Keeping with the domestic theme this year, we decided to take a week and return to Jackson Hole where I had last been 12 years ago and for Jim it had been a lot longer. After 2 months of inactivity due to foot surgery, I was craving an active vacation out of doors so off we went at the end of August.
A whole week in Jackson Hole, friends asked? What are you going to do for that long? So here's the list: whitewater raft trip, and there's still plenty of whitewater to get soaking wet at the end of August. Gorgeous hikes - so many trails you could spend weeks just taking day hikes to another pristine lake or waterfall and none would be the same. Driving through Yellowstone to the Lower Falls, breathtaking views. A boat ride on Jenny Lake. A float trip down the Snake River with the Grand Tetons as background. Local rodeo on Saturday night. Finding a fantastic sushi restaurant in downtown Jackson Hole and going back for another meal because it was so damn good. And that's not even mentioning the countless times the car stops - because there's a bear on on the hillside or a moose in the creek by the side of the road, or a herd of elk grazing in the field you pass by on the way back to the hotel - and you don't know what time it is and don't care.
We spent an entire afternoon at the National Museum of Wildlife Art and I highly recommend a visit here. The quality of work is amazing. And they are starting a sculpture installation throughout the grounds, I've got some shots in the photo album. It's a little bit out of town but easy to get to so put it on your list if you ever come this way.
So if your budget or your lack of vacation time precludes a world adventure, don't forget about the wealth of possibilites without even leaving the US! I have so many ideas that it would take a whole page to list them all.
