At the end of August we went out to Jackson, WY for an end of summer vacation. Dave had been out there before to snowboard, but it was the first time for me. It was amazing! The scenery was breathtaking, nature everywhere, clean air, delicious water, so many outdoor activities – it was heaven.
We stayed in a condo that was situated between the towns of Jackson and Wilson. Lina also came with us.
Day 1
On our first full day there we headed to Heart 6 ranch, a working cattle ranch, for a 4 hour guided tour on horseback. It was an aggressive start as none of us has any horse riding experience, but we did it and it was so much fun. We had a great, very patient guide, who took us way up to the top of a mountain where we could look down on the snake river. We had lunch up top, and then headed back down. Our seats were sore for the rest of the week, but it was worth it.
The guide led us and the horses were trained to just follow. Occasionally they would try to stop and eat grass or brush, but otherwise, they were super well trained, which was great because we were not well trained at all.
The girls on their horses. Lauren’s was named Trouble and Sophie’s was named Rowdy. Lucky neither lived up to their names.
Here’s the crew on top of the mountain after we stopped for lunch.
Day 2
On day two we headed into Yellowstone. Unfortunately the weather did not cooperate. It was rainy until we started to get up into higher elevations and then it turned to snow. We did not pack for this – I was wearing sandals. The poor girls were freezing all day. Despite the weather we saw some amazing things and made the most of it.
Our first stop was Old Faithful. It was pouring the entire ride there and fortunately about two minutes before it went off it stopped raining and we all went out to see it.
There she blows.
The water that blows out is extremely hot and the steam came wafting toward us, which we all tried to huddle in front of.
The landscape was just amazing. There were geothermal areas dotting the entire area, so you could look around and see steam rising everywhere.
Grand Prismatic Spring and Midway Geyser Basin. It looked a bit like we were on the surface of mars.
The Grand Canyon of Yellowstone
Passing the Continental Divide.
Day 3
We headed to Jackson Hole Mountain on the third day. In the summer they use the mountain for non-skiing actives, like mountain biking, hiking, and climbing.
Dave, Sophie and Lina did a ropes course, while Lauren and I climbed up to an observation tower.
Sophie the climber.
View from the observation tower.
After lunch we took the tram up to the top of the mountain. We hit up some clothing stores beforehand to make sure we were a little more appropriately dressed this time. Yes, I wore socks with sandals. It happened.
The fam at the top of the mountain.
We decided to do a two mile hike that was a loop back to the tram and also a restaurant known for their waffles.
The girls demonstrating their strength.
Red tailed hawk looking down at us.
We also saw this marmot who was not happy we were there. He was making crazy noises at us.
After we were about three quarters of the way done the hike we realized the last quarter was pretty much a 1,000 ft rock scramble back to the top. We considered backtracking, but decided to just go for it. The girls were amazing. It was really tough, even for the adults. We took a lot of rests but they made it.
Shots of us making our way up to the top
I’m not sure who long it took us, but we finally made it back to the top. Here are the girls with the Grand Teton in the background.
The waffle reward! They were actually delicious.
Day 4
The next day we headed to Grand Teton National Park. Fortunately the weather was amazing and the mountains were just stunning. Here are just a bunch of shots from the day.
Jenny Lake where we stopped for lunch.
Pronghorn sitting in a field
Day 5
On Thursday Lina watched the girls and Dave and I headed back to Jackson Hole Mountain. He did a trail run (where he nearly ran into a moose) and I took the tram back up to the top of the mountain for a morning yoga class. Fortunately there was temperature inversion that day, so the top of the mountain was actually about 15 degrees warmer than the bottom.
View from my yoga class.
While we were at the mountain Lina took the girls to the playground where they also had a close encounter with a moose! This female was sitting in the field while they were playing, but when she stood up, Lina made the girls climb up on the fort.
After the morning we headed back to the condo, grabbed the girls and Lina, and headed to the Snake River, where we took a 13 mile rafting trip. We had an amazing guide who was very knowledgeable about everything along the river and we saw about seven bald eagles, which was really cool.
The trip started out with Lauren getting stung by a wasp twice within 10 minutes, which was not cool, but after the calmed down the rest of the trip was lovely. It was actually a pretty smooth ride with very small rapids, which the girls loved.
One of the seven bald eagles we saw along the way. This one was enjoying a fish lunch alongside the river.
View of the Tetons from the water.
That night Lina watched the girls again and Dave and I went out to a nice dinner at the Granary Restaurant. But first we had a drink next door at the super fancy Amangani hotel.
The view from the deck of the hotel where we got a pre-dinner drink.
Day 6
The next day we rented bikes and checked out the town of Jackson. It’s a super bike friendly town with paths leading everywhere.
The only bikes we could rent were geared bikes, and Lauren had never ridden one before, but she got the hang of it pretty quickly. We ended up riding 13 miles and by the end she was an old pro.
Here’s a video of the crew biking along side a big elk refuge right outside of the town center.
Day 7
On Day 7 we were supposed to go home, but because of weather our flight got really delayed, which meant we were going to have to spend the night in Dallas and fly from there the next day. We decided it was a much better idea to stay in Jackson for another day. We found a condo for just one night at the Snow King resort right in town and the girls spent some time in the pool while Dave and I got another hike in.
What an amazing week! One of the most gorgeous places I’ve ever been. We were all bummed to come home, but are looking forward to going back again soon!