"Where's Luke?"

When any of our children invite us on their adventures, we will move mountains to join them. Living in the center of "The Mighty Five" national parks, it's almost unforgiveable to not avail ourselves of these wondrous locations. Being with our people makes these trips even more meaningful. For whatever reason, none of us were invited on Conrad and Staci's honeymoon to Italy and the Swiss Alps. Rude. Several weeks ago they texted in the family group chat that they were planning a camping trip to the Grand Tetons and would any of us like to join them. Without even checking our calendar, I immediately replied that we'd love to join them. All these years living here and this is one of the national parks I have never visited. Responsible Dave checked our schedule and reserved the dates and camp-site, then we both spent some free time researching this beautiful place. YouTube is a great way for us to get advise from other travelers and campers and builds wander-lust after a long, cold Spring.

Dave wishes Freya would travel up at the front of the RV with us. Freya wishes we would leave her at home. I'm torn. If we bring her, I know the drive stresses her. If we leave her, I am convinced that she misses me desperately and won't eat or drink and will just sit at the window watching for our return, and then I'm stressed. We load up the RV and take our places; with Freya's place being the highest farthest away place she can find. I tell myself I know what's best for her, and what's best for her is for her to be curled up by my legs while I sleep.

The drive to Jackson Hole is so pleasant. The beautiful Snake River crisscrosses the highway and this time of year the rolling hills have turned a deep green. We stop in Afton for a quick lunch and to stretch our legs. Conrad, Staci and Eli aren't far behind us.

We rolled up to our space in the campground, set up our work-station, checked to make sure the kitty was doing alright and then walked over to the kids' campsite. They are young and love the building of the fire, cooking over the fire, swimming in the icy creek, and sleeping in tents. Though Dave and I are young and spry, we love sleeping on a mattress in the RV and cooking on a stove and showering with heated water. Dave offered our kitchen/shower to them; Conrad, whittling a stick into the shape of some sort of spatula smiled "Thanks for the offer, but I think we're good." I looked over at Staci who was obviously in her element as well. She is an amazing cook, and I knew that likely whatever she'd be cooking over their fire was going to taste far better than what I'd be serving us. While they busied themselves with getting their home away from home set up, Dave and I went for an evening drive over to Jenny Lake.

Evening drives/hikes are my absolute favorite. The crowds of park visitors have mostly cleared out; most families have left to feed and put to bed their children. A few groups still remain to catch the sunset, some dressed for having their pictures taken by the barns on "Mormon Row". The grandeur of the Tetons make a breathtaking backdrop. As we slowly drive past barn after barn, I like to imagine what life would have been like for the families that lived and worked this land so long ago. So much wild-life and running water I always think of worst case scenarios. In reality, the dangers of the modern tech-age we are currently in seem much more daunting than the occasional fox crossing a brook in the distance. Yes, there are deer, moose, and bears as well, and massive water-falls; children should always be attended by their parents or adult family members when out in the wild.

We parked in the now mostly empty parking lot of Jenny Lake, and got out to take a stroll with the commitment to turn back before it got too dark. With no people and no boats crossing, the water was like glass. the path is groomed and care has been taken to make view-points where there are natural breaks in the trees to give the best views of the jagged mountain range.

The more we realized the sun was gone, we knew we should turn back. The thought of being a bear's bed-time snack helped me quicken my pace.

Our camp-site was no-generators allowed, and I actually really loved that. Just the quiet hum of a few families getting their food locked up for the night and the occasional crunch of footsteps walking down the road.

The next day we went to the Visitor Center and watched the short film about the park. Since the parking lot was still not too crowded (perhaps because it was mid-week), we walked back over to the boat-dock at Jenny Lake. With plenty of seats available, the five of us hopped on board the boat headed across the lake to the Hidden Falls and Inspiration Point; popular locations in the Tetons.

The closer we got to the opposite shore, the more breathtaking and massive the mountains appeared. After a brief presentation by the driver of the boat about there being no bathrooms and warnings of how to behave when crossing paths with the local bears "Don't worry, they're just using the same path as you are to get to where they're going"; Alrighty then. I'll get right on that not worrying thing. We were also warned that if we weren't back to the dock promptly by 7 pm we could avail ourselves of the free five-mile hike back around the lake to the other side.

We let the three youngers of our party of five lead the way and started heading up the trail to Hidden Falls; which we could actually hear from a distance. The trail was not too rapid of a climb and the trail was initially fairly easy to navigate. We hiked single file, trying not to stop too often to ooohhhh and aaaahhh at all the foliage and water and views. Right as the roar of the water fall was getting louder and we knew it was just around the corner, a young man came walking at a fast pace towards us. Hardly breaking his stride, his face ashen white, he asked "Have you seen an eleven-year-old boy? His name is Luke!" We stopped in our tracks. We replied no we hadn't and he kept hustling down the trail. The five of us stood speechless for a few moments; until Dave said, "I'm going to go look for him further up." Memories of the real-life stories of not only children, but adults going missing in the mountains raced through through my mind. Conrad said, "I'm going to go help Dave." The four of us decided to split into two groups of two, each carrying a phone and then meet up at the boat dock before dark. Conrad and Staci headed up the trail, Eli and I stayed put, all of us occasionally yelling little lost Luke's name. With none of us coming across the child, and closing in on our mandatory departure from the dock, we all met up there just before 7 PM to see if any of the workers there had seen him. As we got closer to the wooden benches of people waiting for the next boat Staci pointed straight ahead, "There's Luke's dad! And Luke!" She called out to him "You found him??!!" He glanced up at her nonchalantly and shrugged his shoulders as though to say "Well of course I did, what's the big deal." Wow. Maybe Luke goes missing all the time. Maybe Luke's father didn't want Luke's mother to know he had lost track of Luke. Who knows. I do know that all young children that go into the mountains need to wear a whistle and be taught that if they get lost they stay put and blow that whistle.

We all slept well that night without nightmares of a lost child wandering in the forests of the Grand Tetons.

The next morning we decided to have a do-over of our Jenny Lake experience. After Conrad and Staci got back from a quick trip into Jackson Hole, we all ventured back to the boat dock and back across the lake. First stop was the water fall that had eluded us the day before. It was as beautiful as it had sounded.

The views were spectacular, but the view that never ceases to take my breath away is that of my children. They are my favorite people in the whole world and they live their lives in a way that gives me such hope for the future. When they were little, I was so consumed with keeping them safe and protected from injuries, their feelings or hearts from being hurt or broken. Now I wonder how they are going to navigate parenting their own children.

We say our good-nights and see you in the mornings and go to our separate camp-sites. I'll warm something up on our RV's stove and Staci will cook something over the fire that Conrad and Eli have built, and they'll stir whatever delicious feast she has made with the spatula Conrad has whittled from a stick. Maybe this generation will bring the pendulum back from the drastic swing it took when the internet invaded our homes and cell phones invaded our minds a couple of decades ago. I like typing this blog on my laptop. I like it until it gives me an error message "oops looks like something went wrong" and I lose so much of what I'd written. Would I still write if I had to write with a pen or pencil on a pad of paper? Yes, for sure I would. What if I had to dip a feather quill into a pot of ink? My poor arthritic hands.... These are the thoughts that carry me off to sleep as Freya and I watch the starry sky from the window of the RV.

I'm glad Luke is safe in his tent tonight. Next time please make sure he has a whistle.