It was a little out of the ordinary, though. The morning we woke up to drive to the airport in Charlotte, all Caleb did was open his mouth, and out came this seal-like sound. Uh-oh, Caleb's got the croup. We put him in a steamed up shower and he was feeling better almost immediately, but also had a little temperature. He slept most of the way to the airport, and on most of the flight out there. Caleb has had the croup before and it was not good. We thought oh, my goodness, what are we going to do. So the next day we woke up and it was the same thing all over again. So we headed to urgent care to see if there was any way they could make him feel better. They gave him an oral steroid and in no time he was feeling better. We were so thankful because of course we wanted him to have a good time, and he did!
Jackson is an interesting place. It has a population of about 9,000, and is a very over-educated town at that. You either have a second or third home in Jackson, are born there and never leave, or have visited there and never leave. The whole town is filled with college kids working the summers in the wonderful outdoors. The dishwasher at your favorite restaurant may very well have a PhD, and your local white-water rafting guide may have a degree from NYU. That's the way it is, you live there not for the big bucks you'll make, but for the beautiful scenery, the outdoor activities, and the laid back lifestyle. Me, I would live there because it's the cleanest place I believe I have ever been. Not so much as a cigarette butt on the ground. People do not smoke, in the west they're all about going "green." "Treehuggers" Greg and I like to call them. It's all about nature and wildlife out there, and you are just a mere visitor in their habitat. Greg has truly found where he would like to retire and live. It's such a mini melting pot. We met people from all over the country, even the world.
I always find it difficult to hunt for hotels on-line. They all sound great, don't they? Well, let me tell you, WE DID GOOD ON THIS ONE! We even got a discount too. The Rustic Inn sits on the edge of town, across from the most awesome Welcome Center ever, and across from the National Elk Refuge, and just a short walk downtown. It was perfect. They were the cutest little cabins ever. Breakfast was included. They called it continental, but it was the nicest buffet I've ever seen for breakfast.
The weather was 65 degrees the whole week, so it was nice. Our pool was lovely. It was heated, with a lovely view of the ski slopes behind us. Ski slopes are everywhere, and in the winter they give sleigh rides thru the Elk Refuge, amongst 22,000 Elk roaming around. I bet that's really cool to do. Maybe we'll try that one day.
Each day at 6:15 they had a cowboy shoot-out on the town square. The kids thought that it was awesome. At first they thought it was real, so I had to explain to them that it was just make believe. We did a scenic white-water tour down Snake River, which was beautiful, the nature/science exploration, where we saw tons of Bison, Elk, Pronghorn antelope, and a moose. It's a bird watcher's paradise out there. Birds I have never seen before. Isn't it funny some places you go is like another world. What's even more weird is the animals all roam around freely. It's nothing to see a family of Bison standing on the side of the road, or even crossing the street. Our chuck wagon adventure was really neat. We all loaded up in covered wagons and headed to the hills. The ride was beautiful, alongside a nice stream. The guy that started the chuck wagon adventure wanted people to see how it felt to live back in those times. Riding down a bumpy dirt road in a covered wagon, Indians watching you along the way and even coming for an attack. It was really fun. The funny thing was the wagons had shocks on them, rubber wheels, and padded seats. So it was a little modern, we'll call it. We arrived at our destination and had a wonderful BBQ dinner waiting for us, along with a little entertainment. The fiddle player got to talking to Laci and she told him that she played the fiddle, too, and when we arrived back at camp Laci got her fiddle out and they played some music together. Yes, Laci and Greg both brought their instruments with them. Boy, did we have a load at the airport ~ sheesh. But our nice little airline did not even charge us for extra baggage :) What a nice little present.
We did a lot of driving in the car, and I'm not sure which was worse, our little tikes sitting in the back seat arguing over literally nothing, or listening to their crazy, loud playing. I think between the altitude and our little dumplings we went thru a whole bottle of Advil that week. Mad Dog 20/20 would have served us much better, I'm quite sure. But all kidding aside (who's kidding, right?) they were quite the troopers, having gone thru two time zones and adjusting to an altitude of about 6,000 to 8,000 feet.
There was one night that Caleb was really tired so he and I decided to go back to the room and go to sleep. Greg and Laci were still raring to go so they headed downtown to see what was going on. They happened on to the square where they heard some people playing music. It was a group of college kids all playing music and singing and dancing, just having a good time. Turns out one of them worked at our hotel, and a bunch of them worked next door at the white-water rafting place. Laci ran and got her fiddle out of the car and played along with them. Or I should say they played along with her. Traditional music is a universal language, you know. They had a blast. They came back to the room and said, "You wouldn't believe what we got into tonight." I was scared to ask. Greg said they drew quite a crowd. Even a few cops stopped by and joined in the fun (not much crime going on in Jackson).
So we saw our newfound friends the next day and they told us about a place in Jackson where all the locals go. On Monday nights it's open mic at "The Hootenanny." We were leaving Tuesday, so Monday night we loaded up and went to The Hootenanny, or "The Hoot," as the locals call it. A chuck wagon dinner is served first. Huge black cast iron pots filled with wonderful food are cooked over an open fire. You buy a plate and fill it up, then watch the show. You had to sign up for the open mic when you got there because the festivities end promptly at 9:00 p.m.
So Greg and Laci decided they would sign up. They got there and got out their instruments to practice. Laci grabbed her fiddle and just left her case sitting there on the ground, wide open, as little six-year-olds do, and it was so funny, people just started putting money in it. She made enough money to buy her last meal of the day. It was a good thing, too, because funds were sure getting low for mom and dad on the last night of vacation.
But Laci and Greg were number 17 to play, and their time rolled around slowly but surely. You were allowed to play two songs, so by the time everyone played two songs, well, you get the picture. They walked into the tent when the person before them was finishing up, and low and behold Laci dropped her bow on the concrete floor and it broke in two. She was devastated. She started crying hysterically. I felt so bad for her. The lady behind us quickly handed us her bow and offered to let Laci use it. It was way too big for her, and her dad asked her if she still wanted to try, and she said yes. By the time she got up there, she was so flustered. Greg had to walk her through it step by step. And everyone was cheering so loud for her that she couldn't hear a word he was saying. Aside from missing a few notes, but recovering quickly, she did great. I don't know if I could have even gotten up there after all that, and she was using a bow that she had never even touched before! (You did a wonderful job, Laci). But I did video it, if you care to take a look-see.
Well, they were one of the last to play, and after it was over with, the owner of this fine establishment came up to Greg and said that Laci received the loudest "hoot" of the evening. I said to Greg, "Do you think maybe it had anything to do with our group of newfound college friends sitting in the back of the room hooten and a hollering?" Probably. The owner also said they had been doing the open mic for 30 years now and that Laci has been their youngest participant thus far. Wow, I was surprised, there's lots of little musicians out there, but what a great experience, huh? There's actually a documentary of The Jackson Hootenanny that's in the making that will be out some time this year. There was some really great talent there.
So the next morning we're all packed up and ready to go. We head for the car and load up the two kids and all of our stuff and a man walks by the car "You know you have a flat tire, don't you?" NO. So, Greg unloads the kids, all four suitcases, the guitar, the fiddle, and big bear. I felt so bad for him too. But we headed to the breakfast bar while he changed the flat and we made our flight just in time.
Next week I'll tell you all about awesome Yellowstone and share some pics with ya. If you haven't been, you've gotta go!
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