Jackson Hole, Wyoming

Our original West Coast plans were to drive from the Bay Area north through California, up through Oregon and over to eastern Washington to visit friends before heading to Yellowstone and the Grand Teton National Parks. However, after mapping out the distances and drive times, we pivoted to flying direct from San Fran to Jackson Hole (cutting out a lot of great places and people to visit, but saving a ton of time). 

Jenny and Geoff were spending the summer at their home in Wilson and invited us to come visit. We stocked up on groceries and a delicious bucket of fried chicken and spent the evening having dinner, going on a walk around their property, and using the hot tub together. The kids slept in the guest room in their cabin while Pete and I had our first experience in an AirStream they have on their property! 

The descent into the Jackson Hole airport is pretty spectacular

Very quaint airport with a super easy rental car pickup

Jenny and Geoff were busy with work and preparations for their own summer travels so we made our own fun during the days that we were there. College friend, Charlie, grew up and still lives in the area and he shared some kid friendly things to do. 

We went to the Jackson Hole ski resort and rode a cable car up to the Wildflowers trail and an outdoor playground halfway up the mountain.  The weather and views were beautiful. 

Back in the valley, we continued North into the National Park to go to String Lake for the afternoon. We would have loved to have had a SUP or kayak to enjoy the lake more, but just wadding in and taking in the views was great (expect for the leeches....). We had our first glimpse into how seriously they take the bear situation. There were bear boxes for food and drinks every dozen or so yards all along the lake and a ranger walking around making sure people were using them. 

We skipped the neighboring, larger Jenny Lake, fearing the parking situation, but stopped at an overlook to see it on the drive back. 

That evening we met up with Charlie, Laura and their daughter for dinner at the local spot in Wilson. Really nice catching up with them! 

Elk with a baby crossing on the way home!

Jenny lovingly maintains a dozen or so hummingbird feeders around their property so we had quite a show every day! Watching them all come to feed while in the hot tub is a special kind of zen. 

The following day, at Jude's request, we booked a white water rafting trip on the Snake River. I had done the same rafting trip with my family in 1990 when we drive from Maryland to California and back, stopping at all of the National Parks along the way. Back then, it was raining, visibility was poor and I was terrified! I sat huddled in my poncho in the middle of the boat and had to be coaxed out with jokes. Thanks in part to Bowdoin's outing club and my experiences there, I now love white water rafting and we had a gorgeous day for it. We spotted a few bald eagles, saw an otter in his cave and took turns "riding the bull," sitting on the very front of the raft while going through the rapids and trying to stay on! We even all took dips into the frigid water. I was unwilling to pay $120 to download the photos they took, but screenshot some of our hilarious expressions (mostly mine when I got drenched). 

We celebrated a successful adventure with a huge American lunch in town. 

A final evening with Jenny and Geoff. They BBQed Wyoming Wagu steak and I'm not sure we've had anything so delicious in our life. Unfortunately, their fight overseas the following day was cancelled and they were scrambling to figure out alternative arrangements. It gave us time to get ourselves packed and organized for our next adventure, camping with Leslie and Peyton in Yellowstone National Park. 

We were greeted in the morning while having breakfast with a moose. Thankfully the dogs were all inside at the time. 

Heading up to Yellowstone. My mom shared photos of our 1990 trip and I loved seeing this very similar shot: 

We could see traffic up ahead in an area that was good for viewing buffalo. Sure enough, they were taking their sweet time crossing the road so we all got to be up close with them (just a preview for all of the buffalo we would see in Yellowstone!).

We stopped for a picnic lunch at Grand Teton Lodge and enjoyed the gift shop and a yummy milkshake from the diner inside.