Best Things About Jackson Hole 2008

Well I am finally getting around to writing about our family vacation in Victor Idaho (Jackson Hole, Yellowstone). This is our second yeaer going and this time we had almost the whole family there. We were missing Shelly, Mike, Jen, Alex and Garrett. The weather was great and the company fantastic. Here are some highlights!

A Wagon Ride

One of the new adventures that we went on this year was a wagon train. We piled our families into two wagons and rode off in the wilderness. On the way we were warned by a mountain man that the Indians were coming and sure enough a few minutes later Indains were riding in and out of our caravan. When we finally made it to our destination ( a clearining in the woods) were dined on an excellent dutch oven dinner while being entertained with a very clever variety show. Wilcox'x of course were not shy to participate. Aunt SuSanna almost left poor Rusty for a skunk cap wearing mountain man that swooned when he saw her eyes! Next time we will be ready for those Indians and we won't have left our pop guns behind!

A Trail Ride Along The Snake

This was also a new experience. I thought for sure we would be repeating all the fun things we did last year but had no problem finding lost of new adventures. This was especially for Emily. We are always trying to satsify her love for horses. Kate enjoyed saying, "No Arapaho!" A million times to our eager to graze horse. She only lasted the first half before falling asleep leaving me riding one handed. (good thing it was a trail horse:-)

White Water Rafting

Some of the gang went white water rafting again on the Snake. The rapids were a little more intense this year with the higher volume of water so Emily couldn't go. But those who went came back on a high that could have only meant they had a great time!

A Canoe, Cold Water and Crazy Cooks!

Our desire to find a swimming hole with a rope swing were bypassed this year. No one was up for several hours of driving in circles on bumpy did rodes on a goose chase. Instead we chose a "sure thing" river we we could canoe and swim. Wow was it cold, a few people dated themselves in the the crippling grip of snow run-off. Others who sought to avoid the cold rapid currants were thrown in against their will. I made sure Sara was strapped to me. She was my little insurance policy.

Rodeo!

This might be our favorie new thing to do. We went to the Jackson Hole Rodeo with the Lane family and had a blast. Bulls, Broncos, team tying, barrell racing etc... it was all just tons of fun! Half way through they let all the kids into the arena. Two calves with ribbons tied to there ears were let loose and a hundred children tried to catch them. the above picture is Katie after NOT catching the cows.

Yellowstone

Yellowstone is just so cool. This was the only time we split up from the family. we wanted to cover new ground in this huge park. Our first adventure was on the natural arch trail which was closed because of bear danger. Yep, you guessed it we went anyway. We had fun teasing each other about being bear food if we were straggling behind. didn't see any bears but the trail was beautiful, deserted (I wonder why?) and devoid of wildlife (excpet for the prettiest hawk I've ever seen and a marmot that Zeke sent packing for home).

Motorcycles

This year Dave and the menfolk were able to get the motorcycles at our cabin running. The kids really enjoyed going on trails with Dad. Me...not so much. The helmet didn't fit and with bad vision a bunch of blurriness keeps flying at you 30 miles an hour. Not cool. Maybe with glasses next time.

Mesa Falls, Idaho

The lower and upper Mesa falls are probablly the prettiest falls I have ever seen. Dave says I haven't seen very many cool falls, but these were just so beautiful. We got there a little latter than we wanted to so the sun was setting and we didn't stay long. Also a bazillion mosquitoes made it a little uninviting. But the falls were gorgeous.

Teton Valley Ski Resort

This was our destination while the big kids went river rafting. The snake was running 8 feet higher than it was on our trip last year. I guess earlier in the season there is just a ton of snow run off. We had a great time taking the lift up to the snow. Well we meaning everyone esle excpet my girls whole cried the minute their "Crocked" feet hit the snow. The more hardy cousins weren't evern fazed. And Scott with his "Eagle Eyes" even spotted a moose for us on the lift ride.

Cousin Time

The kids had such a wonderful time with their cousins. From building outdoor forts, playing tree fairies or just reading together, they built on friendships and hopefully added to their stores of lifelong memories.