"I've Been to Jackson..."

"...and I've messed around."

If anyone doesn't know, that's an excerpt from a Johnny Cash song called, "Jackson."

Last week on Tuesday, I think, Brittany asked if I wanted to go to Jackson, WY with her and Shannon. Brit had a continuing education class to attend Saturday and Sunday for physical therapy. It was basically a free ride and hotel stay for Shannon and I since Brit's work was paying for her trip. (She would have been going alone if we didn't go.) So Friday after work, I packed up some clothes and headed to Brittany's. We got left about 4pm and took the scenic route (on purpose) through Lander and on to Togwotee Mountain Pass. 

The clouds were rolling over these mountains like a blanket - it looked amazing!

In Lander we were hoping to
stop at the local coffee shop, but they were closed. So we went to Safeway instead and got some yogurt, granola, and coffee for supper. It was dark by the time we were going up the mountain, over the pass, and down into Jackson. But, it was definitely snowing! I think we got to the hotel about 10:30pm.

On Saturday, Brittany went to her class and Shannon and I went to hike and explore the Grand Tetons.

The view of the Teton's on our way to the National Park.

I'm not sure which mountain range this is, but it's on the opposite side of the Teton's.

On our way into the Park we found these moose. They were the only moose sighting we had on our trip.

Jenny Lake in front of the Teton's.

Our hike started at Jenny Lake and went around it and back up into the mountain. We were going to hike to Hidden Falls and Inspiration Point. Shannon had hiked there before and thought it was a good day hike. It was still kind of wet from rain and there was still a fair amount of snow higher up into the mountain. 

This was our first glimpse of the Falls even though we were still a few bends away.

This one shows one of the Teton peaks right above it. There are three specific peaks to the Teton - South, Middle, and Grand. I won't tell you the meaning behind the name; you can look it up for yourself.

The Hidden Falls in all of it's rushing, pounding, raging glory! It was pretty loud and a LOT of water coming down! It appeared to be very rocky and I commented that I didn't think Pippi Longstocking and her barrel would survive this waterfall.

Shannon taking her pictures gives you an idea of the snow pack at that spot. It was pretty solid, although you occasionally sank in. I think the deepest we ever sunk was to our knees, though.

This boulder field (and the cliffs above it not pictured) were to the south of the falls. There was a critter up on the big rock - I don't know if you can see him. I'm not sure what he was, but he reminded me of a cat. But definitely wasn't any kind of cat!

How do you like my layers?! Colorful, aren't they? And check out my boots! They are Chaco's and I bought them last year to keep my feet warm. So far they have done a great job!

Shannon as we start back down.

We were unable to go on to Inspiration Point as they had the trail closed for maintenance. So our hike ended up being about 5 miles round-trip. We hiked back down and went into town  and watched the new "Avengers" movie. I think we have gone to see almost every single "Avengers" related movie that's come out in the last two years. Shannon likes Thor and I'm partial to Captain America. I still don't understand the whole series or anything, but they are fun to go see. After the movie, we went and picked up Brittany from her class and got coffee and wandered around downtown Jackson for a bit before going out for supper.

On Sunday, Shannon and I did a lot of scenic driving while Brit was in class again. We drove off towards a little town called "Kelly" and took some scenic detours.

This is looking back on the Grand's.

We stopped at the dam at Jackson Lake which was beautiful, but very windy and cold!!

Some mallards(?) on the lake. I'm assuming they were mallards - I don't really know for certain.

Shannon and I trying to do a selfie with the lake and mountains in the background. (I'm not sure why I'm the only one with hair in my face!)

Once we were back in town, Shannon met up with a friend and I went and wandered the shops and local coffee huts. Persephone's was my favorite coffee place for pastries - they were delicious and about as good as Australia and New Zealand!

The last thing I did in Jackson was take this picture. They have four arches made completely out of elk antlers. They are pretty impressive even though it seems kind of corny and very tourist trap like. I think one of the reasons for the arches is due to the elk reserve that is just outside of the town. In the winter, it is supposed to be packed with elk. While we didn't see any elk on the reserve, we did see quite a few in the National Park.

After Brit was done with her class Sunday afternoon, we headed back home. I think we again left about 4pm and took the non-scenic route this time. We had good weather the whole time, but we could see the storms gathering and starting behind us pretty much the whole way back. 

It was a good, fun trip with some fun people. I have now been to Jackson and can sing the Johnny Cash song!