Jackson Hole: Part 2

We spent our second full day in Jackson Hole doing a float trip on the Snake River. (Andy recapped here if you want to read his version.) 

The weather could not have been any nicer, and we had a great day on the water. Andy and I both caught a number of fish, but we also just enjoyed the beautiful scenery around us.

I think Mom and Dad had fun in their boat too...and managed not to hook each other.

Mark Fuller was our guide, which was a lot of fun for us because he is actually who guided us 5 years ago when we got engaged in Jackson Hole. 

We floated the same stretch of the river that we floated 5 years ago. On that trip, Mom took this picture:

Look familiar? It is the header on Mark's webpage if you clicked on it! And just a few fun other pictures from our first Jackson Hole trip:

Hmmm....which fly should I pick? 

Jackson Hole: Part 1

It has been a while since I blogged (to say the least), and really I have no excuses. I found some inspiration though in our recent Jackson Hole trip with my parents - it was just too fun not to share! Andy's amazing pictures don't hurt either...

Backing up a bit, we actually started our vacation in Dallas for the Alabama vs Michigan game. While I really think Dallas may be one of the hottest places in the world, we had a great time! Unfortunately I neglected to take a single photo, but Mom managed to take this quick one on her phone inside Jerry's World (aka Cowboy Stadium). We are looking a little worse for the wear here I think as we were still trying to cool off (but thankful to be inside!).

Alabama's decisive win was of course the highlight of the night, but seeing the stadium was certainly an experience. The screen really was unbelievable big and clear, and we really had to pull ourselves away from watching the screen to focus on the field.

My other favorite Dallas pick - the Katy Trail Ice House. If you are in Dallas, it is definitely worth checking out! The Katy Trail is a running/biking trail, and the Ice House is a bar/restaurant that is right on the trail. It would be a really fun place to watch a game!

Sunday morning after the game, we flew out of Dallas to Jackson Hole. The cool weather when we got off the plane in Jackson was just what we needed! We stopped for lunch at the Lotus Cafe in Jackson on our way into town. While it might have been a little out there for the guys (think lots of vegan options), I really enjoyed it and the lighter fare was just what I needed after the meat and potatoes of Dallas!

We stocked up on groceries at the Jackson Whole Grocer after lunch on our way to check into our condo in Teton Village. We spent the afternoon getting settled and exploring the village before grilling buffalo steaks for dinner. Yum! Then it was early to bed so we could get up early to drive to Yellowstone.

My parents and Andy were kind enough to make the trek up to Yellowstone with me since I had never been. I felt like seeing Old Faithful was just one of those things I needed to do in life. It did not disappoint! Really seeing all of the different geysers and paint pots was pretty amazing.

Andy took some great pictures, but seeing the geysers in person is really a must do! They are so different from anything else I have ever seen.

After seeing Old Faithful erupt twice and walking through the main geyser trail, we found a spot to eat our picnic lunch in the park that we had picked up at Dornan's that morning.

After re-fueling we set out for a hike, that turned out to be a little more exciting than we had anticipated. It started off quietly enough alongside this pretty little creek...

We saw this sign at the trailhead but didn't think too much about it...

That is until we ran into these guys in the middle of the trail...

There were 3 LARGE buffalo just hanging out in the middle of the trail. We all got a kick out of them rolling around in the dirt, and apparently we also were a little distracted and managed to miss our turn in the trail. Sooo an hour or so later we realized that we didn't seem to be on the correct trail anymore. Luckily the guys had a good enough sense of direction to help us blaze our own trial back to our car!

After a full day in Yellowstone, we were exhausted by the time we made it back to Teton Village that night. We finished the day off with dinner at Teton Thai. It was the perfect finish to the first day!

More to come....

Sunday Salads

First of all, a big thanks to my guest blogger for keeping a little bit of new content on here while I have been in a bit of a blogging rut. I'm trying to get re-inspired though and hope to manage a few posts over the coming weeks for the few of you still reading.

Moving on...as a creature of habit and schedule, I am almost always make my menu for the week and go to the grocery store on Sunday afternoon. If I don't get my grocery run in, it typically means we will be eating out every night as there just doesn't seem to be time to during the week. So a few weeks ago, I was trying to come up with something to make for Sunday dinner before I headed to the store, and Andy suggested a salad. We always seem to eat more (and heavier) food over the weekend so by the time Sunday night comes around a light salad sounded perfect - especially since it has gotten so hot outside!

Thus began our new routine of having "Sunday Salads" for dinner. Here are two of our recent creations...

Paneed Chicken over Spinach Pasta Salad

For the chicken, I simply pounded a few chicken tenders until they were thin and then sprinkled with salt and pepper. For the breading, I first dipped the chicken in a mixture of egg and dijon mustard then coated with an even mixture of bread crumbs and grated parmesan cheese. I let the chicken sit for 10 minutes in order for the coating to stick then just cooked for a few minutes on each side in some olive oil in a non-stick saute pan.

The "salad" part is a mixture of spinach, red bell pepper, cherry tomatoes, mini bowtie pasta, and parmesan cheese tossed in some garlic and red pepper infused olive oil and a little bit of red wine vinegar.

Maybe the famous guest blogger will share is Pimms Cup recipe with you later!

Seared Tuna Salad

For the tuna, I coated both sides of the fish with sesame seeds then cooked in canola oil for just a minute or two on each side since both like it rare. The salad was yellow cherry tomatoes, mandarin oranges, green onions and yellow bell peppers on butter lettuce.

Tonight I have some salmon in the fridge, so planning on coming up with a fun new salad using it which will hopefully be perfect for this miserably hot summer day!

1st Degree Crepe Murder, pre-meditated

There has been reported a serious thinning out of the crepe myrtles in the front yard of a Manhattan Street home.

Dismembered bodies of the crepe myrtles were discovered in a pile of rubbish on a nearby back alley.

Local authorities believe that, in a greedy thirst for sun, the front lawn was an accomplice in this act.

The only clues were a distant cry and leftover silhouette of a Howler monkey.

Stay tuned as this investigation continues.

Better late than never?

Is there a point at which it's too late to plant a garden? Yeah, we didn't think so either. We planted about the same time last year and were getting veggies well into October, so maybe we're onto something even if we did miss the so called "planting season". (never mind that we first started picking those veggies in September)

Fresh crop of tomatoes, peppers, cucumber, and a few herbs (that one on the front left is my pet Tabasco pepper plant). Our fingers are crossed they make it to next week! My fingers are also crossed that once these things are big enough to eat, Carolyn will get back to posting her awesome meals on her blog too.

Oh, and check out the progress on the new fence. About 70 more boards to go.