The first view as I exited the aircraft was of the Tetons in full glory. I've never been to an airport situated like this... and it's been a loooong time since boarding and exiting were via stairs onto the tarmac!!
As some of you know, this January Mr. Brillig began working for a new company. It is and for most of its existence has been a fully-remote workplace. Once each spring the employees travel to San Francisco for a daylong all-hands meeting. Then late each summer, the employees plus a guest travel to... somewhere… for three days of work (ok, one four hour session) and socializing. The company founders want happy, engaged employees who feel valued and this is one of the ways they do so. This was Mr. Brillig’s first time participating and when we found it was in Jackson Hole Wyoming, we knew we wanted to go as neither of us had been there. Meeting new colleagues and seeing old ones who also transferred to this employer was a big lure; seeing a part of the country we knew to be spectacular was another.
So on Thursday 8/15 we flew to Jackson and took an Uber through Grand Teton National Park to our hotel in Teton Village, putting K2’s Saturday delivery to his first year of college in the capable hands of K1 and their partner. They had a fantastic time and it really brought them closer together. The only things Mr. Brillig and I knew were scheduled were (1) a “Black Tie Cowboy” dinner Friday night, a Saturday “Excursion” that we got to choose from a list (more on that later) and a Saturday night casual buffet dinner. Mr. Brillig and I also decided to stay until Tuesday so we could explore a little more on our own. Here’s a sampling of what we did:
On Friday morning I was still on East Coast time, so sunrise was easy! This picture from our hotel balcony captures the lower valley as the sun rose. Shortly after, I saw the herd of horses used for trail rides running from their overnight barn to the stable just left of center (you can see the white Connestoga Wagon covers at the edge of the stable) While Mr. Brillig went to his morning meeting, I soaked in the fresh air, had breakfast, and took advantage of the hotel spa room.
I don’t have photos of our Friday night Black Tie Cowboy event for reasons of privacy, as most of my photos contain his coworkers. Suffice it to say we all understood the assignment and had on a wide variety of western-themed attire, from silk vests and bolo ties to long black dresses and boots. We had a fantastic time and I had an It’s A Small World event! I posted on facebook some video of the band hired for the event. A friend commented “Hey, I think that’s my brother-in-law!” Sure enough, it was… and his son on piano, and his son’s Swedish girlfriend singing vocals. And then when my friend’s sister saw the videos, she confirmed and also said her daughter was one of the event staff and remembered talking to me (I’d say how many of us were there with blue hair but there actually were TWO of us!!).
Saturday morning bright and early we gathered for our chosen excursion… a two hour horseback ride into the mountains! Mr. Brillig and I love riding, and three of the other five people who chose this excursion had ridden before. Two were utter beginners and that made for a fun time watching them learn!!
This is Snickers. There are other horses, but this one is the best one (how could a horse bearing my late pup’s name NOT be best!) and was mine. She was a 22 year old sweet girl who spent two hours following Mr. Brillig’s horse Sam.
At first I thought Snickers was slow and plodding because she LOVED to hang back. We were the last horse in the line. But then I learned she simply liked to trot, and waited until there was enough space to do so. Smart girl!!
We went up into the mountains a ways, further than I’d ever been up on horseback, but when I went to look at my pictures it truly didn’t do it justice… it didn’t look as high up as we actually were! Trust me, it was a marvelous time.
We spent the afternoon at the pool with other work colleagues and guests, then went to a lovely casual buffet where we sampled a variety of foods and enjoyed the company founder’s wine knowledge… he brought MANY cases of his current favorites for us to enjoy! This is sunset from the event, looking out at the view from our table.
Sunday was the end of the company event, and the beginning of our own time. We checked out of the hotel, stored our bags, and did what we’d waited all weekend to do… get a ticket to take the tram to the top! The ride took 9 minutes, had a vertical ascension of over 4000 feet and when we exited the tram we were 10450 feet above sea level! We did what one is expected to do at the summit… got a waffle at Corbet’s Cabin. Although since keto waffles are hard to find in general and especially at the top of a mountain, I settled for a bite of Mr. Brillig’s!
See that peak way in the background? That’s Grand Teton, and while we were at the top of the ski resort mountain it went over the course of an hour from shrouded in clouds to clear. You cannot tell but I am on a platform extending out over the slope with a fantastic view of everything. I am somewhat scared of heights and am very proud I got myself out there with Mr. Brillig.
We got back to the base, got our luggage, and moved ourselves from Teton Village to the wonderful little town of Jackson. Spent the afternoon wandering around town, then had a fantastic dinner at Bin 22, a place we were told “many tourists don’t find” but which a high school classmate had raved about. We turned in early because the next day was our most exciting event… a sunrise wildlife tour of the area!! We expected it to be a van full of other tourists plus a guide, but at 6am we learned we were the only clients, and the guide was using the opportunity to bring a new guide to learn the ropes. So we essentially got a private tour and it was the most amazing time! The guide supplied binoculars, and also had a kickass scope with an attachment so he could take video and photos on his phone and airdrop them to us. We saw according to Mr. Brillig’s tally “2 bears, 1 coyote, 7 moose (including some mothers with young and one that crossed a path in front of us!), 8 elk, 1 bald eagle, 1 long tailed weasel and precisely a bazillion bison!
In that tallish set of foliage to the right of the water, just below the gaggle of people, is a moose. That lens in the right foreground is our guide’s and we saw the moose like it was in petting distance. This was at about 6:45am, just after sunrise.
Teewinot Mountain, sixth-highest Teton peak. We must have watched through our binoculars and scope for an hour, and saw SO many animals on that lower green part. Without a guide I never would have known what to look for!
Can you see what looks like a tiny black speck just to the left of that hill? That’s a bear as seen with my naked eyes. Next picture...
That’s the same bear through my guide’s scope. He was chowing down on all the berries in season!!
On our way back to Jackson, we passed this field full of bison. So. Many. Bison. Young and old, and we paid attention to all the National Park Service social media posts and did not try to pet the fluffy cows!
Mr. Brillig and I had our 32nd anniversary dinner at Jackson’s Blue Lion Restaurant. Mr. Brillig had the best elk we’d had all trip (we ate a LOT of elk), and I had the most sublime halibut ever… I’m on a mission to recreate it. I didn’t get a photo of the restaurant so please click through to the image I linked above, it was an adorable place.
Tuesday we flew back, and I felt a little sniffly. Wednesday I tested positive for covid, and finished my paxlovid yesterday (and am officially negative today). I took a gamble masking on the travel segments but not the vacation part, and lost. Mr. Brillig stayed negative, thankfully. Tomorrow we travel to visit K2 at college and bring everything he didn’t know he actually wanted, and attend parent orientation. We are officially empty nesters now!!
Have you been here, or to somewhere as breathtakingly scenic? Share pics or reminisce in words in the comments, after tonight’s Tops!!
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