No Spa Day

My friend Julie and I planned a "mystery trip" on a day off from school for Brenda, who moved here last August from Montana.  Brenda's first reaction was that she hoped it wasn't to get our nails done or get a facial at a spa!!  Julie assured her she had nothing to worry about!  But as the date approached, we did nothing but tease her, telling her to be sure to bring her bathing suit, pack cucumbers for her eyes, and the like.

So, yesterday we were hoping for a beautiful, warm spring day, as we had planned a trip to Jackson Hole.  We had been getting nothing but cold and snow for the past few days...and I was regularly checking road conditions.  I discovered that roads going west were about the only ones open!  However, a little snow and slick roads on the pass over the continental divide were no big deal, so we decided we could go, despite the weather. 

The first stop, about 30 miles down the road, was to make a surprise visit to our friends and cohorts at Crowheart School.  The next stop was at the Red Rocks for a picture.  The camera was carefully balanced on the hood of the truck, and the self-timer on the camera worked perfectly. 

Me, Julie, and Brenda on a no-spa day.

After getting back in the truck, I had no more than stated that we should be keeping an eye out for some Big Horn Sheep, when we spotted a nice little herd (not just one or two!!) right on the side of the road!  They were young ones, and they let us get close enough for some photos!  What a treat!  The day was starting out great!

Isn't that a fine pose?

We made it to Dubois, where we stopped for a drink at a coffee/java shop and we also stretched our legs a bit, walking a couple blocks to show Brenda some of our favorite stores and do a little shopping.  

Then it was time to head over Togwotee Pass.  We got into a little snow and some slick roads, but we took it easy.  There was relatively no traffic, and we were enjoying the scenery. 

We soon got out of the snow and got our first glimpse of the Tetons.  Spectacular.  Suddenly, I spotted a fox right by the side of the road.  Eeeeeeechhh.  Stopping the truck and backing up a bit, we watched him and hurriedly snapped  photos.  We couldn't believe that once he saw us, he wasn't running away at lightening speed. What was up with that?

As we were coming down the pass, I saw 8 moose on the side of the road.  I brought the truck to a stop again, backed up, and we watched them for a few minutes and took some snapshots.

As we got closer to Jackson, we saw quite a few deer, and in the distance we also saw 4 buffalo! 

The next stop was a photo-shoot in front of the Grand Tetons.

Even with all the stops, we made it to Jackson in time for lunch, some shopping around the Square, and then we surprised Brenda (our elementary art teacher) with a visit to the National Museum of Wildlife Art.  What a fine collection!

There were no elk in the Elk Refuge in Jackson, but on the way home, we saw a big herd of elk right off the side of the road.  We couldn't believe it!!

And, we probably saw a hundred deer on the way home too.  We were pointing them out to each other as we passed them by.

Back up on Togwotee Pass, it was snowing, and the road was slick, but the bad conditions didn't last too long.  Once we got to Dubois, it was time for dinner at the Cowboy Cafe. 

It took another hour to get home, but a great time to recall all that we had seen and done!  We loved our no-spa day!