Wyoming & Arizona
It has been almost one week since my last post and in that time we have relaxed in Jackson, explored Grand Teton, enjoyed the sunshine and vistas in Sedona and been awed by the natural wonder that is the Grand Canyon. Our journey to the Mountain West is now drawing to a close, but what an amazing adventure, one that has made me fall more in love with my girls as well as the beauty and diversity of the United States. Thank you for taking the journey with me through words and pictures, and a heartfelt thanks to my wonderful and supportive husband for continuing to indulge my wanderlust. Herewith is my final blog entry ― Wyoming and Arizona ― but first, a few statistics.
Number of Hotels = 7
Total Miles Traveled by Car = 1,958
Total Miles Traveled by Plane = 4,647
Number of Stops at Fast Food Restaurants = Only 1!
Sydney Never Once Taking Her Cellphone Out of Her Backpack = Priceless!
Hours Spent Planning Itinerary = Too Many to Count
Return on Investment = Infinite!
WYOMING
Jackson Hole
Jackson Hole is another outdoor wonderland, but given our very active stays in Big Sky and Yellowstone, we decided to slow our pace and simply take in the great food and sights in and around Jackson Hole, with Grand Teton National Park being the focal point. Luckily, the park begins only 5 miles north of Jackson, making a daily trek or evening wildlife drive a piece of cake. Here is a photo of me and Sydney under the antler arches that decorate the four corners of Jackson Hole’s town square. The arches are an artistic wonder, as each is made of around 2,000 antlers, which weigh in at 10,000 to 12,000 pounds. Even better, no elk were harmed in the making of the arches. Elk naturally shed their antlers each year and they are collected from the ground.
Peytin Behind the Camera Lens (notice our matching pink ballet flats, which were acquired during last year’s road trip)
Grand Teton National Park
Grand Teton National Park is breathtaking, but before I detail its history and grandeur I must lead with the following headline ― WE FINALLY SAW A MOOSE! After three years, several states and countless searches, this beautiful creature came within a few feet of us! I stood on a rock to get a better perspective, Sydney stood next to me and Peytin ducked behind the rock, as she thought we were simply too close. Trust me, we had not anticipated the moose coming so close, but it changed course at the last-minute and so the safest bet was for us to simply stay in place. It would have been awesome to have also seen a bull moose up close but, hey, you can’t be too greedy!
Grand Teton National Park was actually established twice, first in 1929 to protect mountain peaks and the lakes surrounding the mountain bases, then in 1950, when the adjacent valley floors as well as the Jackson Hole National Monument, created in 1943, were combined to become the present-day Grand Teton National Park. John D. Rockefeller, Jr. played a major role in the park’s history, buying up land in the area anonymously in order to establish and then expand Grand Teton National Park. At approximately 310,000 acres, the park is not as large as Yellowstone National Park, but every square inch of this amazing national park is visually stunning, with the Teton Range as the centerpiece. The park also includes pristine lakes and rivers, and abundant, teeming wildlife. Here are a few photos that capture the beauty of the park.
The girls were sworn in as Junior Rangers for the third and final time at Grand Teton National Park. Way to go girls!! And while I didn’t earn my own badge, I did come in close contact with a National Park Service Ranger, as I was pulled over for speeding! Luckily, my New York driver license (hence, what did I know being so far from home?!) and clean driving record got me off with an admonition to follow the posted speed limits. I was happy to oblige!
ARIZONA
Sedona
After experiencing all four seasons traveling through the Mountain West, what better way to end our trip than with a stop in Sedona ― picturesque, hot and sunny! We were able to balance poolside fun with trips to Red Rock Crossing (the most photographed spot in Arizona), a pink jeep tour (a fun-filled four-wheeling jeep adventure over the red rocks of Broken Arrow) and various landmarks, including Chapel of the Holy Cross, Bell Rock and Courthouse Rock. What a beautiful place and, yes, 100 degrees with 0% humidity is actually bearable!
Bell Rock
Courthouse Rock
Cathedral Rock
Snoopy Rock
Such a Unique Plant!
Chapel of the Holy Cross
Grand Canyon
Established as a national park in 1919, the Grand Canyon is 277 miles long, up to 18 miles wide and attains a depth of over a mile. Honestly, no words can describe its sheer beauty and so I am going to attempt to capture it in photos, but first a bit of trivia that can be used to impress dinner guests or that may come up while watching Jeopardy: In the 1950’s, passenger flights would sometimes detour over the Grand Canyon for a better view. On June 30, 1956, two planes flying from Los Angeles to Chicago, a United Airlines DC-7 and a TWA Constellation, had both requested permission to fly into the Grand Canyon’s airspace. The planes collided directly over the canyon, killing all 128 occupants of both planes. The Federal Aviation Administration was created in 1958 as a result of the crash.
Breathtaking Views from the South Rim, capturing the sheer vastness of the canyon, the Colorado River and, of course, the girls!
Native Americans
After learning about the rich history of Native Americans in Yellowstone, Grand Teton and Grand Canyon and visiting the Navajo reservation (which, at 16 million acres, is the largest reservation, nearly the same size as West Virginia), I have added Native American history books to my summer reading list. If anyone has a good recommendation, please pass it along, as one of the books I am interested in is currently out of print. Speaking of books, I just finished The Lowland, by Jhumpa Lahiri. As a fan of her earlier works, I was sorely disappointed! Has anyone else read the book? Do you agree or disagree?
"Grand Canyon East", located within the Navajo Nation
Things I Miss
Walking … to my favorite coffee shop, restaurant, Prospect Park, etc.
The energy of Brooklyn
Friends and family, especially Lloyd (aka Daddy)!
Final Observation
Over the past three years of our travels, we have often found ourselves in environments in which we have been the only African Americans and nowhere has this been more acute than our national parks. But, at no time have we ever felt unwelcome, uncomfortable or out of place. Rather, the opposite has been true ― people have been incredibly friendly and we have gotten to know some great people (including, most recently, the two southern California families we befriended in Sedona and shared a poolside evening pizza party with). In doing a little research on African Americans and national parks, I came across the following New York Times article discussing this very issue. The national park system is working to increase African American attendance, but I hope to undertake the task as well as the national parks are beautiful, educational and quite honestly, part of our shared history!
Okay, that's all for The Metz Girls Road Trip 2014! Have a happy and safe rest of summer, and hope to see you soon.