Jackson, WY to Idaho Falls, ID

On Thursday we sadly left Jackson and Hotel Jackson to get the 10 hour service on the jet ski done. I can't believe we have already spent 10 hours riding around on it but we have!!!

The drive to Idaho Falls was about four hours from Jackson and it is a pretty unexciting town with many hotels and motels due to the fact that it is on the way to Yellowstone so is a popular stopping point for families & tourists. We got a room at the Fairfield Mariott which is very nice & the bed could not have been more comfortable! We had dinner at "the best restaurant in town," the Olive Garden! We split an order of chicken parm along with salad & breadsticks and I had a 9oz glass of wine for $7! The biggest bargain of the trip! Lol! 

We just finished breakfast at the hotel. They had a huge complimentary spread out and as if I need it I just made a bacon egg & cheese sandwich on biscuit with a side of potatoes. Yum!!! 

We are off to Montana soon ... Staying in Big Sky tonight & possibly stopping at Yellowstone on the way it's not too crowded!!! 

This is what the split order of chicken parm looks like... I can't imagine eating the whole thing!!! Surprisingly the Olive Garden was pretty good! The fine dining in Idaho Falls... 

Jackson Day 3

On Wednesday we decided to take an "off day" since we have been busy busy and on the go so much. We slept in & had a nice leisurely breakfast at the hotel and then I head off to hike Snow King, which is Jackson's original ski hill (founded in 1939) and also Wyoming's fist ski mountain! The hike is 1570 vertical feet up and is TOUGH! Locals can do it in about 40 min from bottom to top… I'm not not going to say how long it took me! LOL! The views from the top were absolutely amazing and worth the struggle!

Michael spent the morning riding around town on his motorcycle and then we met up for lunch at Cafe Genevieve, which is a popular spot which was recommended by many people to us. We had another Snake River trout salad which was delicious and then headed back to the hotel to pack up since we were leaving on Thursday morning.

We had a nice dinner at the hotel restaurant and then we went to see Seven Brides for Seven Brothers at The Jackson Playhouse, which is celebrating it's 100th anniversary this year! It was a really cute play/musical and the theatre has the feel of an old playhouse…it felt like we were going back in time! It was a perfect way to end our time in Jackson.

Dinner at Hotel Jackson 

The Jackson Playhouse 

Jackson Day 2

After an amazing dinner and very comfortable night of sleep we were excited to head out & explore the area! We decided to head to Grand Teton National Park which is about 45 minutes from Jackson. We had lunch at the Blue Heron restaurant at The Jackson Lake Lodge which overlooks the Tetons and has beautiful views. We had our first of a few Snake River trout salads- soooo good! The Snake River is one of the main rivers in the Pacific Northwest and also the largest North American river that empties into the Pacific Ocean. Trout are plentiful in the river and hence a popular dish on many menus that we saw in Jackson. After lunch we decided to burn some calories and jumped on our bikes for about an hour and rode around the park area. It was a gorgeous day & the weather could not have been more perfect!

Jackson Lake Lodge

Colter Bay

Jackson, WY

We arrived in Jackson in the evening on Monday after our camping on Sunday night in Pinedale and promptly checked into Hotel Jackson, a new hotel in the downtown area. The hotel describes itself as "rustic modern mountain luxury" and that could not be more spot on. It is tastefully & beautifully decorated but not overdone- after our night of "roughing it" it was so nice to take a hot shower, flush a toilet, and feel clean! LOL!

Jackson is a really cute little town that reminds me a lot of Aspen. While Jackson's population is less than 10,000, it is a popular vacation destination due to its close proximity to many ski resorts and national parks (Yellowstone, Grand Tetons, and the Elk Refuge). Not surprisingly due to all of the tourism, Jackson is home to a multitude of fabulous restaurants, many of which we have had the opportunity to try, including one at our hotel that serves an amazing complimentary breakfast buffet.

We will spend a few days in Jackson and leave on Thursday! It will be hard to leave the Hotel Jackson & we both know it will be hard to beat throughout the rest of the trip!

Sunday at Monday at Half Moon Lake, WY … Camping!!!

After a week of hotels we decided it was time to try out the tent! Half Moon Lake is located in Pinedale up a long windy dirt road and definitely worth the drive! It's a smaller lake but less crowded than the ones we have been to lately. They have a great campsite- the individual camp areas are large, all have their own picnic tables and fire pits, and there are shared bathrooms which were constantly kept clean by the staff. And each campsite is only $7/night! And best of all… there is a lodge right on the lake with the most amazing food that we had lunch AND dinner at! We met a really nice couple also from the Denver area who were just a few sites over and they cooked us up some delicious blueberry pancakes for breakfast! We both slept really well and loved our first night camping! Next stop… Jackson, WY!

Lunch at Half Moon Lake Lodge

Camping!!!

Dinner sunset at Half Moon Lake Lodge

Morning at Half Moon Lake

Saturday at Burnt Lake (Pinedale, WY)

We took a motorcycle excursion up to Burnt Lake to visit where Michael went to camp when he was 10! There's a dirt road about 10 miles outside of Pinedale & then you take the dirt road about 11 more miles to get to Burnt Lake which was so calm, peaceful, & beautiful. It was really fun to see where he went to camp & see him relive the memories after so many years!

Bear Lake to Wyoming!

We sadly left Bear Lake mid-morning on Wednesday to head to Pinedale, Wyoming where Michael went to camp when he was 12 & 14! The drive was about three and a half hours through some pretty desolate country…most of the towns had 100-500 people! Luckily we found a great little market to grab a healthy sandwich for the road in one of the 500 person towns (one of our biggest challenges on this trip has been trying to eat healthy when we are wearing bathing suit all the time and/or trying to squeeze into our wetsuits with all the time we spend in the water!!!) We came along a reservoir called Fontenelle Reservoir in Lincoln, WY and needed a little break from the drive so we decided to jump in with the jet ski! 

Some history on Fontenelle Reservoir- It's actually an artificial reservoir with the purpose to act as a storage for the US Bureau of Reclamation's Colorado River Storage Project, retaining Wyoming water in the state as a means of asserting Wyoming's water rights, with a secondary purpose of power generation. It's water is used in local industries including mining & power generation. 

Goodbye Blueburd Inn!

One of the other rooms at the Bluebird Inn- so pretty I had to take a picture! 

Off to Wyoming!

Fontenelle Reservoir

Fontenelle Reservoir

Fontenelle Reservoir

He loves his jet ski!!!

Leaving Fontenelle Reservoir

Thank goodness for a healthy sandwich! The day before was a fried chicken sandwich w/ ranch!!!

After leaving Fontenelle Reservoir, we drove about an hour further to Pinedale, which Michael says has changed A LOT since he went to camp there! Pinedale is on the way to Jackson, so it is popular for being a stopping point for travelers en route to there or those who love the outdoors & lakes- there are 1,300 lakes in the area, including Fremont Lake, which is Wyoming's second largest natural lake and of course our first stop with the jet ski upon arriving to Pinedale! 

After a few hours on the lake we checked into our "suite" at the Best Western which is really just a large hotel room with a king bed, a queen bed, and a mini-fridge :) We miss the Bluebird Inn! Pinedale is not known for great hotels so we were pretty lucky to grab a room here at the last minute. We will stay at the hotel for 2 nights and then we are going to camp (for the first time of the trip!) at Fremont Lake on Sunday night when it will be less crowded after the weekend. The town is really cute with lots of restaurants and Western Style stores so we are excited to explore a little over the next few days. We will head to Jackson on Monday or Tuesday!

Fremont Lake