Back from Hiatus

I guess I've been on hiatus long enough.  We were on vacation for a week and I didn't blog and then we got home and I had to take another week off to recover from the vacation.  So I haven't blogged in a long time, I haven't read any blogs, and now it's time to catch up.

So where to begin?

I guess I'll start at the beginning.

Irv and I loaded up into the car and made the very long drive up to Teton Village, Wyoming.  We had splurged and rented a very luxurious "cabin" (aka multi-million dollar luxury home) in Teton Village.  It was incredibly beautiful so I immediately started trying to figure out how we could own a home there.  We were in luck!  One lot was left in the subdivision and it was a mere $4.75 million for one acre.  A heck of a deal!

I didn't take a single picture of the cabin so I just stole one off their website. 


Vacation to me is a lot of activity--hiking and being outside.  The mountains and woods are my comfort zone, it's where I'm at peace.

Since we were at the base of the Tetons it only made sense to hike the mountain.

 
Our chosen trail was Rock Springs Loop on Rendezvous Mountain.
 
 
Miss GiGi was brave and joined us on the mountain while her mom had a morning off.  She was a little bored at the top and started off with a nap.  She borrowed my floppy hat to protect her head from the sun and wind.  It was a little chilly at the summit--44 degrees and gusty winds.


It wasn't long until I realized we were in for a workout.  The trail was a 4.2 mile loop and the first two miles went down, down, down.

 
You'll notice that my assignment was to bring up the rear.  I like to take pictures, stop and smell the roses, and oh yes, breathe along the way.  As a result I bring up the rear and there isn't a single picture of me on this hike.

 
At ten thousand feet it's important to stop and breathe along the way.


We took our bear spray along because someone had been eaten by a grizzly in this area just a week before. 

 
After a while we got down below the tree line and it became very pretty.


Incredibly beautiful mountain meadows (and some of those flowers I like to smell).


Miss GiGi finally decided to wake up and she had so much fun.

 
She even stopped for a bite to eat along the way. 

 
Beautiful views along the way including Jackson Hole in the distance.

 
It was at this point that I knew breathing was going to become an even bigger issue.  What goes down must go back up to get back to the tram at the summit.  2.2 miles back up!  Had it been up to me I would have chosen to go the 5 miles back down the mountain rather than hiking 2.2 miles back to the summit, but I had to toughen up and follow the boys.

 
I got a lot of these looks while they were waiting for me to breathe.  What is really frustrating is that they would stop and wait for me so I'd make it my goal to get to where they were before I stopped.  But you know what?  Every time I caught up with them they started up before I got there.  Ugh!

 
This guy is such a great son-in-law.  He never once showed his frustration at having to wait for me.

 
At the end though he just left me and Irv behind and got the little lady into the shelter on the summit.


When we FINALLY got there he had hot chocolate and cookies waiting for us.  What a great guy!


After a few minutes it was time to load up on the tram and make our way down the mountain.   This was followed by a soak in our hot tub, a hot shower, and a long nap. 

I love vacations...especially vacations in the mountains!

Comments

Yogi♪♪♪ said…
What an adventure. The thing where the group waits and rests while you catch up and then they leave just before you get there so you can't rest is very familiar to me on some of the group trail runs that I go on. Yep I'm the guy they wait patiently on.

The whole bear thing about hiking in the Tetons makes me a little nervous.

Do you remember riding that tram when we were kids and visited Uncle Matt. I think we only went up once. It is the source of Uncle Bob's stories about the kid named Brock who left the binoculars up there and had to scramble and get them before the tram descended.

Anyways, it looks like you had a good time. Kudos to you for making it to the summit. I'm not sure I could.
August 30, 2015 at 8:43 AM
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