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6.18.2015

Jackson Hole Dreamin'



Disclaimer: This post has way too many pictures. 

So there's this place waaaaaay up in the mountains of Wyoming not far from the Idaho border, and I think it may very well be Heaven's existence on Earth. Jackson Hole sits at the base of the Grand Tetons and is surrounded by everything we do not have here in North Texas. (Read: Mountains, wildlife, clean air, authenticity) We had the opportunity to visit this little dream of a town and let me tell you, there's nothing quite like it. It was our first family vacation in quite sometime, as we grew up going to Vail, CO, every year, but haven't been in a while. It's hard to get all of us together these days. Especially now that we have husbands in the picture, too. We thought we were going to have everyone this time around for once, but my sister's husband had a last minute work obligation come up, so we were minus 'ole Dustin. But it was a great time with the fam!

We spent our days on hikes, bikes, strolling around town or just lounging around the immaculate house we were so lucky to spend the week in. It's nice to have family friends who own sweet vacation homes, y'all. It's even better when said friends give you the keys to their home for a week!

The house was beautiful - several old cabins that they combined into one gigantic 6 bedroom, 7 bathroom mountain home on like, 70 acres of beautifulness. The evening we arrived there were two moose in the yard. Just chilling.  Obvi we had major STOP THE CAR RIGHT NOW SO I CAN TAKE A PICTURE tourist moment. No shame. Apparently moose and bears roam around this place like the $40,000 millionaires around Dallas. They're everywhere. There's even signs on sidewalks around town warning you not to be strolling around the outskirts before sunset because that's bear feeding time. I mean..not tryin' to be anyone's dinner tonight, y'all. 

Anyway, clearly we obeyed and did not get eaten by a mountain creature. As I said, we did all the cliche mountainy things and loved every minute. Our child actually cooperated and sat tight in the baby hiking backpack carrier seat everyday, too. Miracles do exist.

We hiked a few hours up each time, getting high enough in altitude to be surrounded by snow patches in mid-June! I decided to put on my big girl panties (one might call them stupid panties, too) and dip into Ski Lake, a small lake we reached about 2 miles up the mountain one day. There was snow on the shore so I should have known better. But you know, when in Rome. Or Jackson. Do as the locals do, right? I don't really know if they swim in this lake. They probably do not. It is COLD. I got a mild bout of frost bite at the base of my big toe and it was good and purple for two days as a result. But hey, I made a memory. And got a natural ice bath to give my muscles the boost they needed after three days of uphill hikes. One of the days we piled in the 'burban and drove down the road to Yellowstone National Park. We didn't hike there, but we did spend two hours browsing around the geysers and hot springs bubbling up everywhere. Yellowstone is MASSIVE, you guys. Who knew? Well, maybe you did, but I certainly did not. We're talking like you need 4 days just to see it all kind of massive. It's a good reminder of just how small and minuscule we really are. (Deep, I know.)

The last day we took a two-hour raft trip down the Snake River and that was neat. There was potential for all sorts of cool wildlife sightings, but of course no one came out to play for us. We did see some serious Eagle nests, but no sign of the bird itself. (We also found Sandra Bullock's house, but no sign of Sandy, either) The Osprey were flying about, but you know, they were kind of the JV version of the Eagles. No offense to any Osprey reading this. 

Anyway, Jackson Hole is the place for any outdoorsy adventurous peeps looking for a getaway. It's beautiful, the weather is perfect (high 70s/low 50s) this time of year and it is a soul-cleansing breath of fresh mountain air.

Here are a few of my favorite shots from our trip: