Jackson Hole, Wy.
Trip Start
Jul 07, 2007
1
8
14
Trip End
Jul 29, 2007
Jackson Hole,
Wyoming,
United States
Friday, July 20, 2007
I didn't take many pictures today, at least not in the morning, as we were in a two-car caravan on a mission and stops were few. We were trying to get to Jackson Hole by around noon in anticipation of John's arrival. I spoke yesterday of Elaine's brother John coming with two of his children, if you'll remember. Well, we got word that John had missed his flight out of New Jersey by only a few minutes. Drat. So the newest information was that he was going to have to take a later flight which would put him here around 3:30. This meant that we could relax just a bit with our own schedule, so we began to be more open to stopping along the way.
All in all today we passed in and out of 4 National Forrests. They were, Cache N.F., Caribou N.F., Bridger N.F., and Targhee N.F.
01
.Just out of Cache National Forrest we came upon a town called Garden City and also encountered Bear Lake. This area was very picturesque- a cool little town and Bear Lake was pretty big. Little did we know that this would be the beginning of lots and lots of places and things with a "Bear" theme.
Back on the road we came into Paris, Idaho. Yes, Idaho. Now I must admit to you that it wasn't me who came up with the itenirary for this trip. Also, since I've been doing the driving, Elaine has done a great job of navigating. This is to explain how all of a sudden I 'woke up' in Idaho. This was the first I had known that our route would take us through a corner of Idaho and it was just beautiful.
As we approached the town of Montpilier (please forgive me if I've butchered the spelling) we saw signs advertising The Oregon/California Trail Center. A little two-way radio negotiating ensued and we decided to drop in. We were offered a one-hour tour but declined and did a walk-through on our own. When we went downstairs to the "Trails and Rails" exhibit we found a wonderful young lady there who spent just gobs of time and attention on our two boys, showing them all the vintage products, tools, and systems
02
. Afterward we went across the street for some lunch at a place that turned out to be very busy because of a local baseball game or tournament and our kids had a blast in the "PlayZone" with the others.
We then pushed on toward Jackson Hole, with several stops along the way for pictures, etc..
We got to our hotel earlier in the day than we have been, so after checking in we were able to go to the pool, which turned out to be really great. It is an indoor/outdoor pool with two jacuzzis. Then on to dinner after finding out that John and his kids were now stuck at the airport where they had a layover and that his arrival had been bumped now till 9PM. Bummer. We felt so sorry for him. From our end it seemed that his whole day had been spent just trying to get here. Even as I type this, they should be on the way from the airport, with any luck at all.
We had a spectacular dinner at a restaurant just behind us called "The Gun Barrell Steakhouse" and I had Elk for the first time! It was really, really good
03
. I had the Elk Chop, someone else at our table had the "Velvet Elk" which was medallions in a rich sauce. One other of our party had the Prime Rib of Bison which got great reviews. Also on the menu were Bison Ribs, among other, more "normal" selections. The restaurant itself was decorated like a hunting lodge and had lots of animal trophys everywhere. I'm thinking that the local chapter of PETA does not hold their meetings there!On tap for tomorrow, I hear, is some white-water rafting on the Snake River. I'm psyched for this, I'll tell ya. After surviving hang-gliding on my 46th birthday and that two mile hike the other day, it should be a piece of cake!
I have to tell you, in conclusion, that although we still have far to go on this trip and much to see and do, I think that Jackson Hole is the most beautiful place we've seen yet and we are soooo lucky to be here.
Now, on to the pictures.
Good night,
Quinn
