Our Nest on Wheels

by Steve

Over the past couple years on the road, we've found that this nomadic lifestyle of living in an RV is basically a combination of always being on vacation and always being at home at the same time. When we move every couple weeks, we still have all the normal comforts of home--we sleep in our own bed, we have all our clothes in the closet--but the scenery changes. But every once in a while, we actually do leave our rig and go away on vacation for a few days. We did this recently and spent three days in Grand Teton National Park.

Over the years, we have been in Grand Teton some eight or nine times. So we know the park and the sights pretty well. It's still one of our favorite places to visit. On this visit, we decided to see some of the things that we haven't seen before. We also camped in a tent, which we haven't done in at least four years.

As you can see in the first picture, we had a bit of haze from nearby forest fires. Nothing as bad as we had in Glacier NP, but it still made for hazy pictures, at least on the first day. Later that day, the wind shifted and everything cleared out nicely. The picture below (taken from Signal Mountain) shows the smoke from the forest fire burning in the Bridger-Teton National Forest to the south.

One of the hikes that I (Steve) have wanted to do for a long time is the Amphitheater Lake hike. This is one of the most popular hikes in the park, but it is also fairly strenuous, with 3,000 feet in elevation gain over 4.8 miles (one way). This is the same as hiking the Bright Angel trail in Grand Canyon down to Indian Garden from the rim and back again. We've done that stretch a few times now, so we knew that we weren't taking on too much here. Just needed to start early and take our time, which we did. Here's Jane on the trail part way up. 

As you can see, the trail goes right up the side of the mountain, switching back 18 times as it climbs. The reward at the end are two of the most picturesque sub-alpine lakes to be found anywhere. The first is Surprise Lake.

The second is just 0.2 miles farther along the trail and is called Amphitheater Lake.

That's the tip of the Grand Teton showing in the background, just peeking above Disappointment Peak. The only way to see these two lakes is by hiking to them, as we did, or climbing the Grand Teton and looking down at them, as I did in 1975. This hike was easier.

We got to see some wildlife on this trip too. Here's an 8-point buck dining on tender leaves in some bushes not far off the road.

And some pronghorns mooned us as we drove to our trailhead.

But no moose or bear, which we would have liked to have seen, at least from a distance.

We also visited "Mormon Row," an area of historical buildings in the park. While the Mormons tended to pick some pretty bleak places to live, at least here they had stunning views of the Tetons.

We also visited the 1100-acre Laurance S. Rockefeller Preserve, which opened in 2008 on land donated by the Rockefeller family. The gift came with the stipulation that it remain as a place where visitors can experience a connection with the natural beauty of the lakes and the Teton range. Read more about it here. The only buildings now are a visitor center/reading room, and a couple of bathrooms. (No gift shop! Can you imagine?)

We're in Wyoming, just about as far west as you can get before you step into Idaho. We're spending a month here on the quiet side of the Teton Range, just about an hour from the hustle and bustle of Jackson. The towns here are small. Thayne, the nearest, is around 400 people. Afton, which is 14 miles farther south, is just under 2,000. But it is home to the world's largest elk horn arch--one that stretches all the way across a 4-lane highway. Jackson may have the most photographed elk horn arches, but Afton has the largest.

Afton is also home to Aviat Aircraft. They are the manufacturer of a couple of well-known single-engine airplanes. The Pitts is an aerobatic biplane, and the Husky is a bush plane capable of taking off and landing just about anywhere. The Husky is a two-person plane; one person sits in front of the other, not side by side. Either person can fly, as there are two sticks. This is the type of plane used in Alaska, although the Cub is more common there than the Husky.

We didn't expect to find an airplane manufacturer in a small town in rural western Wyoming, so when we saw a half-dozen planes sitting in a parking lot, we decided to find out more. It turns out that Aviat gives free tours of the facility, so we arranged a date and got to see the whole operation.

The buildings don't look very high-tech. They're simple, warehouse-like structures that have been around a long time. But inside we found around 30 or so craftsmen and craftswomen who build these airplanes by hand. It's not the buildings, but the tech of the workers that makes this place go.

Here's a completed airframe that's been painted and is ready for the fabric covering.

And here it is with the skin on. Most of the skilled workers have been plying their craft here for many years. We met a man who welds aluminum, which isn't easy. Just for fun he had welded two aluminum beer cans together at the bottom, which is really hard to do. Needless to say, his welds on the aluminum fuel tanks were flawless.

Another worker crafts parts using fiberglass. Here's our friend Mike holding a fiberglass wing tip that just came out of its mold. It's extremely lightweight.

Aviat produces 40 to 50 airplanes a year at this site. Each one is made for a specific buyer, with the colors and options that the buyer has chosen. After several test flights and certification, the planes are ready to be shipped anywhere in the world. Many go to Africa, where a plane that can land just about anywhere is really useful.


If you get out this way, stop in Afton and see if you can tour the Aviat Aircraft factory. (Call a couple of days in advance to arrange.) I think you'll enjoy it, and you'll be amazed at the craftsmanship that's being done here in this out-of-the-way corner of Wyoming.