The town of Dubois is 40 miles away as the crow flies. By road, it is 160 miles through Jackson or 220 miles through Lander (the problem being the presence of the Wind River Mountains in between). It is also the not-so-humble abode of the Box Hanging Three Ranch, run by the grandparents of my college buddy Andy Tolan. As Andy is at present spending a sort of summer vacation at the ranch, I took my hard-earned day off to drive around the mountains to find him. We spent the first afternoon swimming in the Warm Springs River that runs through the ranch – an aptly named stream that is always a comfortable temperature thanks to its hydrothermal origins. After that it was prime rib at the local steakhouse and early to bed.
Today began with a morning walk, followed by a long horseback ride up a ridge and down a canyon – quite fun for a fellow who is lucky to land his ass on an equine backside more than once in a year. Two foals are currently running around the front yard – rare twins who lost their mother in childbirth. They act rather like puppies, following people around and trying to chew on clothes. I came back the northern route through Jackson and found the Tetons mostly obscured by smoke – must be a big fire up that direction. Around Pinedale it is still perfectly clear – the haze has gone.
Tomorrow we leave at 10 am for Cheyenne to be “trained” by the Chicago Botanic Garden. Odd that we should be trained when our contracts are nearly half over, but it seems the Garden has money to spend on training and so has to do something with it. At least we get full pay, free hotel rooms, and paid travel expenses. We will probably get back to Pinedale late Tuesday night with the goal of getting to work on Wednesday – so expect another update Wednesday evening.
Photos of the Day updated.
