okay last part [five years after the fact]! friday we reluctantly left the ranch and went to the airport to pick up a car. then we drove out to the grand teton ski resort area to check into the
hotel terra. we decided to stay out there versus in jackson because the rates were so much better. once we arrived we found out that they'd upgraded us (perks of booking in the off season!).
the room was amazing, but we didn't really spend too much time in it! we dropped off our stuff and headed to a trail that one of the ranch hands recommended.
we had teton thai for dinner and it was great! the next morning we got up and headed to the snake river to go rafting. the rapids were a lot more technical than anything i've ever been on before, so fun! unfortunately the trip only lasted about 45 minutes.
after rafting we went to downtown jackson for lunch and to look around. we had lunch at cafe genevieve (delicious!) and then shopped around a little. we went to the million dollar cowboy bar and sat in the saddles to have a drink.
i can't remember if i mentioned it, but FYI most of those are elk antlers and the elk shed them every year. i didn't know this when we arrived and i was a little disturbed!
after we left downtown, we drove around to try to find animals and we had pretty good luck!
you can't see in the picture, but there was a calf with that moose. we got to see it nurse! we didn't see a single bull moose while we were there, just the ladies.
we went back to the hotel and got ready for dinner at the blue lion. great atmosphere and food. we both had elk steaks and really enjoyed sitting out on the porch and listening to the guitar player. great way to end the trip.
the next morning we got up a little earlier than we needed to so that we could drive through the national forest at dawn on the way to the airport. we saw another moose and some deer. we were really sad to leave, this was my favorite vacation we've taken.