It’s adventure time! Pack your hiking boots, water bottles and don’t forget the bear spray, cause we’re going to the Wild West! For the fifth year in a row, my family takes multiple plane rides to get to Jackson, Wyoming. There was never a time when all five of us have been there together because of college move-ins, camp and other summer festivities, but I went with my parents this summer, for my second time and I was joined by my brother and sister. Our days consisted of hiking, extremely long bike rides, taking photos of incredible views and days without humidity. After our first long hike on the first full day of our vacation, we went to our favorite breakfast bakery, but for lunch. I decided I was able to “afford” this lunch after the hike; this is how I thought about every day of the trip – I exercised and I deserved a nice, big meal.
I ordered a tuna melt and I was in love at first bite. There was nothing bad about it; cheesy goodness on tuna with tomato on the restaurant’s signature toast. A perfect lunch for the start of a great vacation.
But this was only lunch on the first day. We were staying in Teton Village, right under the Teton Mountains, so every morning started with a breath of fresh mountain breeze. The village included hotels, shops, activities like bungee jumping stations and a high ropes course, and restaurants. Our first night, we dined at a local restaurant. I had a wonderfully seasoned salmon filet.
The next day was bike riding. No, we didn’t go a few miles or even ten miles, we went a full 25 miles. We started at Dornan’s which is an area that includes a BBQ area, a store with goods like trail mix and a bike and adventure-supply rental shop. From there, we went about 15 miles (including a deadly uphill), to stop and have lunch at a village that includes the river, swimmers, and picnic tables. The upside of the bike ride (or I should say downside) was riding down that hill really fast, that we went up before. At the end of the day, our butts were extremely sore and we took up the hotel’s hot tub.
For dinner, we went to an Italian restaurant. I decided to go the “creamy” route (this was a one-time thing) and I ordered pasta in a creamy white wine sauce. This pasta meal was full of flavor, which I didn’t think I would like, but was definitely worth the try and I ended up really enjoying the meal.
The next few days in Wyoming consisted of morning walks with a view of the amazing mountains, hiking and dining. The next night, we went to one of my favorite places to eat, The Kitchen. I had a great duck dinner. The duck came atop a chili-corn sauce that complimented the duck very well.
The second to last night, we stayed in the village again and we went to Teton Thai, my family’s favorite cuisine. We got a few meals to all split, and it was fun to taste a bit of everything. It just happened to be that a family from our hometown was there the same time we were and we were trying to hint to them that we knew them – it didn’t work, but it was worth a try and definitely fun.
We started out with these vegetable rolls wrapped in rice paper that included cucumbers, carrots, tofu and lettuce which was complimented by the peanut sauce.
My favorite out of the four dishes was this delectable pad thai. The sauce had a “zing” to it, but it was perfectly paired with all of the flavors in the dish.
Our last night in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, we went to dinner in the actual town of Jackson, to the family favorite, the Snake River Grill. It was (sorta) a special night… my parents’ anniversary!! It’s not a big year, as in the number of years married, but every year is better when spent with the one you love, so it was definitely worth the celebration. Dad and I were looking forward to their famous elk, but it was “out of season” (but was it really?) so we settled for other meals. We started off with the onion tower – which definitely was a tower…
Since it was a special night, dad happened to sneak a request in for a candle and the whole restaurant joined in the singing as well.
Pictured: frozen chocolate-covered ice cream blocks, called Eskimo bars. The caramel sauce that came with it was a favorite as mom (actually) licked the dish clean.
I must say, this vacation was for sure one for the books, I mean the “flog”. But of course, it wasn’t over after the last dinner. We went back to the Bunnery, where I had my first lunch, the tuna melt. I had a really good omelet, nice hot coffee and the famous sticky bun for the table to share (well, mostly me). And, WOW, that sticky bun was outrageously good.
Thanks, mom and dad for a really, really, great vacation, that will always “stick” in my heart.
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