Spending the Weekend in Jackson & Grand Teton National Park

Honestly, I wish I had taken more photos, but only for the blog. Whenever I go on trips, I try to immerse myself as much as possible. I often take photos on these trips because, well, that’s the best way for me to remember these trips! Then, there are these random trips like this, where I have 18 total photos I can share with you, and some of them might not even make the blog.

Rats.

I suppose we’ll make the best of this blog, I’ll share what I can, and, when I can, I’ll make an update t this blog or write a whole new blog!

The funny thing about this trip is that it was largely unplanned. I had rough ideas for what I wanted to do, but those never seem to go according to plan, especially when your plan involves going north in mid-May. The weather may not play out for you, and, well, that’s exactly what happened for my birthday weekend from May 20th to May 22nd.

I had planned to stay somewhere in Idaho with the intention of paddle boarding all weekend at Blackfoot Reservoir, and perhaps going to the nearby junction of Alpine, Wyoming, for dinner. As it turned out, the weather took us for a turn…which lead to us driving further north to the mountain town of Jackson and Grand Teton National Park!

Yeeeup! Mercedes and I abandoned our Idaho plans and headed for Wyoming! I know it looks pretty sunny in that photo above, but the weather was a little iffy for most of the trip. Notice how I’m wearing pants and a long-sleeve flannel. If you know me at all, you’d know I’d be in shorts and a t-shirt at all times!

We started driving through Idaho and got to Alpine, Wyoming, stopping to get coffee at Rivers Coffee Company. It was delicious! I got a mocha and Mercedes got a latte. We both liked our drinks, and headed on down one of my favorite canyons. The route from Alpine to Jackson is just breathtaking. You’ll follow U.S. Highway 89, which rides alongside the beautiful Snake River. It’s one of the reasons I absolutely love driving to Grand Tetons!

We got to Jackson in good time and knew we had to try the coffee. Did we already have coffee on the road? Yes. Did we want more? Of course! We stopped in at a cute little shop called Cowboy Coffee Co, and let me tell you, it was fantastic! It was so good we stopped here for day wo of our trip! I got a Mexican mocha and honey badger, and Mercedes got a caramel latte and caramel cappuccino each time we went. They were both spectacular! I really wish I had photos to share with you all…I need to get my ‘lifestyle photographer’ game on!

We strutted along downtown on the main drag and explored the gift shops, the stores, and a whole “antler festival” going on! Yeah, you read that write. Certain parts of the main square at Jackson had been shut down due to antler sales. There was even an auction hosted by the Jackson Boy Scouts of America where some huge antlers were going for big money! We watched it for a little while as I’d never seen an auction before. It was so cool! I tried on some hats, took a photo with a fake bison and walked through thousands of elk, moose, deer, and antelope antlers. It was honestly awesome! And again, I’m so sorry for not taking a single photo of this event. They only held it on May 21st, which made it even worse since I couldn’t get photos the next day!

From Jackson, we decided to head into the park for some sightseeing. Clouds rolled in and out, and we even got snowfall during our lunch. We ate it in the car because it was quite cold outside and we hadn’t really prepared warm clothes for SNOW! I mean, we hadn’t quite prepped to be in the Tetons anyways, so that’s on us! The clouds parted and the snow faded (on both days, actually), and we were able to view wildlife of all sorts. We saw loads of bison in the typical ‘bison field’, a lone moose, loads of deer and antelope, and thought we caught glimpse of an elk, although we’re unsure. We stopped by the ever-impressive Snake River and I grabbed some shots.

On our second day, we made a pit stop at Signal Mountain Lodge, grabbed a sick hat and some jewelry, and also some of the best coffee I’ve ever had in a National Park. It’s located at the Signal Mountain Lodge General Store, and is just a small little “coffee shop” nestled in the store. It’s definitely worth the money if you need a mid-afternoon coffee fix! You can read my review of the coffee shop right here! I’ll apologize once again…I wish I took photos! Argh!

Both days, we made stops at Jenny Lake, hoping to catch the Tetons in full glory. Instead, we were met with low clouds and mid-strength winds. It was really pretty seeing the moody mountains behind the gray lake. I’ve never really seen the mountains like this before! Looking back, I’m definitely glad the Tetons were cloudy; it gave me a new perspective! We took little walks in the park and made this trip mostly a driving trip The crowds were minimal, the weather was cool, and the scenery was beautiful. It was just a fantastic trip!

On Saturday night, we headed into Jackson for a lovely dinner at Silver Dollar Bar & Grill. The entrees there were absolutely spectacular! I ordered a bison filet mignon with smoked trout, potatoes and asparagus, and Mercedes ordered half a chicken with potatoes and green beans. I also had a bison chili appetizer and a glass of Malbec wine, all of which were spectacular. If you’re looking for a romantic night out with your partner, Silver Dollar did us well!

Once Sunday came around, it was time to make the long trip back to Utah. We always stink at leaving on time, and came back home really late. It was a good, exhausting trip, knocking things off the list that wouldn’t normally happen. I do want to make a whole Jackson blog at some point because it’s so easy to spend a whole day or weekend exploring this beautiful town in spring and summer. There’s events year-round, and lots of things to do on the weekends. They have a whole summer concert series starting from July 3rd lasting until August 27th! If you can make it at any point during the 8-week festival, you should definitely try! I’ll do my best to make it there, that’s for sure!

That’ll be all from me for this one. If you’re interested in hiking in Grand Teton, check out my hikes on Jenny Lake and the Bradley & Taggart lakes loop! You should also stop by the historic Mormon Row cabin if you have the chance. Totally worth it!

Until next time!

Parting shot:

Next blog: Waterfalls. You ready for some snowmelt!?