It Always Takes a Woman to Finish a Man’s Job

Day 8

Thursday, September 1, 2011

We were welcomed to the town of Jackson Hole with a Western shootout in the center of town, the hero of which was an Annie Oakley type who shouted, “Here in Jackson it always takes a woman to finish a man’s job!” It was quite a way to start this part of the trip. (Such a wise group of people here J).

Not knowing where we would stay when we arrived, we pulled into the Lexington at Jackson Hole and got a sweet deal as last minute arrivals. Sometimes there are benefits to flying by the seat of your pants. After checking in we wandered around town. This is probably one of the coolest little towns I have been to. It is 90% peopled by tourists but they play it up so well that it’s not tacky. Besides, we heard rumor that Ryan Reynolds and Sandra Bullock are in town and anything good enough for Ryan is good enough for me!

Yesterday we went Whitewater Rafting on the Snake River. The water was 58 degrees and it was 80 degrees outside but we managed to stay relatively warm. It was a thrilling trip and our river guide told us a lot about the river. Apparently the rapids have changed significantly in the last 6 months because of a landslide that occurred in the Spring. At one point I was convinced to play “Wheel of Fortune”…basically, they had me stand on the front edge of the raft and everyone else spun the boat in a circle and I had to keep from flipping off into the water. It seems I don’t have as much balance as I would like to think. We also caught a glimpse of a bald eagle in his natural habitat. I don’t know if it’s the American thing or not but that was definitely more exciting than seeing the bison and elk and certainly more exciting than the two snakes I met this week.

After rafting, we had lunch at the Bunnery which is a cute little restaurant and bakery (we got an extra cinnamon twist. Apparently it was because I’m cute ::blushing::). In the evening we went to dinner at the Sweetwater Restaurant where David ate Antelope. Dinner was followed by drinks at the Million Dollar Cowboy Bar. The bar stools are real saddles J. While enjoying a few drinks we were overtaken by a zombie invasion! Luckily since I have such a friendly disposition, I was able to convince them to spare us. That is a survival tactic they don’t tell you in the Zombie Survival Guide.

At present we are en route to Littleton, CO to see my Great Uncle and Aunt Dick and Rose Mustard. I haven’t seen them in years. The rest of the Denver Mustards I haven’t seen since our last family reunion when I was 9. Speaking of which, we should really do another one of those. We are having dinner with Dick, Rose and their kids (my dad’s cousins). I am looking forward to being shown around the Denver area by some genuine locals. The drive from Jackson Hole is just over 9 hours. The scenery is still nice but flattening out significantly. I am also beginning to think it is an under exaggeration when people say in Wyoming cows out number people 5 to 1...The past two towns we have gone through had populations of 100 and 75 respectively. I have easily seen 5 times that many cows (Oh and, one black and white smart car! A very rare find in these here parts).