Amid strong currents

The Snake River, below the Tetons and west of Swan Valley, Idaho, twists through epic, intimate terrain that separates mountains from potato flatlands to the west.

A sunlit summer night offered a perfect chance for an overdue return to this oasis. The route from Jackson Hole, Wyo., crested 8,400-foot Teton Pass and parted the rugged roads of Victor, Idaho. It rose up and over a smaller range, and the rich forest and crashing canyons en route were, unexpectedly, enough.

Only a few miles short of the undulating Snake River, it suddenly seemed better to turn back, and remember.

TOM HAINES