The Shivering Coins of Autumn

I went to sleep last night as the smell of Fall was creeping into the air. When I awoke this morning Fall was here. Overnight it seemed, the leaves had turned yellow. They are hanging from the birch trees, rattling in the wind like shivering coins.

After breakfast we hiked into the autumn Teton hills along the Taggart trail. Two miles in, Lake Taggart welcomed us with a spectacular view of the Teton peaks rising their granite faces through the sky's white morning cream. At the trail junction we turned, putting Lake Taggart at our backs, and walked north toward Bradley Lake.

The smells of Fall washed through every yellow birch as we hiked and I was reminded of New England with it's crisp colorful days. Even the smell of horse manure, which I accidentally stepped in, brought back memories of hay rides and apple picking.

It seems too soon for Fall and cold mornings. Didn't Summer just begin? Two and a half months of our trip have flown in what seems like such a short time. I wonder if the rest of this trip will seem short too? 18 months sounds long, but I know now it will in no way be enough to see everything we want to see.

At 2:30 we ended our hike and headed into Jackson Hole. A treat was in order to celebrate our favorite season. A treat of smoked mushroom and spinach calzones and home brewed Buffalo Brown Ale. But secretly I wondered if the real treat wasn't that someone else was doing the cooking. With three weeks of van living left, the food supply as well as innovative cooking ideas is dwindling.

After dinner we strolled the streets; true tourists checking out the window displays, the shops and whispering loudly in the galleries about which $500 photograph would look best in our van. Then to complete our evening in this western-style town, we stopped at a western outfitters. The bear skin vest looked mighty attractive, but with our next stop Hawaii, we didn't think it appropriate. After all running around with a frog in tow was conspicuous enough.

The western motif runs throughout the town right down to the nine foot grizzly bearing its teeth at the hat shop. I scanned the selection and considered a wide brim cowboy hat in brown. But I changed my mind when I saw a man across the isle dressed in ruffled shirt, bolo tie, black leather vest and boots, chose a tall grey one. He put it on and grinned. He looked totally ridiculous.

We ended the evening by driving back into Grand Teton's park with both heaters blasting. Hopefully the van would retain enough hot air until we went to bed. A lonesome coyote wailed in the distance as we set up the van. Ah, the chilly nights of true a western Fall.