Jackson Hole

---

This was the first time I pulled out without Ed so I took my time making sure I got most of it done correctly. It seemed to go well and before to long I was ready to roll. I drove down to the Virginian RV resort which was on the outskirts of Jackson and Nancy went to check out some things to do. I hooked up quickly and we soon met her for lunch at the organic bakery where we all had yummy stuff.

It was to be a town day so we headed off to a kids maze and bungee jump near the Snow King Ski area. The kids had fun (after a while as there was a quite a bit of frustration on one of my kids part) and the weather grew warmer and warmer. The adults decided it was time for some inside activity and we all went to the Museum of Wildlife which to our surprise turned into a great visit. The building was impressive and done beautifully and the galleries inside were interesting and informative. They had activities and exhibits for the kids and we were able to stroll through the museum and take our time. The scenery out the back wasn’t so bad either.

After a few hours (probably 3 or so) we were all ready to go to our next stop which was the indoor climbing gym. This had been very high up on Michelle’s list and she was ready for some action. I was a little more uncertain because Jacquelyn used to love climbing but as she has gotten older had a bit more trouble with it and she wasn’t really sure she wanted to go. I got a little more uncertain when I found out that I was going to be the one in the harness as safety for both of my kids. Good thing I went through with it because the kids absolutely had a great time. On her first time up Jacquelyn wanted to stop midway but I talked her into going a little farther and then a little farther and before long she reached the top. The look on her face was priceless as she thanked me for pushing her because she didn’t think she could do it. She told me she felt great because she knew she could do it, and so she did it again at least 4 more times on different routes. She informed Shannon when she got there (she had been shopping) that she was proud of herself which made it for me (and for her and for Shannon). Not to forget the others; Danielle skittered up a wall here and there usually about half to two thirds up smiling all the way, Michelle planned and executed just about every wall in there that was not inverted, and Nicky had a great time and like Danielle just enjoyed herself. As a special event, Jacquelyn’s tooth decided to come out after one of her climbs and so we also ended up with a tooth fairy visit later in the evening (we decided that the tooth fairy probably uses GPS now).

We actually had a dinner break in the middle of climbing as I needed a break even if they didn’t and we found an awesome Thai restaurant in the middle of town (Teton Thai) that had some of the best green curry I’ve ever had. Shannon joined us after setting up her tent at the Teton Village KOA where she was going to camp with her buddy Danielle (see note below on camping and rules). Jacquelyn did try Pad Thai and Coconut Soup but ended up liking the wontons and satay a whole bunch more (for those of you that know Danielle, you already knew she had white rice and no trying was done).

After a bit more climbing, the Godwin’s took Shannon back for some swimming while Michelle finished all of the available routes. Of course they got some swimming in as well after Nancy and I realized how dirty they were when they got back. Then Shannon took Danielle back to the KOA and the rest of us eventually got to sleep (late).

The adults bounced out of bed in the morning because this was to be our big day of hiking. We had the kids in the Jackson Hole Kids Ranch for the day and we were going out on a big hike. We ended up dragging the kids we had (3) out of bed and Shannon said it took quite a few tries on her end as well to get hers up. But up we were and by 9am the kids were dropped off at one of the most efficient and well run operations I have seen. Bungee Trampolines, Climbing Wall, Trams to the top of the mountain, playing in the creek, arts and crafts, and more was in store for the kids. This of course helped them get dropped off and the 4 spent the day with Laura the counselor (only our 4 to the 1 so it was a great ratio).

Then we got ready which took a lot longer than planned but it takes a lot of stuff to have fun and we made sure we had lots of liquid and lots of direction. We dropped the first car off at the Granite Canyon trailhead and then took the second car to the Death Canyon Trailhead so we could do a one way hike. It was an absolutely fantastic hike with absolutely two of my favorite people so I had an absolutely fantastic day. We hiked through the canyon to Phelps Lake and then down to the valley. Nancy pointed out every flower we saw (and took pix of most) and we spotted birds galore. The aspens were magnificent and we had fun collecting all sorts of crystal rocks. Usually the packs get lighter as the food and water is consumed but not this day as weight kept being added in via rocks. The bugs were manageable (except for Shannon whom they liked a lot) and the weather was not too hot. We went from mountaintop to lake to valley and saw all sorts of vegetation not to mention a black bear cub about 30 yds away. I didn’t much want to see any bears but this was actually perfect as another 6 or so were on the trail in the other direction at the time so there was a bunch of us and the bear didn’t get closer to us and we didn’t get closer to the bear cub. I should also mention this encounter matched Shannon’s and my experience with animals. Basically talk loud and pay no attention and they will come.

By the time we got back and shuttled cars, I got to the camp with all of 10 minutes to spare. We picked up 4 happy kids and then 7 happy people got ice cream.

This was our last day together as everyone else was flying home so there was stuff to do. We got back to the campsite and Shannon and Nancy packed up their stuff. I then drove Shannon to her step brother to spend some time with them on her last night and Nancy took the kids swimming. We had a supermarket prepared dinner at the campsite and then we let the kids watch a movie as Nancy had a lot of packing to do and we wanted to spend the last evening hanging out together.

It was a sad morning as they got ready to depart but then we got a surprise call from Shannon whose flight was greatly delayed/cancelled and she reticketed for the next day. I can’t say any of us (including Shannon) was too upset as we were glad to have Shannon for an extra day and she was glad to spend it with us. So after a quick breakfast at the organic bakery that was anything but quick, we went to the airport to pick up Shannon and said goodbye to the remaining Beaulieu’s.

Now the plan for the day had been to do a whole bunch of nothing and that is about all we could swing. We were all pretty tired and needed a break and that is about all we did that day. We shopped a little, ate a little, swam a little, went to the library across the street, napped, etc. I think our only activity was an after dinner swim in the river on the road heading back to Teton Village. The water was cold but they swam a little bit, enough for all of us to head back to the campsite and into the warm hot tub.

The next morning found me driving Shannon back to the airport and then the kids back to the Jackson Hole Kids Ranch so that I could have a Lori day. There is not much to say about this time except that I got to read, go back to the great Thai restaurant for lunch, get a massage/Indian sweat lodge sauna/salt scrub, read some more and wander for 7 hours. It was perfect and I loved every minute of the relaxing day.

We hung around the campground with all of us just happy to do very little and waited for Ed’s flight to decide when it was finally going to get in (which it did after the kids went to sleep around 11:00pm). He was happy to be back and we were happy he was back and we went to sleep, just the Godwin’s again.

We spent our last morning in Jackson quickly pulling out and going over to Teton Village. Instead of driving early to South Dakota (where it was in the high 90’s), we decided to spend the morning in cool beautiful Jackson Hole. We got there by 8:30am and after a walk around, hopped on our bikes with a rented Tag-a-long for Danielle and biked for 13 miles along the Teton Valley amidst the water and the wildflowers. It was a truly great bike trail (totally flat with lots of scenery) and we all enjoyed it. Then there was time for a final picnic at the waterhole before hopping in the car for a 10 hour drive to Mt. Rushmore. It was a great way to end our stay in Wyoming and I am sure we will be back as we all really enjoyed the stay.

---