4th of July and Jackson Hole

I ditched Chris to join my parents on a vacation to Jackson Hole for the 4th of July. Fortunately, Provo decided to celebrate the holiday early, so Chris and I got to join in some festivities together before I left.

We went to the Freedom Days festival in downtown Provo on Saturday (July 2). I like going to these things with Chris because he knows how to enjoy them. We got gyros, yummy drinks, a frozen banana with all the works (known as the GOB of course), AND a funnel cake. I told him he'll be a great dad to go with to Disneyland. Other than the food, the festival was pretty boring. It was nice just to get out for a long walk on a warm summer night and we got to see some fireworks on our way home.

Then Claire and I went to Jackson with my parents Sunday through Friday. Bret and cousin Tanner took Mon-Wed off work and got to hang out with us. On Monday we did the Grand View hike past Jackson Lake lodge. The wildflowers and the view were amazing!! Claire slept all the way up but got a little fussy on the way down.
Grand View:



Monday afternoon Tanner and Bret took Papa Ross on the Hoback River. Bret got brave and lead them into a big ol' hole and they flipped their little raft. I'm glad I didn't go on that trip. Monday night we watched the fireworks. Jackson Hole is known to have a great firework display, but this was by far the greatest I've ever seen. I was worried about Claire being scared to death, but she never even flinched or opened her eyes. I like newborns.

Headed to the fireworks:
On Tuesday we hiked to Taggart Lake. After the hike we tried to go have a picnic by Leigh Lake, but there were so many mosquitoes we ended up eating in the car and going home. That night we went back to do the Hoback again. Tanner, Bret, and I were in a little 3 man raft. We started all the way up at the turn-off for Granite Falls, making for a 2 hour trip. And of course, after being sunny and hot all day, it was 65 and raining HARD for this river trip. But we were tough. We had a lot of fun trying to read the river and decide which waves we should hit and which we should desperately try to avoid. We did skip out on the hole that flipped them the day before and we all stayed in the boat, although you never would have guessed by how wet we were.

On the way to Taggart Lake (I love that you can see the Grand peeking through at the top)

Wednesday I was SO EXHAUSTED. The only thing I did was a little shopping and then we went to the Bar J Chuckwagon dinner show, a family favorite. Claire woke up about halfway through the show. She seemed really interested in everything going on, but it got the best of her. Overstimulated screaming commenced as soon as we got in the car and stopped right before we pulled into the condo. Poor baby.

Thursday I was still tired, so I let my parents go out while Claire and I rested at the condo. That afternoon my dad and I went on the Lower Canyon whitewater trip and Bret was our guide. The river was flowing at about 22,000 CFS and was like a totally different river from what I guided a few years ago. It was a lot of fun to see Bret guide and I was just happy not to have to swim through Lunch Counter. I didn't buy pictures, but this link will work for at least a little while: http://www.snakeriverphotos.net/p782138398

It was quite a trip. Apparently I am still recovering/getting back in shape/not getting much sleep because, man, those hikes wore me out. It was so cool to be there with record high water levels though. Bret's whitewater experience is way different (and more serious) than mine. Claire and I missed Daddy a lot a lot and were excited to come home.

Milestones:
*Claire met Papa Ross for the first time
*Claire's first vacation (now I feel bad that we did that without Chris)
*Claire consistently demonstrated a social smile. Video is up next!!