Pura Vida and Taggart Lake

Today I lead a group of seven middle school students around Taggart Lake in Grand Teton National Park along with Eric and three Teton Science School officials. At first, I was unsure of what advice I would be able to give to twelve and thirteen year old kids. I started off by introducing myself ofcourse and told them about my upbringing and asked how many of them had previously visited the park. I was surprised that many had indeed been to Grand Teton and all but one had done the Taggart Lake Trail. I then asked how long their parents have lived in Jackson and one said twenty years! It's unbelievable to me, coming from Texas that I would find a Latino population out here in Jackson, Wyoming. It is the coolest thing to walk around town being so far away from home and hearing people talking Spanish in the streets. I thought I left that part of the states back in South Texas but its right here in town. I was glad to be able to share some of my stories with these kids and hopefully I encouraged them to stay in school and study hard. We can be whatever we want to be as long as we try hard and keep the faith. I'm also proud to say that we completed a four mile hike and I managed not to lose anyone! Exciting stuff people!!