Thanks Bob for the great idea on how we can catch more fish using the Scamp- maybe even COWFISH! We miss you!
From Tetons National Park

For the past couple of weeks we've been in the Tetons & Yellowstone, both of which we enjoyed very much for different reasons.
First, we had a great time in the Tetons and Mary met us for 5 days, of which we spent nearly all of it backpacking of course! Jon & I got there a few days early and scoped out the area, got all sorts of doom & gloom about the higher elevation trails due to their record snow year (something like 750 inches) but finally we decided to just go for it & get the permit since really, the Teton Crest Trail is the highlight of the park as far as backpacking goes. I was sort of worried that the Tetons would be too small of an area since when you're on the park road, you look at them in this relatively short line and you can't appreciate the depth behind them. Well, we had a perfect time and there was plenty back there! The trails were beautiful, there was a moderate amount of snow in the passes but nothing more than what we've already encountered, and it was early Spring up there. We hiked up Cascade Canyon, over Hurricane Pass, in to Alaska Basin, over Mount Meek pass, on top of Death Shelf, over Fox Creek Pass, in to Granite Canyon, over Mt Hunt Divide, down in to Open canyon and then back out the Valley Trail to where we started 4 days before. The one evening when thunderstorms threatened, we hiked until later than we'd wanted since we couldn't find a campsite but in the end Jon found this one at Fox Creek Pass that was in a tight clump of evergreens- just room for both tents and nearly completely protected from the drizzle, but right outside the little clump of trees over our tents were wide open expansive views and gorgeous scenery. I loved that campsite! The following day dawned beautiful and clear. I like the idea of open camping but then sometimes it can be a little stressful finding a spot when you're ready to stop, but it has always worked out.
It has been so nice to follow Spring along this trip since for some reason Yosemite and then the Tetons have been well behind Sequoia even though they are not that far apart really. We've gotten to see endless wildflowers, continued to get to slide around on snow going up the passes and have that contrast of white to bright green to the grays & browns of the rocks. I'm trying to soak up all of this to tide me over to when we can do much more. But the water in some of these streams is so crystal clear blue that it makes me think of diving too and that is another passion- it is trying to fit it all in to one uncertain lifetime that is the trick.
We didn't really see many animals to speak of on the trails in the Tetons while backpacking- lots of bear doo but no bears. We did see& hear pikas which I really enjoy and a few deer. Deer are on my blacklist right now though since I'm pretty positive that one browsed under the vestibules of our tents on our last night- first it chewed part of Mary's hiking boot- it actually even took out one of her tent pegs collapsing the vestibule, then it came over and got my brand new wonderful boot and went to town chewing away to get the salt and thus ruined it! In Sequoia, one chewed Jon's brand new hiking pole straps too. We could hear something moving around out there but I was dead to the world sleeping, Jon heard slurping and went out to find nothing, and Mary witnessed her tent being taken down but when she went out she didn't see anything either so.... We found it the next morning. In the valley, we saw buffalo in the fields and many, many bluebirds, sand hill cranes and some pronghorn. Neat scenery and I really liked Jackson Hole also, good grocery shopping. The hills of Idaho that we passed as we approached the park and crossed into Wyoming were so green, far stretching and rolling, not what we expected. Idaho is much more than the potato.
From Yellowstone National Park
Anyway, since the Tetons are connected to Yellowstone, it was an easy 30 mile drive to a new park. Instead of erosion, it is now geothermal stuff. It has been a long time coming, finally seeing, hearing, smelling and even feeling (the heat) of these formations. We were a little disappointed in ourselves at first for not realizing that Yellowstone didn't seem to be a very good backpacking park- in our opinion. The geothermal sights are really colorful and unique, but the expanse- the woods for a good portion of the park, sort of isn't. Jon doesn't like the lodgepole pine which covers a lot of the park and I know that fire brings important elements to the park ecosystem but it mars it pretty badly just the same. But, as moved to different areas, we did find some gorgeous scenery but we still didn't feel like backpacking in it. Anyway, we really got in to looking at all of the geysers, mudpots, fumaroles, hot springs and streams and we stayed in pretty park campgrounds. Each night we'd plan out what we were going to try to see the next day, either over a campfire or tucked in the camper, depending on our mood. It is nice to have the option to choose. We did a couple of so-so day hikes and then wised up and got over to the Lamar Valley area of the park and did some truly beautiful ones that changed our mood. Yesterday was a hike through open, very high fields to a group of petrified trees, likely moved millions of years ago by volcanic flows that then deposited them in there, some upright. We got a really long look at a grizzly yesterday along the roadside.
We did some thinking and decided to move up to Glacier for our last backpacking trip. It isn't actually much out of the way and we want to do it. So that is where we're headed today, crossing stunning Montana scenery. I'll try to get this posted along the way.