Teton Science Program: Trip to Jackson

The trip was a long one, over 20 hours for some of us. The day started early with sleepy-eyed students arriving at the airport at 5 a.m. for the first flight to Dallas. Excitement built throughout the day as the second and third flight of students arrived at the DFW airport. For some students this was their first flying experience and they handled it very well. The size and scope of the DFW airport terminals amazed many students and they spent several hours exploring the many shops, food establishments, and other areas of the airport. They enjoyed traveling the Skyline tram and going from terminal to terminal as our different flights arrived.

All was going well as we boarded our final flight to Jackson. We were on a large 757 with about 100 passengers. After sitting in the plane for 20 minutes, the captain told us to disembark the plane as the engine was damaged and could not be repaired quickly. Everyone was happy that safety ruled the day and thanked the captain for his decision. Unfortunately we had to wait an additional hour for a new plane to be flown in from St. Louis. While this messed up our whole evening schedule, the students were great troopers and took it all in stride. We finally left over 2 hours late. Storms gathered north of Dallas blocking our flight path so the pilot deviated around them. You could hear the students' excitement as they could see the lightning in the storm clouds. "Look at this!" "This is so cool!" and other phrases of excitement were heard echoing throughout the plane. We finally landed in Jackson in the dark which was disappointing because the airport is next to the Teton mountain range.
We were greeted at the airport by the Teton staff and taken by vans to the Teton Science School. Because of our very late arrival, the normal 2 hour orientation was crammed into 30 minutes and then we went to our dorms to prepare for bed. Everyone was in bed by 12:15 which would be 1:15 back in Little Rock. Needless to say after such a long day, most eyelids were closed and "zzzzzzz" could be seen streaming from the top of their heads.

Below are some of the many pictures that we took during our trip to Jackson. I shall try and publish as many pictures as my time permits. At the end or our trip, Teton Science School will be producing a slide show of all the pictures that they will have taken and will post it for all to see! Enjoy the pictures!