wyoming with wes

i want to move to the mountains.  not during the winter, mind you.  i want to move to the beach during the winter.  but during the summer, wyoming has to be my very favorite place, and i want to live there.  i'll take mississippi during the other six months of the year.  can we make that happen somehow?  i'm pretty sure that wes would move with me!  we took wes (just wes) to wyoming to play for a week, and just like his mama....he's a fan! 

ready to get in the air and be on our way!

his main objective while out west was to see a moose!  he spotted some "big animals" in the airport and at the lodge.  they brought a smile, but he was still waiting on the real thing!

he loved the bears.  "take my picture, mama!" 

he got his first real peek of the tetons the next morning on the way to hike.  we stopped at the first turnout to let him get a good view!

then we made our way to jenny lake.  we took the shuttle boat across to hike up to inspiration point and into cascade canyon. 

wes was like a little monkey on the trails.  nothing could stop him!

taking a rest at the bottom of hidden falls...

on the way UP...

inspiration point...

rest time before making our way into cascade canyon...

i had to fight this little guy off several times to keep him from running up my leg.

back on the trails...

we were going to do another hike in the afternoon, but we weren't sure that wes' legs could handle it.  so instead we decided to make our way down the snake river.  i think he appreciated the break from hiking because he said that this was one of his favorites on this trip!

ready to roll...

we saw lots of animals on the way down the river.  i couldn't get good pics with my phone, but wes' favorite was the beavers.  one even followed us for a little while, playing and spinning behind us!  we saw 4 eagles, and i managed to get a pretty decent pic of this bald eagle watching over his nest in the next tree!

one morning, we decided to do the ropes course in teton village.  this was my first experience on a ropes course, and let me just say that i finally found something where having orangutan arms comes in handy!!  ha!  we had to pass "ground school" where you learn how to click and unclick and move from one section to another.  wes got the hang of it quickly, and we were off.  he liked the double black diamond course the best, and we were both a little sore the following day after doing it several times!

we rode the tram up to the top of rendezvous mountain.  we didn't stay too terribly long because it was a little chilly up there in shorts!!

but, today was the big day.  wes finally got to see his moose!  she was walking around and hanging out in the water.  he was a happy kid!

we went on a bike tour while we were there also.  it was about 10 miles, and i thought we were going to lose wes when we had to make a final push up a big hill.  but he made it in one piece! 

we stopped to check out the moulton barn on mormon row.  this is the most photographed barn in america.  it's easy to see why!

this is the flat stretch at the end!  those legs had taken about all they could take!

we went into jackson one day to walk around and eat lunch.  wes got his obligatory picture under the antler arch, and he saw another moose!

we went on another hike near string and leigh lakes.  wes was determined to swim when we came to an opening out into string lake.  but, once he got about knee deep in that cold, mountain water he changed his mind rather quickly!! 

so we decided to go canoeing instead so we could still be on the water.....but dry!

wes was like a magnet to any creek or water of any sort.  if he wasn't in it, he was skipping rocks or trying to figure out how to get in as much as possible without freezing to death!

keeping with his water theme, one morning all he wanted to do was to go down to the snake river to play.  i almost stepped on a snake, but we didn't let that stop us.  chase reminded me that grand teton national park has no venomous snakes or spiders, so it would only hurt if it bit me...not kill me.  fabulous!

our last hike was death canyon.  wes wasn't scared!

we made it up to the overlook at phelps lake.  it's a beautiful spot to stop and rest. 

the last night we were there, a girl from the teton raptor center came and had a little show in teton village.  it was very entertaining (and that is saying a lot because i despise birds)! but we got to see a baby bald eagle, some sort of falcon, and two really cute owls! 

chase always says that i never let him vacate while on vacation.  i believe that you can sleep when you get home, so you should go and do as much as you can while you are gone!  i'm not going to change, so i guess we'll have to work on wes' endurance before we go back!  or either he'll have to get used to catching a nap in the backseat!  :)

and that's a wrap.  thanks for the fabulous time, tetons!  i hope we will see you again sooner rather than later!