Inner Monologue: Jackson Hole/Teton National Park - Part I

For the past year the kids have been asking when we could go back to Yellowstone. Last year we had wanted to drive home through Teton National Park but ran out of time. So we decided to start in Jackson this time, and spend time in both parks. We left late morning on Wednesday and had the most beautiful drive up to the Jackson Hole area. Once we checked into our hotel, we headed up to we decided to go back this summer, but to Snow King Resort to ride the Alpine slide. I have distinct memories of riding the slide with my family in high school, and wanted the kids to have the same experience. We ended up riding the Alpine slide and the coaster - they were great but the ski lift to the top was probably my favorite.

After the rides at the resort, we wandered around a street fair where the kids were excited to get some free books - Junie B. Jones and Superfudge instantly became the sound track to the rest of the vacation. We found a great burger place downtown, Liberty Burger, then ended the night at the pool.

Thursday morning we made our way into Teton National Park where our first stop was the visitor's center. Tim and I had been there previously with the big kids and knew they had a lot of great exhibits and a movie that Luke and Ruby would love.

The views of the Teton range from the back of the visitor's center were stunning.

With a lot of effort, we finally convinced the kids to leave the visitor's center and head to Jenny Lake where we planned to hike to the waterfall. It was pretty awesome to realize that exactly six years earlier, Tim and I had done the same hike with Taylor, Erika and Brycen. Hopefully we will all be able to get to Jenny Lake together one day.

Luke and Ruby thought the Lake was amazing and were so disappointed that we weren't there to swim - much too cold for that. We decided to save time, and their little legs, and took the boat across where we we could then make the shorter hike to the waterfall.

The hike was every bit as pretty as I remembered - rivers, giant trees, cool rock formations, and of course, an amazing waterfall. Other than a few scratches, the hike was pretty much perfect.

When we were at Bryce Canyon earlier this year, we bought Ruby and Ranger hat and she has wanted the vest ever since. When she saw one at the visitor's center, we couldn't refuse. Watching this little Junior Ranger in action was one of the best parts of the trip. She was very serious about her responsibilities to the forest, and absolutely loved having a spot for her binoculars, pets, pencils, candy, etc. She got excited every time we saw a ranger, but the best was when we ran into a female ranger who was hiking down from an assignment. She was so sweet and was happy to take a picture and then spend most of the hike telling us about the details of her job.

Another ranger taught us all about the history of Jenny Lake

I had read about Lower Scwabacher Landing and it was a fantastic recommendation. The kids loved the walk along the river and spent their time chasing butterflies and watching for wildlife. We were the only ones at the end of the trail and loved the chance to spend time together watching the ducks and birds, and enjoying yet another spectacular view of the mountains.

We took a back road home and were rewarded with the view of a moose.

We ended our night at Jackson Hole resort where we rode the tram to the top of the mountain. The views were amazing from the top, but I think the kids loved the ride up and down the most.