10 Year Trip: Monday and Tuesday

When we started looking into our 10 year anniversary trip, we knew we wanted two things: the luxury of time together and some sort of adventure.  We wanted to wake up late, sip coffee slowly, and to know that we had plenty more days together to do more of the same.

We had talked about it, and although I am a beach girl to my core, we agreed that most of our trips are to beaches, and even though it pains me to admit this... yes, beaches are all sort of the same.  So we changed gears a bit and started dreaming up an adventure to take on.  

5 days in Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming was an exact fit for our big travelling dreams.

On Monday, we got up incredibly early to catch a flight to Jackson Hole, WY.  By 9:30 am, we had landed and were deplaning right at the foot of the Tetons.  Beauty.

Our adventure started without  much planning and with very little expectation.  We think of luxury differently now than we did before three children: now, luxury means spur-of-the-moment decisions, freedom to eat at any pace we desire, doing things as they come to mind or as the opportunity arises.  And so we drove down a road until we found a Trail Head for Taggart Lake.  "Sure," we thought, "Why not?"

Not more than an hour off the plane, and we found ourselves here:

 It was magnificent.  Something like 4 miles of incredible scenery and breathtaking views.

 On the trail, sometimes we couldn’t walk side by side.  At those times, Jordan clipped along at a comfortable pace, just ahead of me.  Watching him, leading me on a beautiful mountain trail, felt like the analogy of our marriage.  Sometimes on the trail, and sometimes in life, I was tentative and nervous, but I trusted that he knows what he’s doing and that he’ll lead me well.  At other points in the hike, I felt really light-hearted, full of energy, and ready to take on the world as his partner in crime.  No matter what my feeling while on the trail, and no matter what my feeling while walking through life, one thing has remained: my steadfast trust in the man Jordan is, the man he’s becoming, and the love and leadership he’s committed to on our family’s behalf.

My leader

 It seemed that God was smiling upon us the whole day: an easy flight, really good coffee, beautiful weather and an almost-empty hiking trail… and it occurred to me, that our entire life is God smiling down on us and giving us His love in tangible form.  The girls, our home, Jordan’s job, our church and precious friends and having such a healthy, incredibly supportive family so close by… no matter where we go, no matter what we are doing, we can’t escape the infinite affections and extravagant love of our God.

  

 After our hike, we stopped to eat lunch in Jackson, WY and then went back to our hotel for a nap and a dip in the hot tub.  Yes, in the middle of the day.  Luxury, right?  Then we took our time getting ready and headed to dinner.  After dinner, our room came equipped with a fire place and so we enjoyed the fact that in the middle of June, we certainly could use a fire place (the first day, the lows were in the 30s!)

Tuesday dawned on us at a leisurely pace, and we enjoyed a breakfast buffet and coffee before heading off to Jenny Lake for another day of hiking the Tetons.

At the Inspiration Point Trail Head

 I'm not usually a hiking, outdoorsy girl, but Jordan comes alive in the mountains.  It's like his soul doesn't know he lives in Houston.  It thinks it's home is right among the trees and rocks and lakes and rivers.  It may not have been my exact comfort zone, but it was so worth it to watch my Mountain Man in his element.  Speaking of not being in my comfort zone, I personally think that there should be some sort of warning on "restrooms" that are actually latrines.  They are labeled with the exact same sign.  I think that's incredibly sneaky, personally.

Mountain Man McClinton

My personal goal for the trip was to see wildlife.  And if something is worth making a goal out of, I also think it is worth obsessing over.  Luckily, the Tetons did not disappoint.

This guy, a marmot, happened across our path on the way up to Inspiration Point:

 And, once we reached the top of Inspiration Point, Jordan found a little buddy:

The view from the top was incredible, but I was still on the look out for something furry.  Once we'd seen the marmot and the chipmunk, I had my hopes on something much bigger, like say a bear or a moose.  I was *certain* I'd spotted a bear fishing in the lake many, many miles below:

Tell me you see it!?!

So we hurried off to find this fishing bear.  I am sure you're all surprised to hear that it was not a bear, but rather the stump of a tree.  Sadness.  But at least we did get to take in these beautiful sights on the way back down the mountain: 

As if on cue, a set of baby bears were foraging on the side of the road when we headed back to our hotel.  They didn't really pose for the camera, and the rangers were not about to let us get close enough to get a great angle, but here is the best shot of the cub's rear end that we managed to get:

Can you see his little bear rear?

My favorite job of the trip: photographer

After our hike, we took our customary nap and hot tub dip and then headed to an award-winning local brewery, Snake River Brewery.

The hot tub on the roof with spectacular views!

The sampler flight.  Good brews!

And, of course, because I had determined this trip to be about wildlife sightings, we headed back out to find some more creatures.  First, a female elk.

Then, at the moose habitat, about a dozen elk.  (This is some of them.  I'm not sure why, but they don't clump together and smile at the camera.)

 And finally, the long-awaited moose.  Not as close or impressive as I'd imagined, but a moose is a moose.

As Tuesday came to a close, Jordan and I reflected on how this trip was such a good representation of our exact spot in life.  It was new, different, exciting.  Not in ways we expected or planned (because, of course, we didn't plan much!), but in ways that unfolded before us as we journeyed together.  Everything we saw and experienced fed into our adventure, and as we look back over the ten amazing, blessed and happy years we've spent together, we also acknowledge that our biggest adventures, our most amazing moments are still to come.  We are confident of this because every year has been better and richer than the year before.  As we chose a different sort of trip for our 10 year anniversary, so too are we looking forward to all things new and being on the grand adventure of life together.