Idaho

After a very nice breakfast on an outdoor patio at a local restaurant, we went to the airport to drop a loaner car before departing for Jackson Hole, WY for what we thought was a day off.  Upon arrival, we found that the newspaper had us listed to be there for that day. Zane and Deanna Lemon, who had been to Jackson many times, graciously volunteered to stay behind while the rest of went on.
After a scenic drive over the mountains, we arrived along with many other tourists. We spent a nice day browsing in the shops on the square and after a little refreshment, drove to Teton National Park about an hour's drive away. On the way, we enjoyed spectacular views of the Tetons as well as spotting moose, a herd of buffalo, and antelope. In the park we spotted a buck on the side of the road with velvet on his antlers and shortly afterwards one crossed the road in front of us causing a quick braking. He seemed unconcerned as he ambled on his way. The lodge at the park has an observation deck looking towards the mountains with a lake in the foreground and we took multiple pictures before making the two hour trip back to Driggs.
There we found that Jane and David Gorrell had arrived from Park City, UT in her little red convertible (above photo).
It had gotten a little late so we rushed out to dinner and found a near empty place that could accommodate 13 for dinner with ease. It was more casual fare than the previous evening, but good food.
Earlier in the day Gene had foraged through the scrub brush for wood so we would be able to have a fire again that evening, but alas, when we arrived back at the cabins some interlopers were having a grand time burning our wood. So we gathered on the porch of  one of our cabins to round out the evening.
The Lemons early Wednesday morning for home. We decided to do our airport duty in shifts and the early crew set up the table and conducted tours. We have been underwhelmed by our visit here, most of our tours are given to people who were at the airport and stumbled on us. When the afternoon crew arrived, the females left to go shopping and found some interesting shops in town. We also found the Spud Drive-In movie theater with the giant potato on a truck in front. After returning to the airport and closing up shop, we recessed to the bar there in the airport and later decided to stay there for dinner. We had a lovely view of the back side of the Tetons as the evening light changed them from grey to pink to purple.  We had another porch party that night and celebrated David Gorrell's birthday with cake.
Thursday morning the Taffs departed for Texas. Again we did shifts for airport duty. Late morning while Jane and Sheryl were running errands and Peggy and Jake were doing laundry, the word came to start packing as we were going to Missoula, MT a day early. Some stayed at the airport to break camp, get fuel, and load gear while the rest were at the cabins frantically packing. Lunches to go were ordered at the airport and  within two hours, we were launched.
Again it was a bumpy flight and we flew high to try to minimize that. High enough that some of us felt the effects of the altitude in our unpressurized cabin. The smoke from forest fires minimized the view, but we still saw some awesome scenery. Upon arrival, Blake Butler did a near perfect landing in spite of the fact that it has been ten months since he has done one in this aircraft.

From left, Jane Gorrell, Peggy Fairchild, Steve Jacobson, Sheryl Christian, David Gorrell, George Dennis, Kay Dennis, Blake Butler and Gene Christian in front.

The fires are not close but Missoula is in an area where five mountain ranges converge and the smoke is channeled down the valleys into the city so it is quite hazy. There are now 8 of us again as Jane Gorrell drove back to Park City.  Our host in Missoula is the Museum of Mountain Flying. We enjoyed our rustic stay in Driggs, but are all excited to once again be in modern hotel rooms.This Hilton Garden Inn is decorated in a mountain lodge motif and has gorgeous light fixtures and an assortment of wonderful leather chairs. Because they have an airport shuttle, we opt not to rent cars.