Sainted United Air chooses Delta for Teton Birthday trip
Welcome to autumn! The equinox struck, almost unnoticed, on Wednesday (in the Pacific Time Zone). However, because solar motion is so much a part of my being, using a flashlight, a grapefruit, an orange and a marble, I attempted to explain the phenomenon to the grand(est)son. In spite of his clear intelligence and scientific interests (inherited, no doubt, from his grandfather), he was more interested in playing with his cars. (Well, he is a little boy.)
On an international front, an equally important event will occur this Sunday: my birthday. The world celebrated. The Pope came to America and canonized Padre Serra, the namesake of the street where we live. (Since Padre Serra will now be Saint Junipero, they may change the name of the street from Alameda Padre Serra to Alameda San Junípero.) Moreover, as if arranging an equinox to (almost) coincide with my birthday wasn’t enough, astronomical changes were mandated to provide a total eclipse of the moon on my birthday.
This year, Nazy and I wanted to do something even more special, but we hadn’t actually planned anything. Nazy’s sister Saphura, hearing about our lack of a plan, graciously and kindly suggested that we visit Teton Village, Wyoming and that we stay at their place. I have always wanted to see the Grand Tetons and Yellowstone and Saphura’s offer was a wonderful surprise. I immediately began checking flights.
It quickly became apparent that the best and most economical route was via Idaho Falls. I booked via a connection in Denver on United.
“United!” Nazy exclaimed. “You choose United? You choose a Denver connection on United? Do you remember what United has done to you?”
“It was the best price, Nazy. And I just need a few thousand more miles to hit the million mile mark. And, I’m sure that they’ve gotten better.”
“If they are better, it’s only because they couldn’t have gotten worse.”
“I’ve even upgraded our seats from LAX to Denver. It will work out fine. You’ll see.”
I started getting text messages from United as we began our morning drive from Santa Barbara to Los Angeles. Our flight was delayed by a mechanical problem.
“Great!” I thought. “I believe that we’re on the last flight from Denver to Idaho Falls, so..”
United told me to ‘see an agent’ as soon as I got to the airport. They also said that although the flight was delayed by 2 hours, I needed to be on-time. As I was digesting that information, I got a new text from United. The flight was delayed by an additional 90 minutes. Nazy, naturally, was understanding.
“I told you so!!” Nazy intoned on more than on occasion.
in a surprising effort to make things right, United did the only thing that would guarantee our arrival on the scheduled day. They booked us on Delta via Salt Lake City. While I used to fly Delta all the time, I had stopped because they were not part of the Swiss Air frequent flyer program. The Delta flights were smooth and on-time. On the Salt Lake City to Idaho Falls leg, we got exit row seats. It couldn’t have been nicer. More impressive? United has finally figured out how to deliver a quality flight experience. They send passengers on another airline.I should have respected family tradition and Dad’s 40 years with Delta.
The first thing we noticed as we headed toward Grand Teton was the vastness of the area. In Alpine Switzerland, there is a village in every nook (and most crannies). Here, you can go miles without seeing any mammal except for an occasional moose or a herd of bison. Following suggestions from Saphura and Nelson, we began with a drive toward Moose, Wyoming inside of Grand Teton Park. To get there we had to cross a rough two mile road segment..
“Watch that crater!” Nazy shouted as the car jostled along a particularly bumpy segment. Luckily we have driven in Lebanon - we were prepared.
From Moose, we went on toward Jenny Lake. We took a boat across the lake and hiked up to Hidden Falls.
The lake is beautiful and the hike was easy (except for a small segment where the trail was sort of closed). Luckily, Nazy and I had brought our high-quality Swiss hiking boots. We laughed at dicey trails. We jeered at fumbling, elderly moaners. We were thankful that we weren’t young parents carrying two year olds on our backs.
It was not only a beautiful day, it was a great time of year to be in this part of the country. Visitor numbers were low - we never had to wait in line for anything. The sky was blue. The lake was blue.
Back at Teton Village, we took the tram, which is really a gondola, to the top of Rendezvous Mountain where we had great views. This trip has the highest vertical lift, 4000 feet, of any cable car in the world. While I was simply standing on the way back down the mountain my hiking boot spontaneously exploded.
We had dinner at the Mangy Moose. In spite of the rather interesting name for a restaurant, the food was good and the look of the place was very cool. They have posters from very old movies on the ceiling. It’s sort of like the Sistine Chapel, but a bit more rustic and without the Michelangelo touch. (But the ceiling was very high.)
More about my birthday, Yellowstone and the eclipse next week
On an international front, an equally important event will occur this Sunday: my birthday. The world celebrated. The Pope came to America and canonized Padre Serra, the namesake of the street where we live. (Since Padre Serra will now be Saint Junipero, they may change the name of the street from Alameda Padre Serra to Alameda San Junípero.) Moreover, as if arranging an equinox to (almost) coincide with my birthday wasn’t enough, astronomical changes were mandated to provide a total eclipse of the moon on my birthday.
This year, Nazy and I wanted to do something even more special, but we hadn’t actually planned anything. Nazy’s sister Saphura, hearing about our lack of a plan, graciously and kindly suggested that we visit Teton Village, Wyoming and that we stay at their place. I have always wanted to see the Grand Tetons and Yellowstone and Saphura’s offer was a wonderful surprise. I immediately began checking flights.
It quickly became apparent that the best and most economical route was via Idaho Falls. I booked via a connection in Denver on United.
“United!” Nazy exclaimed. “You choose United? You choose a Denver connection on United? Do you remember what United has done to you?”
“It was the best price, Nazy. And I just need a few thousand more miles to hit the million mile mark. And, I’m sure that they’ve gotten better.”
“If they are better, it’s only because they couldn’t have gotten worse.”
“I’ve even upgraded our seats from LAX to Denver. It will work out fine. You’ll see.”
I started getting text messages from United as we began our morning drive from Santa Barbara to Los Angeles. Our flight was delayed by a mechanical problem.
“Great!” I thought. “I believe that we’re on the last flight from Denver to Idaho Falls, so..”
United told me to ‘see an agent’ as soon as I got to the airport. They also said that although the flight was delayed by 2 hours, I needed to be on-time. As I was digesting that information, I got a new text from United. The flight was delayed by an additional 90 minutes. Nazy, naturally, was understanding.
“I told you so!!” Nazy intoned on more than on occasion.
in a surprising effort to make things right, United did the only thing that would guarantee our arrival on the scheduled day. They booked us on Delta via Salt Lake City. While I used to fly Delta all the time, I had stopped because they were not part of the Swiss Air frequent flyer program. The Delta flights were smooth and on-time. On the Salt Lake City to Idaho Falls leg, we got exit row seats. It couldn’t have been nicer. More impressive? United has finally figured out how to deliver a quality flight experience. They send passengers on another airline.I should have respected family tradition and Dad’s 40 years with Delta.
Grand Teton
We picked up a rental car, $39/day, at the airport:
“I have a great deal on a slightly larger car,” the agent noted. “Would you like that?”
“How much more is that?” I asked.
“$15 per day.”
“No, thank you.”
“Would you like the navigation system? $13.95/day?”
“No, I have smart phone.”
“Insurance coverage? $23.50/day?”
“Covered by my credit card,” I replied. “Are you insane?” I thought.
The drive to Teton Village was mostly problem free and scenic. (There was the constant rat-a-tat-tat of insects colliding with the windshield. They sounded like hail-sized baseballs.) In Wyoming, the weather was perfect and we were greeted by clear, dark and star-filled skies.
When you come to this part of the world at this time, you need to see Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks. And, living in Southern California, we were suffering from Mountain withdrawal syndrome. The Tetons are a perfect prescription for this condition.
The first thing we noticed as we headed toward Grand Teton was the vastness of the area. In Alpine Switzerland, there is a village in every nook (and most crannies). Here, you can go miles without seeing any mammal except for an occasional moose or a herd of bison. Following suggestions from Saphura and Nelson, we began with a drive toward Moose, Wyoming inside of Grand Teton Park. To get there we had to cross a rough two mile road segment..
“Watch that crater!” Nazy shouted as the car jostled along a particularly bumpy segment. Luckily we have driven in Lebanon - we were prepared.
From Moose, we went on toward Jenny Lake. We took a boat across the lake and hiked up to Hidden Falls.
The lake is beautiful and the hike was easy (except for a small segment where the trail was sort of closed). Luckily, Nazy and I had brought our high-quality Swiss hiking boots. We laughed at dicey trails. We jeered at fumbling, elderly moaners. We were thankful that we weren’t young parents carrying two year olds on our backs.
It was not only a beautiful day, it was a great time of year to be in this part of the country. Visitor numbers were low - we never had to wait in line for anything. The sky was blue. The lake was blue.
Back at Teton Village, we took the tram, which is really a gondola, to the top of Rendezvous Mountain where we had great views. This trip has the highest vertical lift, 4000 feet, of any cable car in the world. While I was simply standing on the way back down the mountain my hiking boot spontaneously exploded.
We had dinner at the Mangy Moose. In spite of the rather interesting name for a restaurant, the food was good and the look of the place was very cool. They have posters from very old movies on the ceiling. It’s sort of like the Sistine Chapel, but a bit more rustic and without the Michelangelo touch. (But the ceiling was very high.)
More about my birthday, Yellowstone and the eclipse next week
For last week's letter, please click here
Grand Tetons at Sunset
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