Jackson Hole Wyoming

Jackson Hole 2008

We took our annual vacation to Jackson Hole Wyoming in August. To say the least after our very long summer it was a much needed break. It is amazing to me, that as many times as we have been here on vacation, it just doesn't get old. Even after doing the same thing year after year, it seems to rejuvinate our lives. I think this year I came away from Jackson with an increased desire to look at the simple manifestations of God's hand in this life, and to not allow the confusion or the complication of each day to dictate weather or not I can accept his involvment in my own life. To explain how this is wrapped up into our vacation. We went to the Bar J corral one night and heard some true cowboys sing old western songs while we ate a chuck wagon dinner. It seemed for whatever reason that a good number of their songs spoke of God. I remember commenting to Jen that night that it was amazing that in today's world there was still the ability to not over complicate the existence of a supreme being that is directly involved in our lives. I was very impressed with how simple living with this faith can be, if we just make time for it. But, enough with the Sunday sermon and back to the vacation. We hiked both hidden falls and string lake in Grand Teton national park. The hikes were not too demanding. Noah was able to accomplish both of them on his own with the help of a hiking stick that grandpa made for him, and with a little help from being carried on daddy's shoulders. We also found ourselves taking alot of walks through town, looking through the local stores. We have also made it a tradition of ours to see a movie each year while in Jackson. Some of the movies we have now seen there include, The Village (OVER-RATED), The skeleton key (scary), The Borne ultimatum (awesome) and this year we saw Batman (very good). Aside from all this the only other major activity was going rafting down the snake river. We had not planned on doing this, but Dean was a last minute cancelation and didn't want to lose the money he had paid into it. He approached us and asked if we would like to go instead of him and Joanne. We accepted and I'm glad that we were able to do this. It was alot of fun. The water was so cold, and during the "mellow mile" our tour guide invited those of us who would like to jump in to do so. After some discussion, Andrew and I decided to go for it! We were only in the water for a few seconds before we were begging to be pulled back into the raft. Andrew was pulled in first, and then turned around to help me. After making sure that I was in and safely sitting, Andrew (being the funny guy he is) pushed me in again. Whatever energy I had preserved by the first swim was completely exhausted by having been pushed back in to the freezing water. Everyone got a good laugh as I was pulled back in, I slid across the bottow of the raft like a fat seal on ice. I think that the family would agree, we had a good time. We were given a good chance to spend quality time together, and to enjoy the beautiful landscape of northern Wyoming.