A Long Day In the Foothills of Infinity

     Today at midmorning the entire 8th grade split into six travel groups. They stay with the same Teton Science School field educator for the week.
     I chose to follow a group that proudly called themselves The Elk.
     We looked at the sawtooth range of Teton mountains, the tops implacable and charged with a meaningful presence simply by the presence of snow that made the blunt and broken granite peaks 'jump' with an extra spatial density and detail.
     We hiked along a trail that wound its way through mountain grasses and sage, cottonwoods and quaking elms. The day repeatedly came and went, clouds and blue sky trading places, alternately blissing us with warmth and subduing us with a sudden shadowy chill.
     At the end of the afternoon, Laura, our guide asked the hikers for what they learned and what goals they had for the remainder of the week.
     Here, connected by elipses are their unvarnished comments:
     "I loved the game of camouflage ... I learned about conifers ... quaking elms ... scat ... cattails ... the trumpeter swans were amazing ... I want to see big animals tomorrow like moose but not bears! ... I want to see wildlife ... it's so beautiful, it's so calm here ... it's so nice not to be in New York City ... how amazing it is to be in the woods ... now I want to learn more about animal habitats."
     It was true that the thin and infrequent call of birds came and went. A lonesome airplane once in a while as well. But mostly, everywhere, like the abundant light comes the abundant silence. Even the chatterers felt and appreciated that. All it takes is a glimpse but in a split second at the base of the mountains one enters infinity. This is a trip to remember.