Thayne, Wyoming: The weather seemed to want to improve a bit this morning, so we all piled in the Honda and DT drove us one hour north to Jackson for lunch and a walk around the town square. As promised, I took photos of Mom - under an arch made of (naturally shed, of course) elk antlers.
Gene and Mom in the town square - Jackson, Wyoming
Mom with her #3 (of four) son
And the obligatory photo
Just for fun... here we are in Jackson in 2010
And way back in 2003We went to a new place on the square, Local, a restaurant and bar that specializes in locally-raised game - elk and bison. Y'all I know I just eat this stuff up (pun intended) and love all this sustainable ranching hoopla.
Mom had the bison burger. It was massive! She didn't touch the bun, but really enjoyed the burger. DT ordered a pasta dish (duh) with house-made elk sausage (below, left)), while I had steak frites... with a buffalo skirt steak. Gene ordered fish & chips. Delicious, but way too much food. I was smart enough to put a cooler with ice in the back of the car, knowing we rarely finish a restaurant meal - leftovers for lunch tomorrow.
After lunch we strolled around the town square, did a little shopping and I took more photos of pretty Jackson, Wyoming.
Downtown Jackson is just steps away from a ski slope in winter... which becomes a popular hiking trail in summer.
Most every sidewalk in downtown is covered - protecting from snow in the winter and providing shade in the summer. Jackson is just the quaintest little town. The weather started to look threatening, Mom was tired and we had an hour drive back to Thayne.Later in the evening, Gene took us to Afton to try a new Chinese restaurant. A Chinese restaurant in this neck of the woods is absolutely a rarity, but a Chinese family from Los Angeles has arrived to serve up Chinese and Thai foods to the local cowboys. The restaurant is housed in an old steak house/saloon/liquor store in a predominately Mormon community and may survive solely by the fact they are the only business in the entire town open on Sunday - and they have a liquor license. The food wasn't bad - though this is the first time we had seen zucchini in Kung Pao Chicken - and it was definitely the first time we had been in a Chinese restaurant with stuffed moose and elk heads on the wall (left over from when the joint was a steak house, no doubt).
Kung Pao Moose?We had a super good time at the restaurant tonight. We were joined by Gene's daughter, Cheryl, and she had a few good stories to entertain us. Cheryl was interested in our life in Asia and we were interested in her life training horses and hiking in the mountains behind her ranch. (Cheryl and DT grew up in Merced, California as kids and went to the same high school.) It was great to get to know her better.
One interesting part of living at 6500 feet? The daffodils are still blooming and the tulips are just popping out of the ground!Until my next update, I remain, your gamey correspondent.
RV PARK: Star Valley Ranch Resort - hundreds of sites for rent or sale. Seasonal. Pool, activities, golf course, clubhouse, free wifi. We have a long gravel pull-through with full-hookups and 50 amp service. Cable TV. We are paying $30 per night.