A Long Haul

Well, we left by 7am this morning, which is exactly what I wanted. When we woke up, it was STILL raining! So, we couldn't get out of there too quickly. First, we took the Cache La Poudre Scenic By-way. It stopped raining just long enough for us to get out of the car and climb down to the river to take some pictures. Then, we continued on into the higher elevations of the drive. At the coldest point, the temperature went down to 33 degrees. We stopped briefly at a pullout to stand in the snow for a moment.

In Walden, at the end of the scenic drive, we got some gas (at around $4.10 per gallon). Then , we continued north into Wyoming. Once we crossed into Wyoming, the sun was beginning to threaten to make an appearance. Thank goodness!

After passing through a small town, we decided to stop off at the North Platte River for some more pictures. It actually took a good 10 minutes to reach the river on an unpaved road off of the highway. It was worth it though. The sun was shining, the temperature was rising, and we needed to stretch our legs. Justin took some fantastic pictures of some rocky cliffs and gorgeous wildflowers.

After reaching I-80, the boring portion of the drive began. For the most part, the landscape turned into a slightly hilly, desolate desert. The only thing that was missing were the cacti. We reached Rock Springs, WY around 2pm and proceeded on state hwy. 191N the rest of the way to Jackson.

About 90 miles in, we reached Pinedale, WY and the drive began to get more interesting from there. The trees and rocks began to reappear, and eventually we were driving along mountain rivers again, such as the Hoback River. By about 5pm, we reached the Inn at Jackson Hole in Teton Village. I was thrilled because I had no idea how long the total drive would take us. I knew there was a chance it could take 12 hours. Even with about 6 or so stops, we still made it in great time.

After checking in, we figured out our dinner plans. We decided just to eat in Teton Village because we could walk, as opposed to driving 15 minutes to get into Jackson. We settled on the Mangy Moose, which is the same restaurant I ate at about 15 years ago with my parents. It wasn't planned, it just ended up that way. Justin had trout, and I had a classic hamburger and fries.

Following dinner, we stopped by the wine bar of this new Italian restaurant right next door to our hotel called Il Villagio Osteria. We shared some Blood Orange homemade ice cream, I had a glass of wine and Justin had a couple of black Russians. It was actually really relaxing. There were lots of locals at the place, so we chatted with them and watched the Olympics. Justin and I aren't really going to participate in this event, but there were more people than normal in Teton Village tonight because there is a music festival going on today and tomorrow. A couple of the bigger names performing are Wilco and the Black Crowes. We just have too many other things planned to try to attend. Oh well.

So, off to bed for tonight. Tomorrow morning first thing is our whitewater trip!