Beautiful hike up Teewinot

Looking up the trail head at Teewinot

Teewinot is the sixth highest peak in the Grand Tetons.  It reaches an elevation of 12,325 feet and the summit can only be reached by using ropes.  Today would not be the day I would reach the summit of Teewinot, but I would be having lunch at the Apex which sits at an elevation around 9500 feet.  The morning began early with a 7:30am meeting time.  Andy and Cami organized this hike and they wanted to beat the heat.  This always makes me laugh in Jackson Hole, because their heat and Florida heat are two totally different things.

The trail starts out traveling through the lupine dotted sage flats before you have to hike through rocks (some large rocks) dropped by the glacier that flowed down Glacier Gulch.  The trail is a steep one with beautiful views in each direction.
                                                                                                                                                                     

Views from the trail

Trail views

Taking a much needed water and breathing break

The views on all of our hikes are amazing.  The air is thin.  The air is crisp.  The trails are steep and in many places a physical challenge.  It is hard to describe the feeling of simply being "out in it."  It is a freedom that I love and a physical workout that pushes every muscle and fiber in my old body.


It is my "Adult Summer Camp," and I am falling in love with it as much as I love Mentone and my summers at Skyline Ranch.

Recently when Rashawn found out I had a trainer here in Jackson, he informed me that if I spent all my money staying in shape and lived until I was 85 years old and my money had run out, he would not pay my nursing home bills!  My goal is not to out live my money or stay in shape to live until 100.  My goal is to take advantage of every day while I can and to enjoy the world that is in front of me.


The trail leading up Teewinot is not a heavily traveled trail.  It is a tough hike which has a large elevation gain in a short distance.  These factors combine together to keep the short term tourist away from the trail.  Because it is not a heavily traveled trail, there are sections of the trail that simply disappear.  Searching for the trail always adds a bit of laughter to the day.

Andy searching for the trail.  That is Jackson Lake in the background.

View of Jenny Lake in foreground and Jackson Lake in the distance

After two hours of steep up hill climbing, we finally reached the Apex.  This was Andy's choice of a lunch spot, and it was a great lunch spot.  The hike to the Apex was a tough one and my body needed to take a sit down break.  From the Apex, we could see for miles and miles.  The views were simply beautiful.

My seat at lunch at the Apex

View from the Apex

View up at the summit of Teewinot from my lunch seat at the Apex

View from the Apex

After a 20 or 30 minute lunch break, it was time to head back down.  The hike down took about an hour and 40 minutes.  The hike down is always a lot easier on a person in terms of cardio.  The tough part of a hike down on a steep trail is the stress on your knees.  Jackson Hole is also very dry at this time of year, so on a steep trail it is easy to lose your footing on the way down.

View on way down

Heading down

Almost all the way down.  Can you see the cars in the parking lot?

After 3 and a half hours, your body is tired.  Your legs are a bit shakey and your feet are ready for flip flops.  I have been taught to stay focused until my feet are on the flat end of the trail.  This is very good advice to avoid injury.  I must admit that as I crossed the small boulder field at the end of the trail, I lost a bit of focus and found myself stumbling off a boulder and into a tree branch.  My first hiking injury.  An uncomfortable stab by a branch, but I survived!

First hiking injury of the summer.  A reminder to stay focused  until the hike is over.

Lazy Days in "The Hole". Life is Grand!

A little rest after the ride

Since Monday, I have been without house guests and have had a valley playground at my fingertips.  While my friends in Sarasota have recently endured days of rain from tropical storm Debby, I have enjoyed beautiful weather here in Jackson Hole.  On Wednesday, I decided to load my road bike up on the bike rack and headed into the Grand Teton National Park.  The GTNP is not far from my house, in fact I believe the house actually sits at the base of the park.  Jackson Hole gets some pretty intense soutern winds in the afternoon, so it is best when riding to first head south on the path so you can return with the wind at your back.  It was a beautiful day for a bike ride.  It was a beautiful day to remember how lucky I am.  It was a beautiful place and a beautiful day to say a prayer for a friend back in Sarasota facing tough health issues.  I took a few pictures on my ride.  Come along with me and enjoy the beauty and the view!

My starting point

Entrance to GTNP

   

Along the path

More along the path

Every day in Jackson Hole is a great day.  The start to some of these days can be just a bit different than others.  My alarm rudely woke me up this morning and reminded me that it was time to hit the floor moving.  As most of you know, morning is not my best or favorite time of any day, but it is an unneccessary evil to every day.....even in Jackson Hole.  So out of bed I climbed and off to the kitchen for breakfast I walked.  After mixing up my usual greek yogurt, berries and flax seed (Dr. Oz would be pleased), I headed to my favorite big blue chair in the family room.  As I watched Good Morning America and ate my breakfast, something caught my attention in my backyard.  At this point of the story, you need to remember that my backyard is basically part of the Grand Teton National Park.  It took a while for me to figure out that what I was looking at was a bunch of antlers about 30 yards off my back deck.

The antlers that first caught my eye

Zoomed in pic of the antlers


It seems that a group of male elk had enjoyed a bit of a slumber party in my backyard.  During this time of year it is quite common to see male elk without any female elk.  That is because the females are busy taking care of the baby elk who have been born in the late spring.  Have no worries, because by the middle of September, the males will be "bugleing" their little hearts out to call the females back into their space so they can enjoy a bit of making elk babies!

Starting to wake up

Very slowly and one by one, the elk decided they had slept enough and were ready to move on down to the Snake River where they spend most of the afternoon.  In "elk world" the day time tempatures of Jackson Hole are considered warm, so they leave the open fields and head to the cooler area near the river.

Part of the herd now standing and ready to head to the Snake River

Moving on out to the river

Seeing the wildlife in the yard is always a highlight of the day.  At this time last year, I had more visits from different bison herds but have seen none of those guys yet.

Determined to make it to the river

Last Days of Elaine's visit in Jackson

In the 26 years that Elaine and I have been friends, we have always traveled and vacationed well together.  This past week in Jackson was no exception.  Every day the pace of our schedule was different and on most days unplanned.  We would head out from the house and stumble into fun.  On the days that I joined the hiking group for long hikes, Elaine enjoyed the house and became as addicted to "50 Shades of Grey" as are all of my Florida girlfriends!  Because of her love of this book and her need to follow these characters, we had to venture to town to find a wireless area where she could download book 2 and 3 of the series on her kindle!  Elaine found what she was looking for and I found another great "nook" in Jackson in which to spend some "chill out" time.

Elaine's happy place where she could continue her love of "50 Shades"

I am so glad that Elaine's intense connection to "50 Shades of Grey" resulted in us finding Jackson Hole Roasters.  While Elaine was downloading and reading, I enjoyed the best roast beef sandwich I have ever eaten.  I am talking awesome roast beef sandwich!

No matter where Elaine and I travel, we always meet nice people and
make new friends.  While sitting in the outdoor area of Jackson Hole
Roasters, under a brightly colored umbrella, Elaine and I enjoyed
just watching the world go by.  One wonderful thing that passed by
was the biggest and most luscious piece of carrot cake that either
of us had ever seen.  The waiter saw Elaine and I eyeing the slice of

Elaine enjoying the birthday carrot cake

carrot cake and offered to bring us our own to share.  We displayed amazing amounts of self discipline and did not order our own slice.  We did,  however, continue to eye the carrot cake that the waiter placed on the table next to us.  The two ladies sitting at that table also saw us eyeing their carrot cake.  This lead to much laughter between the four of us and introductions all around.  Our new friends were mother and daughter and the mother, who was celebrating her birthday, was visiting from Wisconsin.  They insisted that both Elaine and I eat a bite of the carrot cake.  I can now report that is was the best carrot cake I had ever eaten.

I know that I will visit Jackson Hole Roasters again and again during my summer adventure!

Jenny Lake

  On the day after our lazy day in town when we discovered Jackson  Hole Roasters, we decided that a bit of physical activity would do us both good!  So we headed off to Jackson Lake to walk through the beauty.



 

Jenny Lake

Enjoying our walk around Jenny Lake

Sunday, June 24th was Elaine's last full day in the paradise we call Jackson Hole.  As usual, it was a beautiful day and we enjoyed a lazy start.  Eric (hiking group) had organized a Sunday hike to the top of the gondola at Teton Village.  The reason for the hike was to celebrate the opening of The Deck.  The Deck is an outdoor area at the top of the gondola that has a beautiful view of the valley and a great happy hour.  The Deck opens at 4:30pm and happy hour runs until 6:00pm.  There are only two ways to arrive at The Deck.  You can ride the gondola which starts operating at 4:30pm or you can hike up the 3.2 mile trail.  Eric had invited us all to meet at the Teton Village clock tower at 2:30 to begin the hike to The Deck.  We planned on being the first to arrive and the first to toast to another great happy hour summer season at The Deck.

Hiking group attacking the Gondola Trail

The hike up to the top of the Gondola trail to reach The Deck, is not an easy hike.  It might only be 3.2 miles, but it has an elevation change of over 2700 feet, so you feel as if you are walking straight up.  These factors resulted in Elaine choosing to read "50 Shades of Grey" in the lobby bar at the Four Seasons (located in Teton Village) and taking the 4:30 gondola to meet the hiking group at The Deck.

The start of the Gondola Trail

Views on the way up the Gondola Trail

Views on the way up the Gondola Trail

View getting closure to the top

After 3.2 tough miles, an elevation change of over 2700 feet, a burn of 1150 calories and breathing heavier than I have breathed since arriving in Jackson, I arrived at The Deck for happy hour!  I was the last of the group arrive, but I made it!  After catching my breath, I indulged in a plate of edamame and shared some great tasting sliders with Elaine.  She arrived looking fresh and breathing evenly.....what taking the gondola up will do for a person!

The hiking group enjoying the spoils of their work at happy hour at The Deck

Elaine making new friends with Adam and Marty from Indiana

Fire Festival in town and Taste of Jackson in Teton Villiage with Elaine

In town square for Fire Festival

After my hike to Jackson Peak, I headed back to the house to grab Elaine and head to town.  While I was off hiking Jackson Peak, Elaine was most content at the house spending the day reading "50 Shades of Grey."  I returned to the house at around 4:30 and pulled Elaine away from the book and off to town we went to see what we could find.

Fire Festival in town square
(notice red ball decoration)

We noticed that the town square was blocked off and there was some type of festival taking place.  As we poked around and asked a few questions, we found out that it was a "Fire Festival" in celebration of mountain culture around the world.

Trigger on his walk about the town square

We enjoyed our walk around the square and the Fire Festival. The best part of having no plan at all and simply meandering around town is the things you might see!




Neither Elaine nor I had ever seen a miniature horse on a leash being walked on the sidewalk, but at the Fire Festival we saw just this site!
Before taking this picture, we asked the owner for permission and were graciously introduced to Trigger!  We were also told that Trigger comes to town often for a bit of a "walk about."


After our visit with Trigger, Elaine and I each enjoyed an ice cream cone as we continued our stroll.  The square was a bit crowded for the festival so an extra police presence was ready.  Elaine and I agreed that neither of us had ever seen such a mixture of the old west and modern technology.  Not sure where else you could see two police women on horses talking on cell phones!

Jackson Hole is ready in case bad guys come to town!

On Thursday, June 21st, Elaine and I participated in the "Taste of Jackson."  This was an event that is held as part of the three day wine auction that is held as a fund raiser for the Grand Teton Music Festival.  I heard about the event from my hiking friend Craig who is so nice to always inform me of the different happenings around town.  The "Taste of Jackson" was held in Teton Village at the Couloir restaurant.  The only way to get to Couloir is by hike (we were not dressed for that) or by a gondola ride.  The organizers of the "Taste of Jackson" did a nice job of kicking off the evening by providing each guest with a glass of champagne for the gondola ride!

With champagne waiting for our gondola ride to the top

 Once at the top of the gondola ride, red carpets and banners greeted us as we entered the event.  There were also a slew of photographers ready to snap away at the beautiful crowd of Jackson, but they somehow failed to take a photo of Elaine and me  .... shocking!

Background music

Most of the restaurants in town participated in the "Taste of Jackson" along side many vineyards from all over the US.  Elaine and I wondered around the event sampling yummy dishes (my favorite was the lamb chop from Snake River Grill) and different wines.  The event took place both inside and outside of Couloir providing beautiful views on a beautiful night.  A band played background music to add further to the fun.  Besides Elaine and I enjoying the food and wine, we loved checking out the "beautiful people" of Jackson and their outfits.

Elaine enjoying a mango margarita popsicle from Trio

Elaine and I did a bit of stalking this guy.  We gave him our prize for the "most representative Jackson Hole."  We figure he owns the ranch down the street that is for sale for $100 million!  

Shoes of the "seen and be seen" ladies

It was a very fun evening for the two of us.  We drove home as the sun was setting over/behind the Tetons.  Dawn and dusk are the best times to see the wildlife of the valley.  Since neither Elaine and I are awake at dawn, we rely on the dusk hours for wildlife sightings.  We drove home along the Moose Wilson road, which is always a good place for viewing the animals.

View of our ride home along Moose Wilson Rd.  That is an elk in the middle of the photo.

This beaver was getting some work done on that branch

Beaver friends at work