On my recent trip to Jackson Hole, we took a snowmobile tour with Rocky Mountain Snowmobile Tours up to Granite Hot Springs.  Aside from the beautiful day we had and the spectacular views we were fortunate enough to see on our way to the hot springs, there were a few things that caught my attention that day.

First, it was pretty neat to be sitting in a Geothermal hot springs in the middle of winter out West.  The water enters the springs at 112 deg. F!  Who needs electric powered jacuzzi's!

Second, there was an administration booth to collect fees for the hot springs and provide changing rooms for men and women.  The cool thing was that since the booth is so far from power lines, it had two solar panels providing power for it.  It's pretty cool to see manifestations of two alternative technologies (geothermal and solar) at one time!

The final thing I noticed was how bad it was to be behind 5 other snowmobiles and breathing in their exhaust.  As much fun as I had zipping around in the snow, it would have been much better in one of these.  Not only would a hybrid result in cleaner emissions, but in less noise pollution.  I enjoyed seeing the mama and baby Moose with only the sound of the river much better than hearing other snowmobiles clattering past.

Oh well, 2 out of 3 aint bad (well, 2.5.  Snowmobiling was fun as hell!).

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