Yark on the Sidewalk

July 6, 2002 – Layton, UT to Jackson, WY

Breakfast at the Fairfield Inn. They have Lucky Charms! Oh, what a delight for Aaron.

We drove north into Idaho and east into Wyoming. This was our first ride through free-range cattle country and, sure enough, there were cows near and in the road. We stopped just inside the Wyoming line for a bathroom break and snacks. While everyone else had cookies I had some awesome beef jerky.

From there it was north up US 89 through the Snake River Gorge and into Jackson. The road was all torn up for construction and traffic was slow, but who cared? It was so beautiful. We finally got to Jackson about 2:00 and were starved, so we ate at McDonalds, which was just about the first thing you come to when you come into town from the south. It was the last violation of the chain restaurant rule until we were on our way back to Salt Lake for the flight home.

We got checked into our hotel and walked around town a little. We saw the antler arches and had ice cream at a soda fountain. Then we went to the Saddle Rock Family Saloon where the kids got to sit on saddle bar stools like the Million Dollar Cowboy Bar. Delaney had a root beer and Aaron had a chocolate milk. After swigging at the saloon, we cut through a motel to get to our room and Aaron threw up his ice cream and chocolate milk on the sidewalk right in front of someone’s room. Chrissy told the lady in the office about it. She hosed it down and was very nice about it. Vomit isn’t something I am usually very nice about.

That night we went on the Bar-T-5 covered wagon ride and cookout. It rained while we were waiting for the wagons, but it stopped in time for the ride. It was a nice 3-4 mile ride back into the National Forest up Cache Creek Canyon in a line of covered wagons. The horses on our team were named Fred and Barney. Our driver was from Idaho and was working on his summer break from college. He seemed like he would be as excited about seeing Florida as I was about seeing Wyoming. I hope he got there.

As we looked out the back of the wagon we got our first good look at the Tetons. The dinner was good and the show was great. Dinner was chicken, beef, beans, salad, and so forth. The entertainment was a four-piece band: fiddle, mandolin, guitar, and upright bass. They played some old western songs, some original stuff, and mixed in a lot of humor – especially with the audience participation sound effects on “She’ll Be Coming ‘Round the Mountain”. The ride back was into the sunset over the Tetons. A great end to a great day.