Ten minutes to write. Less time to read.

Before leaving Grand Teton National Park, there was one more sight I wanted to see: Jackson Lake Lodge with its 385 rooms, its sixty foot picture windows in the lobby, and its outdoor heated swimming pool. I suspect it is the most posh accommodations in the entire park. But it wasn’t so much the lodge and its accoutrements that interested me. It was the view.

From the outdoor porch one sees verdant fields that melt into Jackson Lake itself on one side while the Tetons come down to the water’s edge on the other. So much diversity in this panoramic view. It’s breathtaking.

An added benefit was the two young people who had four raptors to show passersby. All four birds were unable to sustain themselves in the wild for various reasons. But their bad luck enabled people like us to see a Golden eagle, two falcons, and one owl up close and personal. We were within inches of them, as they each sat on their own perch and their handlers answered questions.