Jackson Lake may well be the largest work of art in the world. From its headwaters in Yellowstone, the Snake River flows through Jackson Hole, gathering itself at Jackson Lake before wending West and North through Oregon and Washington. In the early Twentieth century, Jackson Lake Dam was built at the south end of the lake, raising the water level some forty feet.
I found a comfortable place to sit by the lakeshore near the concrete wall of the dam. The broad motionless water mirrored the ice-capped peaks and the bold blue sky that framed them. After thousands of miles, I had finally found a manmade work that rivaled the splendor of nature. Of course, it did so by reflecting nature.
The glare of the sun, unrelenting on the immeasurable undulation of the lake surface, was hypnotic. I was tranquilized, meditation by mesmerization, absorbing and absorbed in perspective, my miniscule self echoed back to the vast expanse reflected at me, an exhilarating communion that laughed at otherness and extended beyond the bounds of my conscious self.
I had a nice time.
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