I'm goin' to Jackson
This past weekend held a pretty big, pretty exciting roadtrip...In retrospect, I can't believe how much fun I had packed into 3 days. I left Idaho Falls after work on Friday and headed east out toward the small, barely there town of Ririe, Idaho.
I traversed the steep hills of the Snake River Valley, dipped into the lush green of the Conant Valley, and winded my way through the river road through the Swan Valley: destination Jackson, Wyoming. Jack, my pup, rides so well in the truck...he loves it, in fact. I have a large crate with his bedding, his water and food, and a large plastic Rubbermaid tote that carries my survival/camp gear that he uses as a prop to view the goings on around him, or to take a nap on.
Upon entering the Swan Valley, the road pitches north toward Victor and Driggs, two popular Teton Valley towns that have an abundance of young, outdoorsy types, brew pubs, and breweries. Pine Creek Pass is the entrance to all the fun, and arriving in Victor signals the fact that you are now only 12 miles from Jackson Hole; though my lil' red truck has to work for each mile on that steep pass, even when I have the gas pedal floored, I top out at a mere 35 mph while in a climb.
But when you get to the top, it's clear that it was all worth it. The valley stretches out below, and there's hardly a trace of the fact that the towns lying below are some of Wyoming's busiest and most "touristy." At this point I don't consider myself a tourist..because I never go to Jackson to do those things like shopping, or stopping on the shoulder of the road to watch wildlife; no offense meant, but it's just a little overwhelming going to Jackson during the summer.
This trip was embarked upon to reach Lander, where my old boss, Pee Wee, and myself were to attend the former owner of the Twin Creek Ranch's family wedding. Pee Wee is best friends with the former owner, Tony Malmberg, whom sold the ranch that I worked on last summer.
The first stop was to see some friends in Jackson, where we quickly found a hotel room, cleaned up, and then headed to the Million Dollar Cowboy Bar for a long night of dancing. It was an odd night in Jackson, which really means that there were a surprising number of Wyomingites present. I was so shocked to run into my old buddy from the HF Bar Ranch, Millhouse. He was dancing with the cutest little blond gal, and we caught up for a while. I then ran into a guy from Lander that I knew from the Team Roping community; as chance would have it, he was in Jackson for the night for a bachelor's party...all the way from North Dakota. It truly is a small world.
The evening was amazing, spent with great friends and nice strangers...but next stop, Lander!
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