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.

Jackson Hole part one

We took a 5-day trip to Jackson Hole, Wyoming this week in honor of my dad's big 5-0 milestone and as a Christmas gift to us. He has always wanted to see the old west so what a better opportunity than your 50th birthday?

The trip marked Georgia Grace's first time flying. We had an EARLY flight and left home at 4:30am so we both look a little puffy and sleepy :)

Georgia the jet setter!

The flights there with her were a dream. She hardly even acknowledged the take offs and landings. We did give her a bottle during those times to help with her ears popping. I am going to do a separate post on all the things you have to do when you fly with a baby so I won't go into detail now but it really was a great experience. I love my flying cupcake!

We had a connection flight in Salt Lake City and this was the view from my window that took my breath away. God outdone himself. I've been to SLC during my college days for my dietetic internship and it is beautiful from the ground too.

And then a short 37 minute flight and we were in the Hole!
Jackson Hole airport is super small so there are no terminals. You literally step off the plane onto snow. A beautiful mountain landscape is behind you and cowboys are in front of you ready to take you to your destination. Simple and so so awesome.

After about 4 hours in a plane she was still all smiles. Her "OOTD" was footed pajamas and I'm glad I chose easy over fashion for her. She was comfy and everyone loved that she was in her jams :)

The first night we went out to explore Jackson and learn our way around. Our lodge (The Lodge at Jackson Hole-more pictures to come) had a beautiful lobby with a big stone fireplace and moose head above the mantle. Georgia Grace enjoyed spending time here greeting everyone coming in and out. I think that was her favorite part of the trip.

After a day full of flying and exploring this girl was toast. Bless it.

Like all type-A travelers, I made an itinerary and the first stop was the National Museum of Wildlife Art.

She slept through 75% of it. What irony huh? Here she was enjoying herself in the children's museum portion.

She roused at the end and enjoyed looking at the elk across the street. This girl is crazy about her poppa and he is crazy about her.

Saturday was THE game day so we had to represent our team.

Our favorite piece in the museum was Chief. It literally felt like he was coming out at you.

I love this picture of us with the museum moose because you can see the National Elk Refuge in the background. The museum was neat (for a museum) and we enjoyed a climate controlled activity.

After the museum we hopped over to take a sleigh ride through the National Elk Refuge. One of the things that made me fall in love with the town of Jackson and the surrounding area is that everything is so close. You don't have to travel all day to see all the sights. We were in a tiny economy rental car so long trips were not what we were looking for.

The refuge is not an all fenced-in area. There is a fence next to the main road to prevent accidents but there is no fence on the other side so they are free to roam and come and go. It's amazing how they let you get so close. There are over 7,000 elk on the refuge.

We had Georgia in a quilted, fleece-lined snowsuit, toboggan, mittens (she didn't care for them though) and double blankets. I think she stayed pretty toasty.

Our 20 passenger sleigh ride included all southerners. We were amazed at how almost everyone we met was from the south. One of them gladly took our picture for us which included several candid ones like this ha!

The scenery was to die for.

We spotted a few coyotes on the refuge during our sleigh ride along with a bald eagle and mule deer on a hillside. Wildlife is in abundance in these parts.

My favorite picture I captured. Two young bulls just playing around, probably trying to toughen themselves up for mating season.

The sleigh ride was one of my favorite parts of the trip. I'm thankful for this memory.

After the day activities, we headed to a sports bar to watch the UK UL game. They even let us watch the game on their main big screen which was really nice. What an awesome game!! So proud of our Cats and hoping this is the turnaround they needed.

I'll try to post the rest of our trip in the next few days after I get caught up on everything. We came home to a broken clothes dryer and Christmas everywhere. Back to reality!

Happy 2014!

This is a throwback to when we rang in the new year in Times Square. Still can't believe we did it. So thankful we did!

NYE this year was flannel pjs, a warm fireplace, and a bedtime before midnight. I'm thankful for that too.