We left Dubois this morning after a later than usual wake-up call. Actually, the wake-up call was the friendly MTA staff handing out “deluxe” and “regular” breakfasts in bed. There was a lot of excitement as the boys were delivered their breakfasts. They were laughing and smiling; so were the leaders. Deluxe meant it was more of a civil delivery whereas the regular breakfast was more of a “catch this” method of delivery. Boys earned the deluxe breakfast by entering the third contest of the season.
After room inspections (we do this after every stay) we packed the luggage and loaded the vans and headed back toward Jackson.
Our first stops were just a minute down the road. We had to experience the MTA tradition of taking photos of the boys (well, all but one) riding one of the famous Wyoming jackalopes. A jackalope, in case you haven’t heard of this, is a cross between a jack rabbit and an antelope. The boys actually enjoyed this chance to pose! The next stop was next door as the kids posed for a group photo in front of the world’s largest bison skull. We were having a lucky day finding these famous roadside attractions.
We pulled out of Dubois and headed toward Jackson. We went adjacent to a forest fire that has been burning for several weeks. The boys were fascinated with all the activity including seeing two large helicopters dipping water out of the Wind River.
The drive to Jackson was absolutely stunning. Virtually all of it was wilderness with incredible views of the mountains. We stopped twice for photo ops – one of a view of the Grand Teton National Park and another of the Park with the Snake River in the foreground. We made one more stop at the Grand Teton National Park visitor center to get passports stamped before continuing into Jackson.
We checked into our hotel after lunch and the boys had swim and hot tub time before it was time to load up for our evening activity – a visit to the Bar J Ranch. The Bar J is a working cattle ranch that serves an authentic cattle drive kind of dinner. This place has been a favorite of MTA since our very first days and we enjoy coming here with each trip to Wyoming. The Bar J serves up beef and ribs and can rustle up a mangy chicken for those who want that. The place serves hundreds in an orderly fashion that would amaze you. The cowboys who are checking you off as you arrive, will also be seen serving food, and when the plates are cleared from the tables…they are the entertainment! Five of the cowboys are “singing cowboys” and they put on one fantastic show including cowboy music, cowboy poetry, and cowboy humor. They sing in three-part harmony, yodel, tell jokes, and more. You might not think a bunch of 12-15 year olds would like this, but they loved it!
And that’s the end of another amazing day.
Click to see photos from today's activities:
www.flickr.com/photos/mindstretch/albums/72157670622635861