This past weekend, the man and I had the great pleasure of taking a little trip to Jackson Hole, Wyoming.  It was much-needed, and absolutely breath-taking.

Sadly, pictures do not do justice to the utter gorgeous-ness of the terrain, but I am going to share some anyway, because it was such an incredible and beautiful experience.  I can’t wait to go back.

We stayed at the Snake River Lodge and Spa, which has just undergone an ownership change, so I’m not sure how much of what we saw and enjoyed at the resort will still be intact when they re-open for the ski season this winter.  Buuut, we really loved the room, with the cozy fireplace, comfy bed and steam room shower, and the pool was amazing.  I realized I hadn’t been in a pool in years, so I was very excited about it.

We arrived at mid-day on Thursday, and we went immediately to the John Moulton Barn on Mormon Row in the Grand Teton National Park.  I had been hankering to see it in person after seeing all the stunning pictures of it.

Not quite what I was expecting, but oh my goodness, the mountains!  We were on the ground for less than 20 minutes, and we’d already seen antelope, a herd of bison and the barn I’d been day-dreaming about since before we planned the trip.

Ahhh.  Bliss!

In fact, I was so in awe of the sheer beauty of the mountains, I started taking pictures at the airport.  There are no ramps to board planes at Jackson Hole, so you exit the plane and walk across the tarmac.  The entire walk, I was gushing.  So stupendous.

We upgraded our rental,  so we spent the weekend driving a four door Jeep Wrangler with the front of the roof off.  Amazing.  I felt totally indulgent the entire time.

On Friday, after a good old-fashioned country breakfast, we drove over the Teton Pass into Idaho.  I was white-knuckled the entire time (good lord that road was steep, winding and seemingly narrow!).

  A view from the top of the Teton Pass.

A scenic trail in Idaho.

It was amazing the temperature difference when we stopped at the peak of the mountains (I was also grateful to take a little break and get my feet on solid ground for a minute).

The road from a distance, heading back to Wyoming. 

The mountains in Idaho.

I was obsessed with the birch trees.

Bundled and picture happy. 

Sunny skies. 

The Jeep, semi-topless.  😉

Isn’t my man a cutie?

On Saturday we took full advantage of National Park Day (all parks are free!) and got up before the sun to try to catch the herds of animals moving.  We saw a lot of elk, including two monster bull elks ~ gi-normous racks.  I’m not sure how those animals hold their heads up.  It was amazing to watch and to see the majesty of the park as it came to life.   Those pics will be up tomorrow!  I will say that Mr. Moose eluded us.  I guess we’ll have to go back!