Four 12-year-old girls squealed with delighted shock as the cold, rippling water of the Snake River splashed off the rocks below and into the front of our rubber raft. Their shorts and legs drenched, they managed to avoid some of the water, which rolled a few feet back to where the grandparents and I were sitting in the raft bottom.
The girls had been asking for it for over an hour. “When are we going to hit some rough water?” they had called, teasingly, to Dave, our tanned, tow-headed guide, who stood in the center, piloting our raft with long oars.
“Oh, up here a ways,” he answered casually. But when it came, he let it be a surprise, and although they created a commotion scrambling out of the way, they were elated, while professing indignation.
It was not exactly “white water.” Still, the leisurely 6-mile trip down the Snake in Teton National Park in Wyoming was full of other thrills: Unbelievable views of the Teton Mountains framed by ever-changing skies–gray thunderheads followed by white cumulus clouds, followed by sunshine. Beaver lodges. Eagle nests. Glimpses of wildlife. And interesting, extemporaneous narratives from Dave.
The aroma of sun-warmed lodgepole pine drifted out to us, and occasionally we passed some of last winter’s havoc: downed trees and small, newly formed islands that caused gentle gurgling in the shallow river. Dave explained how the river is constantly changing its course. Too soon he was giving us instructions on beaching the raft, and finally, we all climbed out downstream near the Moose Visitor Center.
Our raft of 12–the four girls, one of whom was my granddaughter Lynn, two younger siblings and six grandparents–browsed in the visitor center until the other three rafts in our party were beached. Then we were bused to nearby String Lake where we ate lunch and went for a short hike along the shore and through the woods. By this time the sun was high and the sky completely cleared. As we walked, intermittent clearings in the trees would offer picturesque, fresh views of the Tetons across the lake.
Bused back to Grand Targhee Ski and Summer Resort, our quarters for the week, some of the youngsters got together for swimming-pool horseplay while others opted for more hiking before dinner. After dinner, an “evening off.”
That was Tuesday.
We had all arrived at Targhee late the previous Sunday afternoon, in time for dinner and an orientation meeting for our Elderhostel intergenerational course, Teton Discovery. The week was full and active with interesting agendas: Classes on the greater Yellowstone ecosystem, wild animal skull and scat identification, fossils of the area, wolverine research reports and area water critter identification, as well as field trips. Our favorite field trip, needless to say, was Tuesday’s float down the Snake River.
There had been 48 of us: 25 adults and 23 children, aged 9-12, from all over the United States. There were couples with one or two grandchildren, single grandparents with one child, and an uncle and aunt with a niece and nephew. Some of us lived in the same general area as our grandchildren and were are able to see them regularly. Some lived a considerable distance away and used this “course” to get reacquainted with each other.
Although sponsored by Elderhostel, the course was conducted by the Targhee Institute here in Alta, which offers a variety of group programs–not only to Elderhostel–to learn more about the greater Yellowstone and Teton region.
They receive office support from Grand Targhee Resort, and participants in their courses are housed at the resort.
All of the intergenerational courses stress high quality educational opportunities, including lectures, fields trips, excursions and extracurricular activities. They are planned to be age-appropriate for young people and taught by highly qualified personnel, experts in their fields. Each course lists acceptable ages (most are 9 to 12). The intergenerational general program description states: “The age ranges have been carefully determined to encourage the most constructive, dynamic interaction,” and I can attest to the sound reasoning in this statement.
Our course had four morning lectures out of the five days, beginning at 9 a.m., with a break mid-morning, and continuing until lunch. A child younger than 9 would probably find it tedious to sit this long, and since 12 was the top age for this course, we found the youngsters in that age group gravitated toward each other, whereas the younger ones still “hung out” frequently with their grandparents, a comfortable arrangement. On the cusp of adolescence, the 12-year-olds still had the joie de vivre for the whole experience.
Three of the four days we had afternoon field trips, either by bus, chairlift to the top of the nearby mountain or just hiking nearby, and the fourth afternoon was free. I took this opportunity to spend some private time with Lynn, driving an hour and a half to Teton Village in our rental car. We took the tram up to the 10,000-foot level for a breathtaking view of the whole Jackson Hole area, and I felt if I could lean just a little farther I might touch the magnificent Grand Teton itself. As it turned out, while there we met a few of the other participants who had the same idea for their free afternoon.
Those who didn’t have a car (there’s van service to the area from local airports) either spent the time quietly at the lodge or shared a ride with others to various places of interest.
Not all courses involve hiking and/or outdoor activities, however, so many different interests are accommodated, depending on the course. Some are conducted on college campuses, in urban centers, national or state parks or, like ours, on the grounds of a private resort.
A course description will specify the terrain and climate, the level of energy or stamina required and the type of accommodation you and your grandchild will share. Some accommodations are more primitive than others, some have shared baths, but in most cases the grandparent and grandchild share a room. Most are similar to motel rooms, with two beds and a bath, although I narrowly escaped a primitive cabin bunkbed situation (requiring me to bring my own sleeping bag), with outside toilets.
When we contemplated signing up I had given Lynn the catalog and much too generously suggested she pick the course that sounded the most fun to her and I would sign us up. Then I learned her first choice would have involved the unheated cabins and flashlights through the woods in the middle of the night, and I demurred. Her second choice was Targhee, which I wholeheartedly endorsed, and if I do this again I’ll read the catalog more closely and warn her ahead of time of any that I disallow. I’m sure there are many grandparents who are better sports than I, but I shall let them have cabin life.
One can also call and verify or have staff expand on any of the course summaries offered in the catalog, although you may be referred directly to the course director. Each grandparent is permitted one grandchild, so if both grandparents go, two children are allowed.
Our course summary stated, “Hiking options accommodate a variety of ability levels.” I have health problems I discovered were affected by the 8,000-foot altitude of the resort. When I learned one of the day hikes involved hiking to even higher elevations I discreetly informed the leader ahead of time that I would be staying behind and managed to disappear inconspicuously as they were leaving. Lynn went along happily with the group who were now her buddies.
Four of our five noon meals were bagged lunches that were provided for picnics, but breakfasts and dinners were served in the resort dining room, a bright, high-ceilinged, stuccoed room in Native American motif overlooking the chairlift. The first night, as participants straggled in having arrived at different times, strangers still, grandparents sat with grandchildren. But as the group got to know each other the ages started pairing off until by the third evening all the 12-year-olds grabbed the table for eight, girls and boys integrated and thoroughly enjoying each other, and so it went the rest of the week. Nine- and 10-year-olds paired off by sexes, girls at one table, boys at another, and grandparents moved about, getting to know those they might not have yet been able to talk to.
Evening programs also were planned for us, the most moving being a presentation by actress Dorene Ludwig of the American Living History Theater of Greybull, Wyo. She gave a dramatic representation in which she impersonated 12 early pioneer women and told their stories of early frontier life in the area. It was especially meaningful to the grandchildren as history that came alive to them.
Current Elderhostel intergenerational courses include a variety of options, including music, art, science, technology, the environment and various outdoor activities conducted in all areas of the country. Just within the last few years some international courses were begun. So far those include study in Costa Rica, Denmark, England and Ireland.
I was one of only two from my entire group who had never experienced an Elderhostel course. Most participants had not only been to an adult course, but also had attended an intergenerational one, either with the same grandchild or alternating as youngsters come of age in their families. All spoke enthusiastically of their experiences, and those who have attended more than one with the same grandchild say it is an experience highly anticipated by the kids, and usually by their parents as well.
Observing the group, particularly at dinner time when everyone was together, I found it quite extraordinary that such a diverse group of people could come together for one week and have so much fun. In spite of individual differences I noticed within the adult group, the obvious common ground was not only a genuine love and affection between the generations but a commitment to family that isn’t always apparent in everyday life back home in our neighborhoods. These grandparents were special people whose important contribution was the investment of time.
IF YOU GO
THE DETAILS
Elderhostel intergenerational courses are included in its general catalog offerings, which are published quarterly. Request a catalog either by phone (877-426-8056, 8 a.m.-8 p.m., Monday through Friday) or from their Web site (www.elderhostel.org).
Elderhostel requires a minimum age of 55 for adults. Intergenerational courses will list children’s age requirements for each course.
Registration is handled by lottery. Submit your request until “drawing time” for each session. A set number of names is selected at random and assigned to the course. You will be informed of your status, whether you are registered or on the waiting list. I signed up for the June course in January and was No. 17 on the waiting list. I logged in occasionally to check my status (which is updated), and had given up any hope of getting in. But in April I had moved up to No. 2, and finally I was informed I had been registered.
Cost for both an Elderhostel and the intergenerational programs is modest. I paid $500 for myself and $430 for my granddaughter. Meals and lodging are included. You arrange and pay your own transportation costs.
— N.J.B.
