Departing and Arriving
A 4:00 am wake-up call got us to the airport in plenty of time to "hurry up and wait!" We were happy to hang out on the other side of security and begin to relax! We were TRAVELING!!!
The mountains are in sight!
We love flying into the Jackson Hole Airport - this is the view that waits for you as you walk down the steps to debark the plane.
We landed at about 1;00 and our room wouldn't be ready till about 4:00 pm, so we ventured out to some of our favorite spots. Mormon Row inside Grand Teton National Park is always one of our first stops!
After checking into the Teton Mountain Lodge - our 6th visit in the past 11 years - we got settled, got excited and headed out to our traditional first night dinner inside the park. Our first trip out west was with the girls to celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary and this week we will celebrate #22!
A shortcut back to the Teton Village, where we are staying, is only accessible in the summer season. Another favorite is driving down Moose Wilson Road...part pavement, part gravel, lots of wildlife and nature.
Don returned around 9:00 and we all headed to Rockefeller Preserve to do the Phelps Lake hike. We did a smaller version of this hike in 2012 and were excited to venture further with our adult children. :)
We traveled about 2.5 miles around the lake and found "the rock." There were a few other adventurous souls that were jumping. Carleigh watched for a bit, we all relaxed and rested, and she decided she was going to head up. It didn't take much for her to launch off of the rock.
She was so excited! Where you land in the water is very deep. She couldn't touch bottom at all. We had been warned the water would be cold, and that this was probably the warmest lake at this point in the summer season. She swam to the edge and got out and decided to go again!
Katie had no part of jumping and did enjoy getting wet in the water and refreshing after the hike.
After dinner we went back into the park chasing sunsets and found the sign with no others around. Another obligatory picture that we have many variations of.
Don took this great photo of Carleigh!
On our way back to the hotel we found these 2 guys in the road. Two moose were just leisurely crossing the road and the traffic just stopped and waited for them to pass.
We then headed to Shwabacher Landing. This is one of Don's favorite places. He spends many solo sunrises here appreciating and watching the wildlife.
We departed the park and headed into town to make a grocery stop. Our room has a small kitchenette and we always stock up on beverages and snacks.
We arrived at Dornan's Pizza and Pasta. This restaurant is inside the park and has incredible views of the Teton Mountain range and wonderful outdoor seating. So nice to be here and relax!
Carleigh fell in love with Huckleberries 11 years ago and has been looking forward to the time when she could experience all of the "adult" Huckleberry concoctions that exist out here. Below is #1 - a Huckleberry Cosmo.
We returned to the hotel, unpacked, and finally realized...We Were Here!! The jet lag was catching up with us and we all had a great night's sleep.
Official Day 1
The day started with Don departing at 5:00 am to head out solo to appreciate nature and look for wildlife. We slept in a bit and then headed to a big breakfast before Don returned to get us for a day of hiking and adventure.
Our server at dinner last night recommended we go around the right side of the lake to the Jumping Rock. So we began our mission - Carleigh in a bathing suit and ready to jump...maybe!
We then began the 2.5 mile return trip. At one point in the hike, you cross a heavily trafficked park road to continue back to the Rockefeller Preserve parking lot.
We returned to the car, and headed back down Moose Wilson Road to Teton Village and enjoyed a delicious lunch from Tin Can Cantina, a permanent summer food truck that serves to-go Mexican food.
We showered, got ready to head back out and ventured into downtown Jackson Hole for dinner, antler arches and shopping. We were successful on all fronts.
First stop was at Made. This is a great store that I actually patronized online during the pandemic. I ordered Carleigh a "Quarantine Birthday Box" from this store last year and they fill it with items of your request and send it out in fun packaging.
We dodged a few quick rain storms and got the Antler Arch picture!! We have a wide variety of these from the past 12 years worth of visits.
Dinner was at Liberty Burger in downtown Jackson. Carleigh decided to just get a Huckleberry milkshake, instead of the Huck Berry (adult) milkshake. Dinner was great and very casual and fun!
We returned to the hotel at dark and quickly fell asleep! Day 1 did not disappoint!!
