Jackson, WY

Jackson, WY is a small mountain town that's popular for skiing and is right near Grand Teton National Park. Although, I suppose small is relative - it was the biggest town we had been through in days! A lot of people stay in Jackson when visiting the Tetons, but since we had a free place to stay in Dubois we ended up spending only a couple hours in Jackson.

After an awesome lunch at Lotus Cafe (we loved their pho!) we went for a little walk through downtown. The wooden storefronts were perfectly western-looking... the police officers on horseback and local cowboys just added to the charm.

We only went inside a few of the shops but it was easy to tell there are some amazing interior design shops (so. many. antlers. It's clear this region loved antlers long before they were trendy!) and clothing boutiques in town (we even spotted a generous amount of fur clothing, which must be popular for the cold winters). And the shop owners/workers were all as sweet as could be.

After our brief downtown exploration it was time to hit the road, but not before we picked up coffees to go from Jackson Hole Coffee Roasters. Our stop in Jackson was a quick one, for sure. Maybe a return trip is in order?

-Amanda

Want to know more about Jackson? Check out Meagan's blog (she even has a page that lists other local bloggers).

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Dubois, WY

Ummm, this is going to be a long one! There's a lot of story telling to be done...

After leaving Yellowstone we headed to Dubois, WY, a charming little town located a bit east of the Moran entrance to Grand Teton National Park (check out the map below for reference). During the couple days we stayed in Dubois we did the easy drive back and forth to the Park, enduring some serious construction and, more importantly, spectacular views.

We ended up in Dubois because Taras's old colleague had said that when we got to the area, if no one was renting his family's vacation cabin, we could stay there. It was the sweetest offer and we didn't hesitate taking him up on it (a whole house to ourselves after many hotel and campground stays, yesss!). The cabin was beautiful and exactly what you'd want out of a vacation house in the mountains, complete with deer meandering through the yard. Our favorite part was the directions we were given, "drive a few miles up the dirt road and you're close after you've passed the second cattle guard." I mean, awesome, right? We were well secluded and had a beautiful view. We spent evenings on the deck drinking local beer as the sun set and mornings lingering over coffee in the extremely fresh air. The first night we arrived I definitely cried some happy tears - it was hard to not get overtaken with emotion when thinking about how blessed we were, not only to be on this trip, but to have someone be so kind and let us use their house. You can find the VRBO listing for the cabin here.

We quickly fell in love with Dubois. The downtown has a few restaurants (we had an amazing dinner at Nostalgia Bistro and met the chef/owner who is awesome - he wears kilts and taught us that you pronounce the "s" in "Dubois") and a couple coffee shops, all set in a traditional western backdrop. The town's location makes it a great spot for outdoor adventuring and the owner of the local excursion shop is super nice.

Maybe the best part about Dubois is that they host a regular Friday night rodeo in the summer. I've been to many rodeos in my day (I hail from the Horse Capital of the World, after all) but it was Taras's first rodeo experience! We  manged to get him semi-cowboy looking with a borrowed hat from the cabin... all he needed were some Justin boots and tight Wrangler jeans and my high school self would have been in heaven. :) Anyway, back to the rodeo, Taras had a blast. He had himself some strawberry-rhubarb cobbler that was cooked in a giant cast iron skillet and decided his favorite rodeo events were Rope-n-Ribbon (three cowboys chase a calf on foot and must remove the rope from its neck and a ribbon from its tail) and Mutton Bustin' (and the cobber. That's an event, right?)

Whew. Thanks for sticking with me through this one!

-Amanda

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Beartooth Highway | Part 2 (plus a video!)

If you missed it, find Part 1 of Beartooth Highway here!

The second half of the drive was the most stunning, I think.  As we drove up to near 11,000 elevation, there were gorgeous mountain views and a lot of snow still sticking to the ground. Taras said parts of the drive reminded him of the beauty of Switzerland, and then I told him he needs to take me there so I can compare. :)

I honestly don't think these photos give justice to the beauty of the drive - you just have to go see it for yourselves!

-Amanda

This video doesn't do much for showing off the gorgeous drive... but you get to listen to us ramble! Yay!

Beartooth Highway | Part 1

Thank goodness we had the drive through Bighorn National Forest under our belts before making it to Beartooth Highway.  This scenic drive is on the Montana-Wyoming border and has been called the most beautiful drive in America. The trip up to the 10,947 ft high Beartooth Pass is both stunning and terrifying.

The switchbacks are intense and every time I looked over at Taras he seemed to be taking in the sights instead of looking at the ROAD. I was terrified and cried at least once. But do not let my words deter you! It is a beautiful drive, and so worth it. And, bonus, I was a professional car passenger by the end of that day and well-prepared for all the mountain drives that came later in our travels.

Enjoy part one of these photos - tomorrow we'll be back with the second half of the drive (when we reached the snow!).

-Amanda

Note: The pass is not open year round due to snow, but is generally open from May through October. The route is about 70 miles and took us a couple hours to drive. There are pull out spots along the way and one rest stop with bathrooms (and giant, friendly squirrels waiting to be fed).