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"The Group" in Jackson Hole
Meredith Butcher, Erica Midkiff, Misty Fontenot, Cherri Pitts |
I first met Meredith in 1992. She was a 9th grader at La Jolla Country Day and I was the new physical education teacher and coach. Meredith was a member of the varsity volleyball team, the first LJCD team I coached as the assistant coach. We hit it off right away and shared many great athletic times over the next four years. Meredith played both volleyball and basketball for me at LJCD. While coaching Meredith during her high school years, I always heard her family speak fondly of their two weeks spent every June in Jackson Hole at the Triangle X Ranch. In 2007, I joined Meredith and her parents at the ranch for a wonderful week of fun. Their love of Jackson Hole was quickly passed onto me. It was great to host Meredith this summer while she introduced her friends to her childhood summer playground.
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| Meredith and Erica in Jackson Town Square |
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| On the boat to ride across Jenny Lake |
Meredith was the leader of this fun group and they took Jackson Hole by storm. After spending their first day in town shopping and "animal hunting," they relaxed at the house and Meredith prepared a wonderful meal for all of us.
On day two of their adventure in Jackson, the group headed off to tackle Jenny Lake, Hidden Falls and Inspiration Point. With Meredith's culinary skills at work, the group enjoyed a gourmet picnic with a beautiful view and became the envy of passing hikers.
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| Cherri and Meredith |
Misty and Cherri are originally from Lake Charles, Louisiana and now live (like Meredith and Erica) in Birmingham, Alabama. I knew that if these girls were friends of Meredith's, they would become friends of mine. It was better than great having some "Louisiana Cajuns" and all their enthusiasm in the house!
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| Crazy girls ready for their Jenny Lake hike |
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| Heading to Hidden Falls |
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| Meredith "hike leader" enjoying the view |
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| Misty and Cherri enjoying the Jenny Lake hike in the Grand Teton National Park |
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| The made it to Hidden Falls |
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| Meredith and Erica at Hidden Falls |
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| Cherri and Misty enjoying the day |
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| Enjoying the picnic at Inspiration Point |
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| Conquering the mountain |
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| Erica and Meredith at Inspiration Point |
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| Meredith at the top of Inspiration Point |
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| My new Cajun buddy Misty enjoying Wyoming! |
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| Erica and Meredith ready to hike down from Inspiration Point |
On their 3rd day in the valley, we attempted to hike to the Phelps Lake Overlook. I knew the group could handle the hike and enjoy the view of Phelps Lake where they could picnic with another fine meal. Sadly, our plan was not to be on that day. The trailhead that leads to Phelps Lake is off of Moose Wilson road. Due to the lack of rain and very dry vegetation, the bears have been coming down to lower elevation in search of berries and other food. Bear activity on Moose Wilson road forced the park service to close the road to humans. The road closure prevented me from taking the group to Phelps Lake. Instead, the group headed up the tram at Teton Village and hiked in that area. I headed off with my hiking group to Glory Bowl (pictures later). The elevation change on the Glory Bowl hike would have hurt my southern sea level friends, so it was better for them to enjoy the tram ride up to 10,000 feet.
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| "Girls just want to have fun." |
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Loving lunch at Grumpy's (notice goat in background!)
After eating our hot dogs at Grumpy's, we strolled down Main Street in Victor, Idaho and found a few shops and of course purchased a few things. Erica was the big winner with her purchase of a new hat! Notice that she is in the "hat picture" by herself. The rest of us were trying to find the correct words to tell her that the hat she loved would not make the impression she was looking for! Birmingham watch out!
After enjoying lunch, shopping and huckleberry shakes in Victor, it was time for us to drive back for more shopping in Jackson. These girls definitely helped out the Jackson economy! With shopping bags in the trunk, our next stop was the Triangle X Ranch. Meredith was eager to show her friends the ranch and the playground of her youth. She walked them around the ranch and explained the daily schedule. We finished the walking tour of the ranch at just the right time to catch one of the best parts of the day at the ranch. The "running of the horses" takes place near 5:00pm after the ranch guest have returned from their second ride of the day. Once the horses have had their saddles and bridles removed, the wranglers lead them out of the corral and run them through the ranch fields to their favorite grazing field across the road near the Snake River.
We all loved watching the "running of the horses" and believed that we had seen all the wildlife we were going to see. Imagine our surprise when driving down my street on our way home from the ranch, a mother moose and her baby were eating my neighbors willow trees/bushes. The Birmingham girls could not have been happier. Seeing a moose this close does not happen often. The mother moose was in a good mood (or just really hungry) because she allowed us to stay close by for a very long time.
The day had been a great one and I was sad that it would be my last with my Birmingham friends. The perfect way to end a great day is with dinner at the Snake River Grill. After cleaning up from our long day of shopping, Grumpy's and the ranch, we headed back to the Jackson town square to indulge in a wonderful meal at my favorite restaurant. I was first introduced to the Snake River Grill by the Butcher family, so it only made sense that Meredith eat her last meal of this visit at this restaurant. We enjoyed an evening of good laughter and wonderful food!
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