Mountain States
Many of you may remember that I went to the Boise the week before last. After Boise we made our way up to Ketchum (ID) near the Sun Valley ski resort. Note, Sun Valley is not the same as Sun City. Now I/you have that song in my head.
What beautiful country (Sun Valley, that is).
Last I reported we were in Ketchum, which was just stupid pretty. For instance, we go out for breakfast and the street where the restaurant is just has these towering mountains at the end of it that kind of take your breath away (literally - it’s fairly high altitude).
For breakfast I had steamed eggs - doesn’t sound good, right? - and a ‘bowl of soul’ which is a hot chocolate + espresso. That sounds simple and I’m probably missing an element there. It was outstanding.
We sadly had to leave Ketchum and drive out to Jackon, WY. I don’t know how long that drive is. 4 hours? 5?
I don’t care. It’s crazy gorgeous out there.
Moon!
We first hit the Craters of the Moon National Monument. What in the world?! That place is nutso. You are driving through basically a lava field. Well, not “basically”. It is a lava field. Apart from the bright sun and paved road, it looks a lot like the moon or some far-off planet.
(are there planets that are not “far-off”? planets in general are pretty far. off.)
Then we were stopped by the police because we were scared of moon aliens and speeding through all those lava fields. He was a nice officer and was jokey and told us to slow down. We didn’t get a ticket (and I wasn’t driving). It reminded me of being a teen as that was the period of my life where I always seemed to be in cars that were being stopped by police.
Closer to Jackson, we wound our way through the curvy mountain roads above the Palisades Reservoir. So pretty.
We arrived in Jackson. My work colleague rented us a condo at a ski resort and since I was the guest I was given the large master suite. The bathroom was as big as my bathroom + kitchen + living room in NYC. It was grand and we had a fine time causing all sorts of mischief in Jackson.
Because of me, Jackson (WY) is a bit drunker. You're welcome.
Jackson is stupid pretty.
The mountains are so close and so tall. There are bike lanes and dedicated bike paths everywhere. I don’t ski (for religous reasons) but want to plan a trip back there to go hiking and bike riding (or hike biking). Gorgeous.
You have to keep an eye out for moose and bears.
The Airport!
Good lord. The airport.
Jackson is located in the Jackson Hole valley. That was confusing as I kept thinking the town was named Jackson Hole. It’s not. It’s Jackson. The valley is called Jackson Hole. Ms. Jackson Hole if you’re nasty.
The Jackson Hole airport is located about 15 minutes outside of town in the middle of the Grand Tetons national park. It is the only airport in a national park.
Good golly. The drive out there is gorgeous. We stopped on the road to the airport to take photos of the scenery (when was the last time you did that?). The airport itself has gorgeous views of the Grand Tetons. If you fly out, get a window seat on the right side of the plane to enjoy the view (although don’t get the emergency row exit as some of those have wonky windows that you have to crane your neck to look out of).