America's Wonderland - Jackson

I'm sorry it's been so long!  A and I have been using the little bit of time we have together to enjoy the end of summer in Chicago.  But now, A working nights = time to edit pictures or blog.  :)

Our next activity was one of our craziest... waking up nice and early to go whitewater rafting on a 55-degree river.  Talk about a wake-up call!  We were lucky to get free wet-suit coupons from our hotel, and Dave Hansen gave us splash pants and jackets.  Normally I would say that's for wimps, but it was chilly!  (Proof: It snowed that night!)  We opted for an 8-man raft instead of the standard 16-man most companies run on the Snake.  This way we were guaranteed to row and get into the action.  Our guide, B-Rad, was hilarious, telling stories that all ended with dynamite.  The best rapids were Lunch Counter and Champagne Falls.  The rafting company was nice and gave us a sack lunch since we were with a huge group who paid for a combo trip.

After drying off and warming up, we wandered around Jackson just checking it out.  Jackson's not very big.

And it looks like a movie set in a Western.  Property and houses are surprisingly expensive.

They have a town square where there are four arches made from antlers.  They're quite famous.

Keeping with the theme, they have a stagecoach which will drive you around the town.

Each weeknight there is a shoot-out in Town Square.  Buffalo Bill Cody himself makes an appearance!  They use blanks, obviously, but they are surprisingly loud.

To really get into it, watch the video:

It rained off and on all day, so we popped in and out of different specialty shops.  For such a small town, there are a ton of art galleries and niche stores.  One store had all kinds of fossils, including what they claimed to be an authentic dinosaur head.  One shop we really liked had all kinds of specialty oils and vinegars, along with spice combinations and homemade liqueurs.  Good thing it's not in Chicago - we'd spend all our money there!

There was a ton of carved wood, cowboy boots, and custom ten-gallon hats.

We also saw a good number of stuffed animals, including some very fun squirrels.

The best find of the day, however, was an awesome fence made of skis.

That night we followed many of the locals and went to the Jackson Hole Rodeo.  Hours of bull riding, calf roping and barrel racing.  One barrel racer was only six years old!

Look at how this calf was horizontal in the air!

Something I almost forgot... a few things you don't usually see in your local drugstore - guns and stuffed animal heads.

Coming up: We head to the most famous site in Yellowstone!