Adventures in Teton National Park

As promised, I am finally posting pictures of my exploits so far in Teton National Park :)
I do apologize for having taken so long to do another post!

The past week especially has been super busy. I've hardly had any free time it seems, and when I do, I don't have the energy to do much.

The days are flying by faster and faster and I am trying to soak each moment in and enjoy each moment I am blessed to be here.
The heat of summer has finally passed (it's been dry heat and hardly any humidity) and the days are getting cooler. The mornings and evenings has most certainly gotten more chilly. Most mornings I'll run the last bit the way up to the lodge to get out of the wind sooner, and a run in the brisk air will certainly warm you up.. :)

Ranch life has really become the new normal. Home and life back in Alabama seems like a distant, precious memory. It' such a strange feeling.

Friendships are deepening with some of my fellow staff, we're growing closer, laughing, being exhausted together, they're beginning to see my other and more mischievous side..

But needless to say I am busy, exhausted, but doing well and LOVING life on the ranch in this amazing place. I really don't want to leave. After this week we only have 5 more weeks left which is making my head spin.
While I greatly miss everyone at home, I am going to miss this place like crazy and the amazing people I have met and gotten to work with here.

SO much has happened since I last posted. Lots more adventures and I turned 24...
But I'll let the pictures speak for themselves.

We're only about 15-20 minutes away from the south entrance to the park which is so wonderful.

The famous Oxbow Bend

My favorite place in the park has to be Lake Jackson. It is HUGE and provides stunning view of the mountains across the water.

Sat on that log for a good while and soaked it all in my first visit.

Some views from some of the marinas on the lake

Coulter Bay which is where I've rented a Kayak twice now.

My first time kayaking on Jackson Lake was definitely an adventure let me tell you.
A friend from the Church I've been going to when I can joined me as we both wanted
an adventure that day and boy did we get one..

So we rented a two person kayak and started off paddling behind some of the islands that are close to the shore and explored the back water for about an hr.

Then we made the mistake of paddling out past an island to open water in order to get a good view of the mountains, then planned to paddle back to the right and towards the bay.
Well we got out and began to realize just how windy it was and how choppy the waves were.
We paddled, fought, and then eventually got out and half pulled/pushed the kayak though the waves along a shore line for a good bit. We started getting water in our kayak and I tried to bail as much out as I could with my water bottle.

Then after that we were back in open water and shoreline was a little ways off.
That's when the trouble began. The waves started coming harder and harder, and we began to drift further and further from shore. At this point we didn't have much strength left as we'd fought for a good bit already, and as hard as we tried, we simply could not get the kayak positioned to where the waves weren't coming in on the left. I might have started to panic around then and we were both praying really hard.

After about 10 minutes of fighting with all our strength, our kayak was filled with water and we had to get out and were floating there, a good ways from shore, no boats close by that we could see, clinging to the kayak, and wondering how on earth we were going to get out of our predicament.

I had a water proof case on my phone and was trying to google a number to call (we'd lost the sheet with the emergency number on it) to let them know we needed to be rescued.
After floating there for about 10-15 minutes a motor boat with two men appeared. We swam over to them, they helped us in, and brought us back to shore. I'm convinced they were angels.

We were shaking with cold, and laughing really hard with relief and shock when we got back to the marina. The workers were so kind and understanding, and offered us blankets and water.

So thankful for God's protection in that scary situation and hoping that will be the most adventurous thing I go experience here :)

Another really neat place is String Lake.

I hiked to it my first time I experienced it, then learned you can drive to a parking lot that is right by a good place to put in.

So I went there a few times when it was really hot and floated (took one of the ranch tubes) and it was an amazing way to cool off. It's pretty shallow in some places and the water is so clear.

First bear sighting in the park.

And seeing the sunset over the Snake River in the north section of the park one evening was pretty amazing.

Phelps Lake is another really neat spot. It's a pretty short hike, then you can walk around the lake for about 1/2 miles to a rock you can jump off of.

I tried to get the courage to jump off but just couldn't. It doesn't look that high until you're up there.

So I jumped off this one instead.

The water wasn't too cold! I guess my body has adjusted because if I had just come for a few days visit and jumped in I probably would have been yelping and out of the water in a heart beat :)

And I celebrated my 24th birthday :)

Some of the staff and I went to the rodeo that night to watch professional bull riding and to go to the fair.

We had Chinese food before that and it was such a memorable way to celebrate. Everyone made me feel so special and one of our cooks even made me a Red Velvet cake at my request. I work with some pretty amazing people.

There are so many more photos I want to share, but I'll save those for another post :) Hope you enjoy these photos for the moment!

Thank you all for your continued love, prayers, and encouragement; it means the world to me. So thankful for all of you.