Transcript

So let's say I'm remembering the time that I hiked Jenny Lake in Wyoming with my two younger kids. I remember that it was a really hot day, and the air felt so refreshingly cool at Hidden Falls. I remember the spectacular view overlooking Inspiration Point. I just it felt awe. I remember a chipmunk surprised us by coming right up to us and stealing and eating my daughter's snack, like right in front of us. Oh, I remember we saw a moose. 

 I had never seen a moose before, and I remember the Grand Tetons in the

distance, and again feeling awe and embarrassing my teenage son by singing songs from the sound of music. 

Okay, so the cool air on my skin at Hidden Falls has nothing to do with a chipmunk or a moose or the sound of music, unless these fleeting separate experiences become linked together in my brain. So why can I remember so much about this hike at Jenny Lake and not, for example, what happened the week after when I was back home in Massachusetts, which is a more recent time period?