Yesterday, I shared all about our time in Garden City, Utah, visiting Bear Lake. And today, I’m picking up right where we left off…we road tripped from there to Jackson, Wyoming.
Our first stop was breakfast along the way at a little diner/truck stop, Ranch Hand.
Just like the sign said, “If you go away hungry, it’s your fault”.
Once again, we had about another two hour drive until we arrived in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. We dropped our bags off at the hotel. We stayed at the Modern Mountain Motel. A friend suggested it because it sleeps six…two queen beds and two twin top bunks above them. Someone came in and redid an old motel so it’s very clean and updated. It’s located just about four blocks from the main square so we walked into town to do a little shopping. I wouldn’t say that hotel is a must but if you have a large family it was nice all fitting into one room.
The iconic arch of antlers located on each corner of the square.
We casually strolled around doing a little souvenir shopping along the way.
And then we had early dinner reservations at Gun Barrel Steak and Game. Now to be honest, the inside decor of the restaurant was great, but the rest of the dinner fell flat. My main reason for booking dinner here was because I knew with a party of 8, it’d be tough to walk into dinner somewhere without a crazy long wait and we had a rodeo to attend. I found this restaurant to have super high ratings but the food was just, “meh”. It’s probably more of a tourist spot and I’d recommend passing on this one.
We made the best of it though and were rodeo ready in plenty of time!
My hat is old from the Nordstrom Sale years ago and my top is old and sold out.
I blame it all on my roots. I LOVE a rodeo! And my kids do too.
The Jackson Rodeo happens twice a week during the summer on Wednesday and Saturday nights. I believe most tickets are just general admission so if you have a large party, I’d recommend getting their early to make sure you can all sit together.
Just a really fun night!
Cowboy Bowen
Britt with the Rodeo Queens…how cool is this-the girl on the right’s mom happened to watch my IG Stories the night I was posting and let me know that was her daughter. What a small world, right?! Super cool! They were all so sweet to take a picture with Britt. And about those stories…there’s just something magical about the patriotic tribute at the beginning of a rodeo. I’m not usually a crier but it gets me EVERY SINGLE TIME!
At the end of the night we were all wishing we were a cowboy/cowgirl!
The next day was GRAND TETON DAY! My biggest suggestion would be to get the GyPSy Guide app and download the Grand Teton National Park tour. Most of the National Parks had zero cell reception, but once you’re in this app it recognizes where you are in the park and acts as your own personal tour guide. Just be sure to download your park tour prior to arriving at the park!
We see you, Grand Tetons. 🙂
That morning was chilly…it was absolutely amazing to be wearing a sweatshirt in the summer. When does that ever happen in Texas?
We popped into the visitor’s center to grab our passes.
Like I said, the GyPSy Guide app walked us through a little tour and encouraged us to stop at certain places.
The most popular spot in the park has to be Jenny Lake and we skipped it. I know. I know. We’ll have to go back and visit it next time. But it was insanely crowded when we arrived so we opted to check out the lake from other spots.
I’m scared of heights so these little spots without a rail were NOT my favorite thing but Marla and Nixon didn’t mind one bit.
These two had the best week together. They decided on day three of the trip they were gonna become the best of friends and they’d share a bedroom. In the other room, they wanted a pool table to have a little “man cave”. Tab and I happily agreed if they stayed besties until Christmas it would happen. Spoiler alert: they made it to day nine of the trip before deciding it wasn’t a good idea.
They’re friends but often fight like…well, brothers.
Britt was behind the lens.
That’s Jenny Lake it the background. The views were stunning!
Someone suggested us stopping to visit Jackson Lake versus Jenny Lake because there would be way less crowds. That’s just what we did. The views were just as gorgeous!
Nixon was living his best life…check out where he’s standing.
And just a few minutes later this deer trotted right by.
In his element…
We popped over to the other side of the Jackson Lake Dam and you can imagine all the jokes these kids had.
That water was COLD!
We had a little snack, picnic lunch beside the water.
Then we popped in to the Jackson Lake Lodge to check out the views and grab a cool drink.
Not a bad view!
Then we continued on around the loop and spotted buffalo grazing in the field. Can you see where Britt’s pointing?
A quick stop on Mormon Row to check out these famous barns.
It started sprinkling on us just a bit so we were nervous our evening float on the Snake River might get cancelled but instead they decided to push it back by about 45 minutes to let the rain pass. In the mean time, we hit up this little spot, Dornan’s. They had yard games, a little general store, and a dining spot as well.
Most of the rafting companies required children to be six years old so we opted out of anything swift and got tickets for the Scenic Float with a dinner cookout before hand. I had super low expectations for the food but it was really good! Steak, chicken, rice, green beans and salad were on the menu. We ate on picnic tables in a little shaded area before gearing up for the float.
We got all suited up and were ready!
Our plan was to keep our eyes open for any animals.
Our raft had our family of eight on one end, the guide in the middle steering, and then a family of five on the other end.
The weather was absolutely perfect! We weren’t too hot and by the end of the float it even got a little chilly.
This was the company we used to book our float and I’d highly recommend it. The guide was super knowledgeable, the ride was relaxing, and it was a great way to see areas of the park you couldn’t see by car. It was the perfect way to end our big day.
Thanks so much for reading today!
XO
