Jackson Hole part two

I'm finishing up documenting about our trip to the old west today. I have sure enjoyed reliving the adventure all over again through the pictures. Although some of them do not even do it justice. It's such an amazing place and I encourage anyone with a desire to take a trip to the Rocky Mountains to consider going to Jackson Hole. I would do it again ten times over!

I think what made our trip extra special was staying at The Lodge At Jackson Hole. Cannot say enough good things about that place. From the smorgasbord breakfast buffet to the heated indoor/outdoor pool, this place had it all. It was a great retreat after spending the day in the elements.

This beautiful fireplace and mantle greeted you in the lobby when you entered the lodge. We spent a lot of time here while we loaded vehicles and let our rental car warm up. Georgia Grace and I also came down here a few nights to burn some energy before bedtime. Cozy and comfort at its best.

Antler chandeliers are staples in Jackson Hole and I love them. They just scream winter wonderland and mountain retreat.

After we unloaded everything and gave our room the oh so familiar lived-in look, it dawned on me that I should have taken pictures of our suite before counter spaces were covered with diapers and tourist brochures. Oh well. I did snap this picture of the view from our window. I didn't mind waking up to that every morning.

The amazing shower-no description needed

The indoor/outdoor pool and outdoor hot tub. We didn't get a chance to use this but I'm sure it was amazing. All the big time skiiers were magnets to it.

We are not big time skiiers but that didn't stop us from hitting the slopes. When in Rome, right? This was the map of the ski resort we went to. Not intimidating at all!

And this was what it looked like in real life from the Elk Refuge. This is the backdrop to the town of Jackson. Beautiful.

Mr. and Mrs. Bunny Slopes :)

Poor hubby didn't get to rent ski bibs because they were out of his size but that didn't stop him.

A skiing selfie. We had wonderful weather for skiing-cold but not freezing, and sunny.

I tried to get an action shot but he whizzed down the hill so fast they were all blurry :)

Don't let this picture fool you. I did NOT conquer the mountain behind you. I did however conquer the bunny slope/ski school section and that was enough for me.

That night we decided to stay in to just enjoy the lodge and have Pizza Hut delivered.  The next day we went on our own expedition to see if we could see any wildlife. A guy that we met skiing told us about a road where they saw a bunch of wildlife.

Lo and behold we saw a moose! A real live moose out in the wild. And I spotted it so I was proud of myself.

His lady friend was also with him :) 

Channeling his inner National Geographic.

Here is what the road looked like that we traveled on in our rental car and we didn't have any trouble. If can be done, (southern) folks!

Marcus took several pictures of the landscape but this one was my favorite.

It's hard to capture the magnificence of it in pictures but these do a pretty good job.

That afternoon we went to Teton Village so Marcus and my dad could ride the tram 10,500 feet up to check out the views.

The pictures they took at the top are hilarious! They said it was so bitter cold that just opening your mouth hurt. But the views were worth it to them.

View from the top

A view from the tram on the way back down

On our last night in town we went out to celebrate my dad's birthday and to shop and explore Jackson. Of course we couldn't miss an opportunity for a picture in front of the beautiful fire place.

Our little snow bunny all dolled up in her winter best. Almost all of our pictures we are bundled up in coats and blankets so I had to take an indoor picture of her winter fashion :)

Dad picked Bubba's BBQ for his birthday dinner and I snuck these number candles to our waitress when he wasn't looking.

I love my dad. I'm thankful for his 50 years of life and 26 years as my pops. I think this trip and occasion was the perfect timing and I know a great year is in store for him! I'm SOOO glad we took this trip with him. Happy Birthday Dad!!!

And it's not a trip to JH without a picture under the arches. Dad and his snuggle bunny granddaughter. Aren't those arches beautiful?!? The antlers are from the Elk Refuge.

Lighting was tricky so I was tickled we got one really good one. It was cold and spitting snow so we just did a little shopping and headed back to the room to finish packing up for the trip home.

We had another early flight out of Jackson and the JH Airport requires you to be there 2 hours before your flight due to their size and amount of security required. As you can see in the picture we boarded a snowy plane which led to a one hour de-icing event which resulted in us running in the DFW Airport to make our flight back to Nashville. We made it though. Had to keep it interesting!

What a trip! The gift of experience this year was just what we wanted. It was the perfect way to close this chapter [2013] of our book.