Considering our big day yesterday (a 14-hour Yellowstone marathon), we weren’t in a hurry to get going in the morning. Had we known what awaited us, we would have sped things up a bit.
The Tetons are absolutely amazing. I doubt if any of my words could do justice to this place. The only thing I can do is show you some pictures. I know that they won’t do justice either, but I’m a better photographer than writer!
I took an obnoxious number of pictures of these same mountains. I simply couldn’t help it. I never want to lose the feeling, the memories, of being here. Here are the best (IMHO).
This is our rig outside the Visitor Center in Jackson Hole, WY. Highly recommended.
There we learned of Gros Ventre Campground which skirts the edge of the Elk Preserve. Gros Ventre is pronounced GROW-VONT and means “big belly.” !?!
Cliff surprised us by treating us to any restaurant of my choosing. I selected a Japanese place. Cliff was happy because it was next door to a Fly Shop. Afterward, we strolled to the Town Square to enjoy ice cream there.
My most descriptive term for Jackson Hole would be “upscale rustic.”
They even have these massive antler archways at each corner of Town Square.
Anyway, the kids were dying for some recreation, so we headed to the city park.
Now is the perfect time to break out some postcard captions:
“I reached new heights in Jackson, WY!”
“I caught some air in Jackson!”
“Just hangin’ around Jackson Hole”
That little boy in the green jacket was hillarious! He didn’t know what to think about a grown man on the monkey bars! He walked around Cliff 360 degrees, stopped right beside him, and then looked worriedly at his mom and pointed!
Seriously, Cliff was trying to fix his back. He walked on it funny in Yellowstone because he stubbed his toe in the Bighorns. (Yes, my friends, weird things happen as you get older!)
After “fueling up” on Japanese food and Haagen Dazs, we really felt like we could go back to the Gros Ventre Campground and fit the “big belly” image!
Another postcard caption: “We did yoga at Gros Ventre!” This one is for Aunt Rosie, who taught us Christian yoga twice a week while we lived at Opa’s.
They’re standing on the bear-proof box that tent campers must use for food storage to keep bears from becoming a nuisance around humans. The sign said that by using this box, we could make a difference in a bear’s life. Actually, it’s not the bear’s life I’m thinking about!
Cliff & the boys had planned the next day for fly fishing, while Nadia and I headed to the public library. This is where I wrote and uploaded pictures for our posts on the Bighorns, Cody, and Yellowstone. This library provided free lunch, snacks, and a unique outdoor area.
Nadia enjoyed reading books and investigating some games on their computers. On the way home, we discovered a small herd of bison not too far from the road.
I know the pictures aren’t much, but I wish I could describe how this felt. Imagine a completely sunny day, the perfect temperature, in the shadows of mountains like I’d never experienced before, the smell of sagebrush heavy in the air, and an upfront view of this classic American symbol. And a big belly on top of it all! This is the best I’d felt since leaving the Black Hills.
I heard from Cliff that they had caught lots of trout and were having the time of their lives. Uriah’s topped 16 inches, while Isaiah’s measured 13 inches. All of them hooked some!
That evening, we celebrated with fire!
Well, eventually!
Cliff enjoyed our efforts for awhile & then decided that he’d better step in or there’d be no big bellies tonight!
After doing crazy amounts of laundry the next day, we headed out, taking in our last sights of Wyoming.
We LOVE Wyoming.
But at the same time, we were looking forward to Idaho and eventually the coast…
Vision of the Birds 
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