Amanda was wound up again this morning; she was getting her last wind early! It would be a local day staying in the Tetons and Jackson hole area. We were up early to see wildlife. Right out of the cabin road entrance, we’d see a few moose in the distance. As we turned onto the main road, cars were parked, viewing them. We stopped as well, and I ran arias the road like a tourist to snap a few shots of a cow, then a bull appeared. The far-off photos were much better because of the majestic mountains in the background. I chatted with a man next to me from North Carolina. It would seem we’d been hitting it well with our double grizzly sightings. He hadn’t even seen elk; I crushed his spirits when I told him we saw hundreds not a mile down the road a few days before!
We made the grand loop up to the north entrance, then skirted the lakes and river as we did the day before. Not much wildlife would be seen except for a couple of bull elk.
We stopped at a Jenny Lake sign for a photo op to send to a dear friend with the same name. One of Amanda’s heart “sisters” she met years ago in an online group.
At the end, we spotted a couple more moose grazing in a meadow by the picturesque chapel; you’d probably have been able to see them from the pulpit.
Today was a cheat day, food-wise. After passing Biscuit Basin in Yellowstone about five times, biscuits were on the menu now! Breakfast is my favorite meal, Amanda’s least, but doing intermediate fasting, we typically only eat noon to 8 pm, always missing breakfast. So after the morning cruise we set out for breakfast. We looked at a few different menus and decided on a bakery. It was a fail, the reviews lied. Their bakery items were terrific, not to include the biscuits. When I went to check out, I noticed all my cash wasn’t in my money clip, and after frantically checking all my pockets. I came up with nothing; a few hundred in total were missing. I’d had to get my ID out for the park entrance, the reasonable time it went missing. Thank goodness when I opened the car door, it was just on the edge next to the seat, barely staying inside!
We walked around a few shops; a thrift store was across the street. We love good thrift finds. I was hoping for some Patagonia or other high-end outdoor items but no such luck. We headed to a store with some Blundstone boots, Australian Chuka style, which Amanda was eyeing. She’d been jelly ever since I got a pair while she was visiting me in Iowa! These would be a cute heeled ladies’ pair. No luck in the size and color she needed.
We made a short drive to the edge of town to the elk refuge. My North Carolina moose-spotting partner had mentioned they’d seen big horn sheep there. We had wanted to see these sheep, but unfortunately, after driving for a few miles, we came up empty handed no sheep or elk.
On to Teton Village to check it out. A nice small ski resort town a few minutes out of Jackson on the western side of town at the end of the Teton range. It’s the type of place I’ve always wanted to stay for Christmas week. Not having kids out plans are when we get a little older to spend every Christmas week in the mountains with snow.
Back through town to grab some snacks for the road and wash the car. The snow had finally subsided, leaving the Subaru filthy. On the way back, we could see the Teton Village ski slopes, not noticing them before.
Then on to the cabin to get ready for one last romp in town to celebrate our time here. Trying to be frugal, we had one last meal to make, clearing out the fridge before we left. I threw together a Mediterranean bowl with the wrap leftovers adding brown rice. We’d planned to grab dessert, the smores dish, for sure, and maybe after-dinner appetizers.
In keeping with the Mediterranean theme, we when to an authentic Lebanese restaurant inside a high-end boutique hotel. We debated back and forth on what to get splurging, to our belly’s detriment, on a mezze plate of hummus, babagonush, falafel, tabbouleh, and pita. A great combination, the waiter, agreeing when I finally placed the order. The kitchen was right off the bar and open to the dining room. The back-of-house staff would seem to be Lebanese, and the bartender was Romanian, he mentioned.
We sat at the bar only, not planning on getting a full meal. The bartender would be the waiter for the small dining room for this slow off-season night. I like sitting at bars, you get more of a chance to chat with the locals this way, especially the waitstaff. With no other patrons at the bar, we talked a bit with the bartender. Speaking of the high costs around Jackson Hole, he said he paid $1800 a month for just a room rental. He was starting a new diet and trying to eat less meat and more organic, joking he said they call the Whole Foods here the whole paycheck!
After our appetizer or second dinner, call it what you will, we made our way to the dessert spot. This restaurant would prove to be much busier than the previous one. The waiter seemed perturbed that we only wanted dessert, ordering the s’mores brownie divine treat. Along with an espresso creme brulee which fell short, but the s’mores carried the weight.
Back to the cabin for the dreaded packing up to leave. The packing is worse than the leaving. I was sitting on the couch catching up on a post when I thought I saw something small run across the floor. I told Amanda, and she immediately freaked out; she hates mice. Not seeing it again, I caulked it up to a false sighting. I would be wrong; he finally ran out, stared at me, and ran for under the stove. Where’s the fox when you need her? Mind you, all our snacks are packed and ready to go. So we put everything up on the chairs and table. I threw some brown rice out down dinner, hoping to appease him. I even saw him munching on it before we went to bed!