A/OK (Corral) in Jackson Hole

Today was just what we needed. The only time we spent in the car was the ten minutes it took to get to the ranch for our late afternoon horseback ride. Of course, we did spend two hours riding a horse, but at least that was a unique mode of transportation. Other than that, we enjoyed our hotel, which is in the heart of town, the great shops (where Maddie capitalized on her unfortunate elk incident by scoring a new pair of boots and a snazzy new sweatshirt), the fabulous restaurants and the wonderful art galleries.

The highlight of our mellow day in Jackson was the horseback ride, where we got to explore the spectacular surroundings from yet another vantage point. As we weaved through the mountain, climbing about 1000 feet up from the ranch, I was reminded of Clay's comment earlier today; it did seem that our little horsebacking crew (our family + a couple from Miami - insert small world comment here) was completely alone in the universe. We passed horses and houses (what a view they must have!), but we didn't pass another human being. Even in the town square of Jackson Hole tonight, we were virtually alone. Considering 3 million people reportedly travel to Yellowstone each year, I can only speculate how we have gotten so lucky. Regardless, it has added a tremendous sense of gravity to our experiences.

My favorite moment of the day was watching Daniel evolve into a cowboy riding a horse named Desperado and Maddie transform into a cowgirl riding Excalibur. They were both so enamored with the whole adventure that it made my legs and back ache just a bit less as my horse, Hawk, made his way up and down the sometimes precarious trail. Dana, who was riding Brown Dog (?!), provided comical observations throughout, which made the time pass as we navigated the less scenic parts of the trail between each jaw-dropping view. Below I'll post a few more photos of the kids and their horses, Maddie in her new boots, and the views along the way. Tomorrow, we will drive through Idaho and into Montana to enter Yellowstone from the west. Old Faithful is in our future, so, if all goes well (it is Old Faithful, for crying out loud), you can anticipate geyser photos in Sunday morning's blog.