators, outreach programs, philanthropists and "us" to expand their mission - all in an effort to teach and to give to the generations that will follow.

Thank you to CEEF - Cape Elizabeth Education Foundation - for sponsoring part of this summer educational experience.

You guys in "The Fishbowl"! You know who you are - and all Grand Teton Park Rangers and Volunteers - who do such important work! Thank you for showing me the ropes and the trails and inspiring me with your stories along the way.

And a quiet thank you to my mother and that avocado-green travel journal she left me from her days out West.