First Day in Grand Tetons

Roel and I are on vacation right now! A kind of second honeymoon. We want to do that every year, to keep our love fresh and exciting. :)

Anyway, we're in Wyoming, in the Grand Tetons, which is nestled under Yellowstone. Yesterday (our first day), we had a yummy pancake breakfast, then ended up driving around exploring. We tried to get on this one mountain, but couldn't find a way. Eventually, we headed back home. But Roel (the "oe" in Dutch works like our "oe" in "shoe") missed our turnoff, so we thought, "why not keep going and see Idaho?" (which is just down the road). So we kept going and ended up going through the most beautiful mountain pass! The whole thing is laden with clouds so thick they look like milk, except misty, maybe like dry ice except thicker and MUCH more of it than you can ever imagine! I wish you could've seen it. Anyway, we made it through the pass and into the valley on the other side - Teton Valley (formerly known as Pierre's Hole).

After debating whether or not to turn around immediately, we thought we should see a bit of Idaho, as long as we were there. So we came to the first town - Victor (pop. 800), and saw a sign for an Elk Ranch, so we turned toward it. When we got there, the business was being run by a young mother and two tikes eating Doritos! She told us they give hay rides (in the summer) and sleigh rides (in the winter) through the elk, and they also lead horseback riding expeditions. She ended up letting us see the elk up close (but we couldn't go amongst them because it was mating season and they might get fiesty) from the other side of the fence, and then her husband (cowboy hat, boots, AND chaps!) took Roel and me for a horseback ride up in Targhee National Forest! What a treat! What a great way to start our vacation! And we haven't even been into Grand Teton or Yellowstone National Parks yet!

We wandered back to Mr. and Mrs. Barr's condo (we can't believe we're staying in this fantastic place for free!!), after getting groceries for the week, had a wonderful roasted chicken dinner (mostly courtesy of Albertson's), then picked out trails and read our un-putable-downable books until we couldn't keep our eyes open in front of the fire.

God is so good!!