wyoming | jackson favorites + random photos

This is the last Wyoming post, and I thought I'd list some of our favorites and share some random photos that didn't make it into my other posts.

BEST EATS
Eating plant-based was a bit of a challenge in a state where taxidermy reigns supreme and cowboys love their meat. (They shoot to kill in Wyoming.) Jackson has become a hip place for the rich and famous and there are now a number of top-notch restaurants in the area, but most of them have menus that include a lot of steak...elk steak, bison steak, etc. We avoided the meat, but did allow ourselves a little cheese and eggs during this trip so that we weren't stuck eating a diet of only french fries. We also enjoyed making snack dinners at the campground: bean dip, crackers, olives, fruit, chex mix, cookies, and a few cold beers.

+ The Local - We arrived in Jackson both starving and frustrated (our flight was delayed then cancelled and then the airline lost our luggage). We ran over to the K-mart next to our hotel to buy toiletries and a shirt for Larry to wear to his business meeting the next day. Then we drove into town in desperate search for a restaurant that was still open. The Local had a great modern/trendy vibe and the kind of menu we would have loved when we were omnivores. The only things on the menu that didn't contain meat (our first clue should've been the cattle logo...) were french fries and the cheeseboard (and beer!). We were famished and so we went for it, and after not eating cheese for months it was such a delicious treat. Mmm...Humboldt Fog!

+ Cafe Genevieve - After attempting dinner at a place with a cow logo, we then attempted breakfast at a place with a pig logo.(They have something on the menu called "pig candy"...) Did I mention they like meat in Wyoming? There was a table full of old ranchers in stetson hats sitting next to us. The smell of bacon permeating this place was rather torturous, but the (meat-free) huevos rancheros were delicious.

+ Lotus Cafe - Finally a restaurant with vegan options and a flower for a logo instead of an animal. Fun and funky vibe and they feed all the restaurant food scraps to pigs!

+ The Bird - This is a casual burger and beer joint with a deck that overlooks the mountains. Great stop after a day of hiking and they have veggie burgers.

+ The Rose - Best cocktails I've ever had, hands down AND an amazing bartender, Laura. Who would've guessed that one of the country's top craft cocktail bars is in Wyoming, the least populated state? They made all the ingredients from scratch and watching the bartenders (mixologists?) create a cocktail was like watching a work of art being created. Don't miss this place and don't let the fact that you've never heard of any of the cocktail ingredients scare you away. Chat with the bartenders and have them make a suggestion. My favorite was a cocktail made out of sugar snap peas. Sounds so gross, but it was SO unexpectedly delicious!

+ Cafe Boheme - We ate breakfast here a couple times because they had great veggie sandwiches. This place is not in the downtown area and has kind of a weird location, but it was close to the Motel 6 and the sandwiches were so satisfying. Coffee shop vibe.

+ If you're going out for a day of activities you can also grab a sandwich or a bagel at the deli at Dornan's.

BEST ACTIVITIES
I covered this pretty thoroughly in my other posts, but here's a recap:

+ Hiking Cascade Canyon in Grand Teton National Park
+ Rafting the Snake River
+ Biking the Tetons
+ Photographing the bison herd at the Moulton Barn

One thing that I'd wish we'd had the chance to do was try stand-up paddleboarding on String/Leigh Lakes. I've never SUPed before, and I'm fairly certain I would suuuuuuck at it. But the water was so calm, clear, and shallow here, that it seemed like a good place to try.

BEST ACCOMMODATIONS
Good luck with this. Jackson is expensive. Like crazy expensive. Also, it is small and there are not a lot of places to stay and they get booked months and months in advance during the high tourism seasons. I highly suggest booking way ahead of time. Our trip was last minute and we stayed at the Motel 6 and the Snake River KOA campground because they were the only places that had availability for less than $400 a night. I'm generally really good at finding unique places to stay, but I felt totally desperate searching for accommodations in Jackson. (The KOA was fun, but like most commercial campgrounds the cabins were really close together so there wasn't a sense of being out in the wilderness or any privacy. But there was a sense of campground community, which was fun. If you're a tent camper, this would be a good place to stay as the tent sites were along the river. If I remember correctly, Site #10 was the best.) Larry has stayed at the historic Wort Hotel during the off-season, but the rates are sky high during the summer and ski season.


The businesses along the Jackson Town Square are super touristy and packed with t-shirt shops and people taking photos, but luckily it's a really small area. I usually steer clear of touristy photo ops, but I wanted a photo of me in front of the elk antler arches because we had taken photos there during our family vacation of 1992. There were throngs of tourists on each corner trying to get the same photo and no one seemed to understand the concept of waiting your turn.

Finally after waiting patiently, everyone got out of the way, and I ran over to take my turn, and this happened:

Step 1 | They run into my photo. I was there first!

Step 2 | She looks back and gives ME an annoyed glare. The hell, lady?

Step 3 | Cheese! I should've made a funny face in the background, but their photo was already ruined by her own daughter's scowling face! Mwahahaha!

Step 4 | And THEN after they got their photo, they still stand in my photo to check their camera! Ruuuuude!

On our last day, we checked out of the campground and took a drive to Idaho since our flight didn't leave until 3:40. We drove back to Jackson Hole to get lunch and only then realized that our flight was actually at 1:30. Womp! Rookie mistake. We called the airline and got booked on a later flight (the last flight out of Jackson that day), headed to the airport and waited around for hours as the flight is delayed, delayed, delayed and finally cancelled. The airline told us there was no vacancy in all of Jackson that night - not a single room. (Ok, there were rooms, but they were $1400 a night which was not going to be covered by an airline voucher. What the hell, Jackson?) Anyway, Larry made some frantic calls and finally the office at the Kudar Motel told us that they had a last minute cancellation just minutes before we called and we could have the room if we could get there in 30 minutes.

The Kudar was cheaper than the other places we stayed in Jackson and I'd totally stay there again - great location and an old school neon sign. You'd have to be ok with rustic/campy to appreciate this place (more personality, in my opinion!). Don't expect luxury:

We enjoyed the unexpected bonus night in Jackson and after more delayed flights the next day, finally made it back to DC after 36 hours of travel time.

As a parting shot, I leave you with this...

I sent this photo to several friends expecting babies as a suggestion for nursery decor, but none of them were interested in using a taxidermy theme. I wonder why? I thought all babies loved cute cuddly stuffed animals! Sweet dreams, little one...

wyoming | biking the tetons

Driving through Jackson Hole, it's impossible not to notice the cyclists riding on the bike path at the base of the Teton Range. There are recreational cyclists, but there are also teams fully kitted out in head-to-toe spandex who appear to be training for something...a triathlon? The Tour de France? Regardless of athletic ability, this trail looked awesome (paved, perfectly flat, and with an incredible view of the mountains) and we wanted a piece of it.

I'll admit I was a bit nervous because it had been YEARS since I had ridden a bike. But the phrase "it's like riding a bike" really is true and spending a day biking along the base of the Tetons was one of the best things we did on our trip. We had such a great time that as soon as we got home from vacation we set out to buy our own bikes. (A process that involved 18 trips to local bike shops, but that is a story for another time. Suffice it to say we were bitten by the biking bug...and we're very indecisive!)

We grabbed some breakfast bagels and rented bikes from Dornan's in Moose. We estimated we rode about 20 miles and it felt great - like we were flying. (Not sure if this is true, but I figure the air is thinner at higher altitudes allowing for less resistance and higher speeds?) And the view was obviously top notch. The path is 56 miles so you could complete a century if you rode down and back. (Life goal? I decided during this trip that my new life plan was to move to WY, get into cycling and ride every morning, and then set up an easel in a sagebrush field and paint while looking at the Tetons every afternoon. Now who wants to give me a billion dollars so I can live in Jackson?)

Unfortunately, I don't have many pictures from this day because while I've been known to haul my DSLR up and down a mountain, I draw the line when it comes to hauling camera equipment by bike. Some things are just meant to be experienced in person rather than recorded. I have a handful of pics taken from a crappy point-and-shoot, but nothing that does the beauty of the experience any justice:



We stopped for a break and a snack of Bobo's Bars along the shore of Jenny Lake:



After our ride, and dropping our bikes off, we sat on the deck at Dornan's and drank a beer while looking at the mountains before heading back to the campground to rest our sore butts, wade in the Snake, and enjoy a fire and a picnic dinner. It was our last night at the campground, so we drank as many beers as we could and wandered the campground to chat with other campers (a couple from Montana who was traveling with their two little dogs, Ike and Mamie) and gave the leftover beers to a retired Danish couple ("Ja! We like beer!") taking an RV holiday throughout the U.S. (Another life goal!)

(Sweaty)

I keep describing every experience we had on this trip as "the best" or "our favorite", but the truth is, everything is incredible in the Tetons. With all the hiking, biking, rafting, eating, beautiful scenery, and wildlife, it's impossible to have a bad time. Two thumbs up!

wyoming | bison at the moulton barn

On the day we went rafting down the Snake River, we had a few hours to kill after our float trip was postponed due to the hail/lightning storm. Our rafting guide suggested we drive over to the Moulton Barn - the most photographed barn in North America and an iconic landmark in Jackson Hole. I'm never one to turn down a photo op, so Larry and I drove out to Antelope Flats to check it out. We decided to drive a little further into the plain first and check out the barn on the way back. As we drove past the Moulton settlement, we noticed a huge heard of brown cows in the distance. "Are those bison?" Larry asked. "Nah," I said, "There are way too many of them to be bison. That's a herd of cows." We drove further on until we found a solitary bison. I'd seen bison on my first trip to Wyoming, but it was still pretty exciting to see one of the big guys just wandering around in the wild.

With 'see bison' crossed off our list, we drove back over to photograph the famed Moulton Barn.

As we turned down the gravel road to Mormon Row, we realized that the cows we had seen in the distance earlier were indeed bison - a huge herd of about 200 or so, many of them causing a traffic jam in the road we were trying to drive down! It was incredible!











I don't know what it is with animals sticking their tongues out at me...rude bison (must be related to rude mountain goat!):

There were even BABY BISON!



Seriously, I could photograph these guys all day! How do I get a job as bison photographer???

wyoming | rafting the snake

One of my favorite memories from our family vacation to Wyoming in 1992 was taking a float trip down the Snake River, and I knew it was something I wanted to do again with Larry.

We had signed up for a Saturday afternoon trip with Barker-Ewing Scenic Float Trips, and we were all loaded into the van and driven down to the river. As the van neared the launch point, the sky opened up with the most terrific and terrifying hail storm I have ever experienced. "Don't worry, the weather here changes quickly - we'll be fine," explained the guides to a van full of skeptics. As cloud-to-ground lightning struck all around us and thunder shook the van, the group came to the unanimous decision that we really didn't want to be electrocuted while floating down a river in a thunderstorm. The trip was postponed for a few hours and rescheduled for dusk - fortuitously, the best time to go out on the river because all the wildlife comes out to feed...















As you can see, there's a reason our guide's favorite time to be out on the river is dusk, as we saw more than 20 beavers, 10 bald eagles, and a raccoon! And as we were driving back across the river, we saw...

...a bull moose! He was lying down so all you could see were his antlers, but still! A moose!

I love getting out on the water every chance I can get, and taking some sort of boat trip is a must-do for every vacation Larry and I take. We had a great time floating the Snake, our guide was phenomenal, and I learned so much about the history, wildlife, and geology of the area (which I promptly forgot!). Highly recommended!