Vacation - May 19 2023

 Friday finds us with our first full day in Driggs, ID and the day dawned with hazy skies. A forest fire in Alberta, Canada was pushing smoke down our way and the mountains in the distance were taking on a whitewash. The sky is clear as far as it goes. It's blue, at least. But much of the time everything is muted with the smoke.

 It may be late May but the tops of the mountains were covered in snow. I think we arrived just in time. They wouldn't have been nearly as beautiful if all we saw was green and gray.

 These shots are of the pass between Driggs, ID and Jackson, WY.

 Trevor wanted to show us his newly-purchased property that's in a rural area just east of Driggs and to prepare the spot where John Buhler's ashes will be buried. It's an an area south of the Tetons. Trevor dug a hole with his backhoe where a Crimson Sunset Maple (the burgundy tree on the right of the next picture) will be placed as a tribute and a marker.

Tom (l-r) and Trevor

 We helped plant six quaking aspens while on the property. It probably wasn't warmer than 80° but it was extremely bright and Tom and I had a mile less atmosphere blanketing us from the sun. I could feel a difference in my breathing.

 Then we drove to Jackson for a little sightseeing and to attend a dinner sponsored by Tina Welling. Tina was married to John Buhler for many years and was Tom's sister-in-law.

 More views of the pass ...

 This is John and Tina's "cabin" in the Hidden Ranch Loop neighborhood of Jackson. It's currently for sale.

 Our dinner gathering was at an apartment complex on Hidden Hollow Drive (above). This is a view of the Teton's from that location.

 I got to meet the entire family who gathered in Jackson for the memorial for the first time.

 Later that evening Tom and I walked to a dark spot in Trevor and Amy's neighborhood and I set my Pixel up on a tripod to take some star photos. The Milky Way was set to rise in the east before midnight so I aimed the camera that way and took three four-minute time exposures. When I got home I stacked the photos with Sequator and this is the result:

 The haze in the center of the picture should be the Milky Way though the addition of the smoke from the forest fires may have added to it. Viewed in a dark room, the picture shows a lot of detail and many more stars than we can see in Ohio. Clock on the picture for an even higher resolution view.