Showing all posts tagged Jackson Lake

A Hiking We Will Go..

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We spent much of our time (that it didn’t rain) outdoors. As you totally should when you are in Wyoming the climate is loverly. I grew up in Louisiana. And while I love the nostalgia of my “home” state (and the food. Because seriously, Louisiana has the best food arguably in the country) this flat lander gal from a hot an humid state loves the complete opposite of said state.

Give me some mountains and cool weather and I am in my happy place. Ideally, my perfect place would stay shy of 77 degrees on a normal day and the winter down to about 10 degrees. Add a sweet small town where I can own a bakery or coffee shop and solve all the towns mysteries I’m there. My husband says I watch too much Hallmark channel…I don’t know what he means by that.

Whatever. But I LOVE cool weather. Hot and humid just makes me cranky. And life is too short for that. So go to the mountains I say! So we did. Actually, going to Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons was my middle’s idea. He requested it and we thought, sure! Where else do we have to go?! So we went. No middle child syndrome there. If he ever mentions he isn’t being heard, we can say, “We did an entire summer trip based on your idea! Bam! Alleviated years of therapy.

But I digress. Or do I? So Grand Teton National Park is truly a must see. I know it doesn’t get as much attention as its neighbor 30 minutes north, *whispers* Yellowstone. shhhhh But it is a lot of beauty packed into a smaller area for sure. We didn’t even touch half of the hiking trails they have and we did a good amount. Obviously with kiddo’s and being we are pretty new to this whole outdoorsy hiking stuff, we kept it off the strenuous trails.

Its amazing how being a parent can make you way more aware of your (dangerous) surroundings. Especially when your #3 bebops down the trails and you’re constantly saying, “watch where you’re going!” “Actually LOOK where you’re going!” “Oh crap! A bear!” (Yeah that really happened) Luckily, I completely managed to do it without giving him a complex.

We got to see beautiful wildlife on our hikes, a momma moose and her baby, a HUGE bull moose, various birds, a hamster or gerbil. I didn’t even know they were in the wild, whaaat??? Oh and a bear. That walked right by and in front of us. That was awesome. Actually it wasn’t while it happened. But now it’s like…yeah, we totally survived a bear encounter.

  • The halfway point
  • Yes..she made a throne of rocks so only her feet would get wet

~Enjoy the journey!

Grand Tetons Here We Come!

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We finally made it! We are SO happy to be at our destination for the next 2 1/2 weeks and it is absolutely gorgeous!

The drive up western Wyoming went without issue. Loved driving through the small communities and towns in the valley’s up until Jackson Hole. I had never been to Jackson Hole before, and was not prepared for the cuteness factor of the town! From the mountain town feel storefronts and big trees in the square, to huge hanging baskets of colorful flowers lining the storefronts and streets. It was a feast for the eyes for sure. What I could not get over though, was the amount of people in that place! Tourists everywhere and to top it off, we came in the weekend of a banker convention of some sort. It was a little nerve-racking driving our giant box on wheels through the city streets to get out the other side.

After that fun, we were on the home stretch to our destination. Driving on Hwy. 191 alongside the Grand Teton mountain range was beautiful! We could not stop staring at the mountains. Pulling into Colter Bay on Jackson Lake was equally amazing. Staying so close to the mountains and the views from the lake were so pretty.

After we set up our campsite, we drove down to the lake for sunset and to see the views. The mountain view was a little hazy due to the smoke from the fires, but I think it added to the beauty of the sunset and the light that time of day.

What do you think?

~Enjoy the journey!