I am a born traveler. My very first photo, snapped at the hospital shortly after my birth, became my first passport photo. I boarded my first international flight shortly thereafter, and I have been traveling ever since. To date, I have visited 4 continents, 24 countries outside of the USA, and 31 states plus Washington D.C. and Puerto Rico. My very patient husband jokes that I always start planning the next trip on the flight home (sometimes I actually start before that!). I think the planning is half the fun. Some of my favorite travel memories include family trips with my daughter and husband to Aspen, our honeymoon in Rome, Christmas with my parents in London, our little family's favorite beach trip to Puerto Rico, and my first solo adventure to Big Sky, Montana. I am also an avid reader, reading more than 100 books every year and currently working my way through the Boxall 1001 Books to Read Before You Die list. I come by my love of books naturally. I was raised by a librar...
skies were clear; and everyone seemed to agree on everything. It was, in short, like being in a Disney production of a girls’ getaway minus the singing mice. At this point, I should probably quit while I’m ahead and never go back, but I absolutely fell in love with the Tetons and plan to return in the future. If my husband is reading this, start packing your bags babe.
Because our trip was so perfect, I’m sharing our itinerary here,
and of course, I have some great book suggestions! I would also like to invite Jackson
Hole enthusiasts (I know I have a few in my subscription list) to add their own
tips and suggestions in the comments.
After shopping, head to Teton Village where I recommend you set
up your home base. Lace up your hiking boots in the afternoon and take a hike
right up the mountain outside your backdoor. After you work up a sweat, cool
off with a local beer or cider on the patio of the Four Seasons where you will
have a perfect view of the mountain.
Head home to shower and change and walk to dinner at Teton
Thai where the food is INCREDIBLE, and portions are fairly large. Get there a
bit early since they don’t take reservations and try to nab an outdoor table. We
had the dumplings to start and shared the Yum Woon Sen cold noodle salad with
chopped pork and shrimp and the BBQ pork with sticky rice. Everything was
delicious.
Hike the Jenny Lake Trail to Inspiration Point and Hidden
Falls and take the boat back across the lake to the visitor center. This is
about a 4.8-mile hike. If you want to extend the hike by another 3 miles or so,
you can hike back, but we really enjoyed the views from the boat. If you or
your vacation partners have limited mobility or limited hiking enthusiasm like
my daughter, you can also take the boat across the lake and back and just do
the short 1-mile hike to see the Hidden Falls.
The Trackers by Charles Frazier is new out
this year. Painter Val Welch scores a New Deal assignment to paint a mural in
the local Post Office in Dawes, Wyoming. Val befriends wealthy locals, John
Long (an aspiring politician) and his wife Eve (a former entertainer in a
traveling show), and stays with them on their ranch. Eve flees home taking a
valuable painting with her, and John sends Val on a chase to find her and bring
her home. Val travels to the swamps of Florida, Hoovervilles in the Pacific
Northwest, and a San Francisco nightclub, but Wyoming is the heart of this
story and where the central action occurs. I would characterize this as an
historical fiction/adventure mashup. I really enjoyed this novel and rated it
four-stars on Goodreads. The Trackers
by Charles Frazier | Goodreads
Close Range: Wyoming Stories by Annie Proulx
is a collection of short stories, which includes “Brokeback Mountain.” I love to
travel with short stories because they are perfect for those in between moments
while you are taxiing on the runway or drinking morning coffee and enjoying the
scenery. This is the perfect accompaniment to a Wyoming trip. Proulx masterfully
captures the feeling of loneliness which can be part of the Western United
States landscape, but which is also a reality for many of the cowboys, small town
workers, and ranchers in this part of the country. These are stories most often
about people who long for connection, for success, or for something else but
struggle with their own ordinariness and their own loneliness. I gave this
collection four-stars on Goodreads, as each of the stories ran the gamut from
three to five stars for me. I will say “Brokeback Mountain” was probably my
favorite story in the collection, and I know you can get that as a standalone
if you aren’t up for the entire collection. Close Range:
Wyoming Stories by Annie Proulx | Goodreads
Open Season by C.J. Box is the first in the
Joe Pickett mystery series and is my final pick for a Wyoming weekend
adventure. Joe Pickett is the new, straight-arrow game warden in Twelve Sleep,
Wyoming. Joe has a history of professional gaffes, but he’s dedicated to his
job and his family. When a man dies in the woodpile behind Joe’s house, Joe embarks
on a hunt to find out what happened. This is a very quick read and a pretty
basic mystery thriller. It’s not going to knock your socks off, but it’s solid
and entertaining, and the Wyoming setting really worked for me. This was
another four-star read for me, and I have already put the sequel on my Goodreads
“To Read” list. Open
Season (Joe Pickett, #1) by C.J. Box | Goodreads
After your hike and boat ride, head to the The Bird for lunch.
Order the burger (however you like it) on English muffin with fries. I promise,
you won’t be sorry.
After lunch, enjoy some reading time, a soak in the hot tub,
or a short nap. Then walk to one of the many wonderful restaurants for dinner.
We chose Spur Restaurant and Bar, which had a lovely outdoor option. We tried
several things on the menu, but the mini tuna poke tacos and the Idaho Red
Trout were the standouts for me.
Day 3: Head back to Grand Teton National Park for
horseback riding. We took the two-hour ride from Jackson Lodge with views of
the Snake River Grand Teton Horseback Riding (gtlc.com).
The scenery on this ride is breathtaking, but I will admit to having severely shaky
knees when I dismounted from my horse at the end of the ride. Totally worth it!
After your ride, have lunch at Jackson Lodge on the outdoor patio overlooking Jackson Lake. Alternatively, you can bring a picnic, but we found the food was totally serviceable at the Lodge. After lunch, set off to explore more of the park. We took the Scenic Loop Drive, drove up to Signal Mountain, and checked out the Mormon Row Historic District, but there are plenty of activities to keep you busy in the park.
If you are more energetic than we were, drive into Jackson
Hole for dinner and drinks. We were a little pooped and wanted a bit of extra
time to play Mah Jong, so we stuck close to home on our final evening.
Day 4: Sleep in a bit and pack up, then head to the
National Museum of Wildlife Art, which is a small museum on the way to the
airport and across from the Elk Preserve, for brunch. We enjoyed walking around
outside, checking out the collection, and having brunch with a beautiful view on
our way out of town. Western art isn’t usually my thing, but this was a nice
stop, and the museum had a Georgia O’Keefe, a Rodin, and a few other hidden treasures
on display.
It was, as I said, the perfect trip, and I found some really
great Wyoming books to take my travels to the next level. I am recommending
that you bring along one of the following for your trip:
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