Leigh & String Lakes Canoe Trip - Grand Teton National Park

After we got back home from Mexico, we had one day to regroup before our next adventure.  No rest for the weary!  Before we could mow the lawn or wash all the underwear, we were off on a family canoe trip to Grand Teton National Park with our friends the Helfrichs, Hursts and Richards.  We started off at String Lake and then portaged 1/4-mile over to Leigh Lake (under the shadow of Mount Moran).  Our group filled out a mighty flotilla of ten canoes which we filled to the brim with three days worth of gear.  Unlike the other families, Daniel and I decided to load all of our gear into one canoe (Daniel’s – which was definitely riding a bit lower in the water than the rest of the canoes) while I maneuvered myself and the six kids in the other two canoes.  Once we got to the portage, Daniel did not want to unload the mountain of gear on his canoe, so he pioneered a new water route upstream to Leigh Lake while the rest of us suffered, sweated and strained while carrying nine canoes and endless loads of gear over the portage trail.  Later, on the return trip, we all converted to the brilliance of Daniel’s water discovery and, henceforth, his water portage route will be known as the “Dewey Route.”  The beaches of Leigh Lake were every bit as white as the beaches of the Sea of Cortez.  The water was the same, brilliant, crystal-clear blue.  The temperature of the water, however, was a different matter entirely.  Brrrr!  Nonetheless, the nineteen kids in our group had endless water wars, built entire sandcastle villages and took the canoes out on multiple water voyages.  The favorite moment of the trip was a group voyage out to Mystic Isle – a rocky island on Leigh Lake.  We had a huge game of Capture the Flag that lasted about four hours before the red team (which was, sadly, my team) lost the conquest when our flag was captured.  I’ve never seen grown people – including myself – get so caught up in a game.  The kids (and parents) loved every minute of it.  Daniel and I celebrated our fifteen-year anniversary on the canoe trip with a midnight canoe float on the glassy waters of the lake.  The full moon reflected Mt. Moran in the water, the stars sparkled in the sky above us – does it get any more romantic than that?  

With 26 people and 10 canoes, we had a lot of gear to transport.  Daniel carried all the gear for our entire family in his canoe.

Jed helped hold the canoes in place while we were portaging gear over the quarter-mile portage from String Lake to Leigh Lake.

This is my friend Rachel and her girls.  Check out that reflection!

Happy 15th Anniversary!

Being married that long deserves two kisses!

Some of our group hanging out around the campfire.

Wyatt doing what he does best...

McCall and Morgan shared a hammock each night.

Ahhh, friends!

Quin

Carson

Jedediah

Wyatt

Kai

This is my friend Debbie's son - Thomas.  I thought this was such a cute shot of him.  He and Carson are best friends.

We were able to get super-close to this black bear and her cub because we were in a canoe on the water and they were on the shore.  Amazing to be able to watch them up close like that.