Snake River Surprises
While in the Grand Teton National Park, we decided to take a scenic raft ride on the Snake River. It launched from a very small town called “Moose, Wyoming”. While we were waiting for our turn to load up into the raft, we stopped at the Visitor Center. It was very nice, and it’s always helpful to talk to the Park Rangers - they are typically very knowledgeable about the best areas and times to see wildlife, specifically moose, elk and bears. We tucked their advice into our hats, and headed over to the raft launch site.
It was mid afternoon, and kind of chilly, but we were excited to get the adventure going. About 8 of us piled into the raft along with our guide. We learned that he had been in Wyoming for several years as a rafter and guide, and had also worked in Alaska for several years. As he expertly steered us down the river, he pointed out an eagle in the top of a pine tree, and shared stories of the other wildlife he’d seen along this route. We didn’t see any moose or elk, but we did see a bright pink sunset over the Grand Teton Mountains. Stunning! We also caught a glimpse of an abandoned ranch house and barn sitting on the edge of the river at the bottom of a steep, high bank. What a view they would have had. Amazing!
The next day we decided to return to the area to look for moose and elk in the not-so-secret-spots that the Park Ranger had told us about. It was early in the morning, the best time to see wildlife, usually. Coming around a curve in the narrow gravel road, tucked back in the willow bushes was a cow moose munching on some leaves. That got us excited, and just a couple miles down the road was a small bull moose with his “lovely” cow. If you’ve seen a moose close-up, you’d probably agree that they are so ugly that they’re cute. Those huge ears, long face, and gangly white legs make them so unique. We snapped some pictures and moved on so that other visitors could catch a view of them.
We headed back toward the visitors center, and sought out the famous Moulton Barn that has been photographed millions of times. The structure standing there against the backdrop of the Grand Teton Mountains is iconic. It was a foggy day obscuring our view of the mountains, so we decided to take a drive and come back to see the barn later in the day. We came across a dirt road with a sign that said “Four Wheel drive vehicles only”. Now, you know what that meant. David’s eyes lit up as he turned the truck onto that dirt road. We didn’t have good reception on our GPS at that spot, or on our phones, so we really didn’t know how long this adventure might be, but off we went anyway.
The “road” was extremely rough, with good sized rocks throughout the drive that led us out into the middle of nowhere. Sagebrush lined both sides of the path, and when we looked to our left, the mountains felt so close to us. Coming around a sharp turn, there were two pronghorn antelope grazing. They looked at us quizzically, as if to say “Are you guys lost?” I was having a hard time letting go of the concern about just where we were heading, but we came upon a couple surprises that helped my concern to turn to peaceful enjoyment. We hadn’t passed another vehicle, or seen another person on this journey, but now we were coming up on a truck parked in the sagebrush. Looking at the license plate we were surprised to see the truck was from Alaska. “OK, now this guy really is lost”, we chuckled. As the road took another turn, we realized that the path was now following the Snake River. We parked the truck and took a walk over to the edge of a 60 foot high cliff overlooking the river. There at the bottom of the cliff was the man from Alaska, happily fly fishing. It would have been quite a challenge to get down to the river from there, and we couldn’t picture how he was going to get back up to his truck!
To his right was the abandoned ranch we’d seen from the river. We imagined what it would be like to live down there - no company except for the occasional pronghorn, elk, moose or bear. The sounds of the river peacefully flowing along, and the adventurous rafters passing by would be the only sounds. No phones, no bills, no demands. Ah, that sounded so good. We sat on the tailgate of the truck and ate our lunch, soaking in the quiet beauty of the scruffy sagebrush and taking in the majestic mountain view.
Eventually we continued on, bouncing our way across the rocky road enjoying the sunshine and the solitude of this ride. Finally, we saw an asphalt road coming into view and found that we had looped back onto a main road again. We headed back toward the Moulton Barn to see if the fog had cleared yet. It had, and we were able to get some pictures this time. It was late afternoon now, time to head back toward the little “mom and pop” motel we were staying at. The sun was lighting up the valley, and our hearts were full.
Food for Thought
We took a detour off the main road, believing that it would lead us to some views and experiences that you just can’t get otherwise. We were right. We were hoping to find quiet beauty, unique sights, and maybe even something unexpected. And we did - the beauty of the sagebrush color against the reddish-brown pronghorn antelope with their dark horns, the abandoned sun-baked ranch house next to the beautiful green color of the Snake River, and the fly fisherman from Alaska whipping his fishing line back and forth across the shimmering water didn’t disappoint!
As we sat on the tailgate of the truck admiring our surroundings, we thanked God for leading us to this off-the-beaten-path detour. We praised Him for His matchless artistic ability and creativity! We remembered the Bible verse that says that if we don’t praise Him, the rocks themselves would cry out. (See Luke 19:40)
Listening to the sound of the river flowing by, the wind in the trees, and the crunch of the stones under our feet as we walked along the edge of the trail, it seemed to us that we were not the only ones giving Him praise that day.
In the book of Job, after suffering through extreme pain, devastating loss, and confusion, he hears directly from the Lord. Afterward, he declares to the Lord “I admit that I once lived by rumors of you, now I have it all firsthand - from my own eyes and ears! I’m sorry - forgive me. I’ll never do that again, I promise I’ll never again live on crusts of hearsay, crumbs of rumor.” (Job 42:6 The Message Translation)
I hope you will take time today to read God’s word, invite God’s presence, and listen for what He is whispering to your heart personally. Crusts and crumbs aren’t enough to sustain us. He longs to give us more than that. Let’s take time to hear Him.
