Day 1: Friday, 10 March 1999

Marie and I started at about 1:00 PM by catching BART to Colma and then taking the 3X to the airport. Total cost: $2.85.

We met Robert by the gate for our first leg to Salt Lake City on a small puddle-jumper type airplane. We got the lovely seats at the very back right across from the toilet--the ones that don't tilt back because the bulkhead is right behind them. The only consolation was that I saw how the flight attendant locked and un-locked the lavitory door using a secret panel. Very tricky.

In Salt Lake City, Marie and I had a little snack while we waited before the next leg of the flight. Neither of us having had lunch, we both braved airport hotdogs. (Which turned out to be pretty good, actually.)

A Similar Picture This is actually an iron mine.

The little snack shop was pretty strange, though, since along one wall it had a huge picture of a huge open-pit copper mine. The whole shop was copper-mine themed, which struck me as odd. Utah has a lot of mining, sure, but isn't there a better theme? Salt? Brine shrimp?

Robert also had a bit of uncertainty since he was actually booked on a later flight than Marie and I were taking. He would have had to wait another two or three hours in the teeny waiting room--which would have sucked.

Fortunately, right before we were about to take off, Robert appeared and took one of the last two seats on the plane. He ended up sitting in the row right in front of us. I called it the Row of Death since it was right in line with the propeller blade. (Did I mention that this was a prop plane?)

The fight attendent spent a lot of time right near us, since what passed for a galley was just across the isle. Toward the end of the flight, right as we're about to land, she and Robert got to talking a bit. Robert asked where she was based and she replied that she was based in Salt Lake City, but that she originally came from Texas.

"Ahh," says Robert, "now you're living with the Mormons."

"Yes," she replied.

Seizing the initiative, Robert replied tactfully, "I think the Mormons are a bunch of wackos."

"Oh," she said, "Do you think I'm a wacko?"

"Are you a Mormon?"

"Yeah."

"Yup. You're a wacko."

You can imagine how this exchange sent those of us within earshot into fits of giggling. The flight attendent took it very well and didn't manage to spill anything on Robert. Actually, they kept talking until we actually got off the plane.

Seth and Ken picked us up at the airport and we went directly to to dinner at the Teton Steak House, a fine semi-buffet style place (like an up-scale Sizzler). Posters on the wall in the place say, "Sure we serve vegetarians...what do you think cows are?"

Marie couldn't help laughing at the menu and the all of the Teton This and Teton That everywhere. It turns out that in French "Teton" basically means "tit" or "breast". Keeping that in mind, it's easy to see why "Teton Burger" might be kinda funny.

Ken's Dad's House's Garage

After dinner we went back to Ken's Dad's place, where we were going to stay. It's not in Jackson proper, but about 10 miles out in Wilson (population: 36).

It's a huge house. The picture to the right is taken from the side of the house. The thing that looks like a house is really just the garage (which has a one-room studio above it). The main house is behind the garage. The low part sticking out on the left is the Moose Room.

The Moose Room

The house is on top of a large foothill that becomes actual mountain not too far away. The part of the house that you can't see has a huge picture window all along the east wall that gives a spectacular view of the valley around Wilson. At night, when the house is lit up, you can see it for miles, which really ticked off the residents of Wilson when it was first built. I must say, though, the view is great.

There's also a hot tub, which also overlooks the valley. The first night, we spent quite a while soaking in the hot tub. After a bit in the tub, I'd put my arm or hand into the snow for a while, then put it back in the tub. The sensation was very odd--kinda like the feeling you get when your arm was alseep, but is now waking up.

We went to bed kinda late.