Cowboy up in Jackson Hole, WY

As much as Kim felt at home in Savannah, GA, I think I felt the same way about Jackson, WY. It's a charming cowboy town, with access to great skiing, the best national parks, fast moving water, rock climbing, fishing, horseback riding, and lots and lots of space. I know it's a little yuppie and has its own drawbacks (like Savannah), but I'm a tourist here and I'm looking past all of that for now.

The main square in Jackson has four enormous arches built entirely from elk antlers, one on each corner of the square.

We walked around on the brisk September night, dipping in a few of the gift shops, but spending most of our time in a shop that sold very expensive taxidermy. You could buy anything from a squirrel to a grizzly bear, and from a jackalope to a sasquatch!

It was getting late but we hadn't had dinner yet. We figured we could find both dinner and entertainment at a brightly lit board and batton pub on the square called, The Million Dollar Cowboy Bar.

Wow, did we have a great time! It's basically a pristine and clean take on The Broken Spoke in Austin, TX. A live country band played old classics and Kim and I did a bit of two-steppin'.

We sat on real saddles for barstools, and I had an elk burger while Kim munched on quesadillas.

We really had a nice time mixing with some of the locals and relaxing in a comfortable, old west sort of way. Also on display at the bar was a stuffed grizzly bear -- supposedly one of only two in existence to have ever been killed by a human with their bare hands. Wow.

Speaking of grizzly, my beard was getting a bit out of control, so I had to buy an electric razor and take it out :-)

We stayed at a decent little place called the Rawhide Motel, walking distance and right in the middle of it all.

I worked all day Friday from Pearl Street Bagel's in Jackson, and very happily called it a day when Tim and Linda showed up. I took all of next week off (my first real vacation of 2010), and we would kick off the week with 3 nights camping and 2 days rafting on the Snake River!

:-Dustin