Random Thoughts about the Adventure

An Adventures by Disney Trip to Wyoming

Notes

• Internet service was available at the Wort and in the main sitting area and bar of the lodge at Brooks Lake Lodge. It is WiFi at Brooks Lake
• There is no television at the Old Faithful Snow Lodge or at Brooks Lake Lodge. Initially the kids thought that they would die without it but I don't think that any of them really did.
• There is cell phone reception in Jackson and at the Old Faithful Snow Lodge. It is fairly spotty through the Tetons and Yellowstone. There is no cell phone reception at Brooks Lake Lodge. Cingular is the only cell provider in Yellowstone, everyone else is Roaming.
• There is a phone in the bar at Brooks Lake Lodge. The Adventure Guides provided a calling card for us to use to make calls.
• The dinners at the restaurants included appetizer, entree, dessert and non-alcoholic beverages.
• Non-alcoholic beverages are included at Brooks Lake Lodge
• Here is another blog made by one of the friends I made on our adventure. http://hoohoo3000.blogspot.com/2006/07/wyoming-and-other-stuff.html

If you want to view our photos, they are stored on snapfish at http://tinyurl.com/rcsqo You will need to have an account or signup for a free one to view them.

Completion of Adventure Day 8

An Adventures by Disney Trip to Wyoming

July 16, 2006

Today was a sad day. It was the day that our adventure had to come to an end. Due to our late night, we slept in a little. Regan wanted to get up to see the sunrise but we missed it by a little. We still got her up to see the early rays of sun. She got dressed and decided to go to breakfast while Kelsie slept and Nikki and I packed and got ready to go.

We finally woke Kelsie up and she got ready to go. Regan came back to the room and we finished packing. We knew that we had missed the first party to leave for the airport because they left at 6:30 am but we wanted to be at the lodge to see the next group off.

Breakfast was the same today as the other mornings and we got breakfast in the dining room with the others who were there.

When it was time for Tony, Kathy & Chris, Susie, Kristin, Kaitlyn & Carley, and Kim, George & Jakob to leave we all congregated in the sitting room to say goodbye.

Not long after that Sue, Doug, Tim & Jonathan and Phil, Laura & Hannah had to leave. Then shortly after that Chris and Christy had to leave. Before Chris and Christy left they called all the rest of us together and presented us with our last pin to celebrate our completion of our Adventure / Quest for the West.

That left The James family, Stephanie and Aislynn and us at the lodge. Stephanie and Aislynn were taking advantage of the spa so the rest of us sat in the lodge and visited. David had his laptop so we were looking at photos too.

Billy, Andy and Polly decided that they would grab some lunch before their noon departure to the airport. Aislynn joined them for lunch. Stephanie and my family and I were going to wait a little longer since we were leaving at 1:30.

After saying goodbye to Billy, Polly, David and Andy the remaining six of us went to the dining room for lunch. At 1:30 we boarded our van for the one and one half hour drive to the Jackson airport.

Stephanie and Aislynn were dropped off at the entrance to the airport and we got dropped off at our car. We drove into Jackson for some last minute souvenirs and then began our 5 hour drive home.

We pulled in the driveway at 9:40 pm and declared that was the best trip we had ever been on.

The Wild West Day 7

An Adventures by Disney Trip to Wyoming

July 15, 2006

Today was pretty much the same as yesterday. Breakfast was the same buffet food and made to order eggs, pancakes and waffles.

Regan and Kelsie went on their horseback rides on the same horses as they had the day before. I took a fly fishing lesson. Kevin was my instructor and it was awesome. That is the first time I had fly fished and Kevin was very patient with me and pointed out what I was doing right and wrong. I caught three fish that morning. Nikki just took it easy for the morning, watching the girls leave on their horse ride, watching me fish and also watching Christy catch her first fish EVER.

Others went fly fishing on the river, hiking, horseback riding or to the Spa. Around 11:30 we all congregated back in the lodge to socialize before lunch. Lunch was the same menu as the day before. I was a little late and when I got to the table everyone had ordered a Veggie wrap with added Turkey. It sounded good so I ordered the same thing. Nikki ordered a buffalo burger which she said was delicious.

After lunch we all went horseback riding again. It was like the day before, the kids went off on their ride first, then there was a group of adults who had been on the three previous rides who went on a different ride than Nikki, Christy and me. We went to Upper Jade Lake. A beautiful jade green lake that is in the mountains above jade lake. I rode Doodad again but Nikki was on Grunt. During the trail ride Cowboy Jim radioed our lead wrangler to check on Nikki (who had developed quite a relationship with Cowboy Jim). I overheard the conversation and passed it on to Nikki later that night. It really made her feel special that he was checking on her with Grunt.

We had a social hour again. Then dinner was from a menu. We ate with Tony, Kathy, Antoinette, Doug, Sue and Stephanie. We had our choice of salmon, beef tenderloin or a vegetarian dish I can't remember. Everyone at our table had the tenderloin. We had a salad before our main course. Chris and Christy offered to buy everyone a glass of wine or a beer and they came around and made a toast during dinner.

During dinner Christy also brought around the times that we would be departing the next day to go back to the Jackson Airport. Since Ray had left with the motor coach on Friday, we were going to go back in small groups either in a SUV or a van. Our departure time was 1:30, which made us, along with Stephanie and Aislyn the last to leave the lodge (even after Chris and Christy).

As our waitress was taking our dessert order she said "Oh, there's a bat" There was a bat flying around in the dining room. She calmly left to Adam and George who came in to catch the bat. Surprisingly enough nobody panicked. Dessert was strawberry shortcake.

Chris had been eating with the kids and they all left him to go play so we invited him to join us. Chris entertained us with stories of when he was a Yellowstone Park Ranger. Then Christy joined us for a little while. Finally they asked us to leave so they could get ready for a surprise. They asked us to come back to the dining room at 9:00 for our surprise.

I am not going to reveal what our surprise was but needless to say it was a perfect ending to an amazing trip. It was a very emotional evening. After the formal gathering we were all given our pin for the day and then went back into the main rooms of the lodge and visited together. Some of us had to leave as early as 6:30 in the morning so this would be our last time to see each other.

We visited until around midnight and then figured we should probably head to our cabin for bed. The girls wanted to stay up all night with all the kids but we decided that it wasn't a good idea to let the kids stay up all night.

We ended up walking back to our cabin with Tony and Kathy and then going to their cabin to see it and then Kathy walked back down to get Chris, Regan and Kelsie so we could all get our kids to bed.

On the Range Day 6

An Adventures by Disney Trip to Wyoming

July 14, 2006

Nikki and I were up early today and went out on the porch of our cabin to watch the sunrise. David ran by on the path below our cabin on his way over to the spa. We saw him stop and stand there for a few minutes and then he headed back by. He stopped and told us that there was a big porcupine sitting near the hot tub so we walked down to see it. By the time we got there it had left the porch of the spa but we did see it wandering off into the woods. Kathy and Tony were sitting on their porch as we walked back to our cabin and we commented on how beautiful it was.

Breakfast was in the dining room beginning at 8:00 and was at our leisure. There was a buffet set out with oatmeal, fruit, yogurt, bacon, sausage, hash browns and muffins. We could also order waffles, pancakes and eggs.

This morning we had Ranch Activities beginning at 9:00. Cowboy Jim came in and told us that almost everyone had signed up for horse back riding and he had some horses he didn't want to send out because of physical issues. Nikki and I decided to change our ride to the afternoon. Since our morning plans had changed, we asked the girls what they wanted to do. They decided that they wanted to go fishing. We hadn't signed up for fly fishing lesson so the girls decided to go spinner fishing. Jamie, the children's activity coordinator for the lodge, came to help them fish. Kelsie caught two fish and Regan, unfortunately, didn't catch any. (We found out the next day when I went fly fishing that we chose the wrong side of the pond to fish since the fish tend to congregate on the other side.)

Nikki was able to go on a horseback riding lesson with Antoinette, Doug, Sue, Tim and Jonathan.

Just before lunch we all met back in the lodge for a social hour. The staff ate lunch at 11:30 and our lunch was at 12:30 so most of the lodge activities stopped while the staff ate.

Lunch was burgers, salads and sandwiches which we ordered off a menu. The kids ate lunch at the big table together and we ate with Polly, Billy, Phil, Laura, Sam and Janet. I had a panini and Nikki had a turkey wrap.

After lunch it was time to go for our horse ride. Cowboy Jim assigned everyone to their horses. Kelsie was assigned to Speckles, Regan rode Peggy, Nikki rode Jenkins and I was on Doodad. The kids were the first to get on their horses. Everyone was helped by a wrangler. They then left on their trail ride leaving us adults to get saddled up.

Once everyone was on their horse we were divided up into two groups. The group who went on the morning ride went one way and the group who was riding for the first time went the other. We rode down around Brooks Lake and up into the mountains. We stopped for a minute at a cabin that was used by cowboys as a stopping point as they traveled across the country and is maintained by the government.

When we got back to the lodge Regan and Kelsie informed us that they had arranged to go on both the morning and afternoon rides for the next day. We all hung out in the lodge until dinner. During the social hour, a local cowboy singer named Ray Calloway came and began singing. He sang in the bar area for about 30 minutes and then we went in to dinner. Ray followed us in there and sang all during dinner as well, walking through the room and taking requests.

Dinner was from a menu that night. We ate dinner with Antoinette and Stephanie. For dinner, we had three choices: elk medallions, trout or something called asiago stack. We all had spinach salad and Nikki chose the trout and I decided to have the asiago stack. It was a stack of crispy red tortillas, artichoke hearts, black olives and an Alfredo sauce. Dinner was served with rice and vegetables.

After dinner the kids went out in to the bar and main area of the lodge and the adults sat and visited while Ray continued to sing. Then Chris and Christy announced that there was a bonfire outside and we could all go out for smores and campfire songs.

Some of the adults had never had smores and the kids loved making them. It turns out that Chris was a master smore maker too.

Ray continued singing to us around the campfire and even got us all involved singing "She'll be Coming Round the Mountain" and "Happy Trails". All in all, Ray sang for over 3 hours and we all really enjoyed it (especially Tony who was the master at requests).

After the campfire we went back into the lodge to visit and play games before turning in for the night.

Untamed Nature Day 5

An Adventures by Disney Trip to Wyoming

July 13, 2006

We had to have our bags ready to be picked up by 7:30 today and on the motor coach by 8:00 am to begin our adventures in Yellowstone. Breakfast was in the Snow Lodge restaurant again today we all had the buffet.

Everyone was on the motor coach and we pulled out by 8:00 am. As we drove through Yellowstone people visited, watched for wildlife and shared newspapers. The kids were at the back of the bus as usual. As we got closer to our destination, Chris started sharing more Yellowstone information with us. We even got to experience a famous Yellowstone Buffalo Jam.

We arrived at the overlook of the Upper Falls that is on the south rim of the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone. From there we hiked along the south rim of the canyon to Artist's Point where we paused for group photos. Then, thanks to Disney magic our motor coach showed up at the parking lot at Artist's Point so we didn't have the hike back to the upper falls overlook.

Once we were on the bus, Chris gave us all a surprise. Earlier in the trip I had been talking to Ray, our motor coach driver, about my favorite thermal feature in Yellowstone which is the Devils Cauldron area. Ray told me that we would drive right past it. So, I mentioned it to Chris and he told me that we wouldn't have time to stop. Well, Chris and Christy decided that we had enough time to make a quick stop to see the mud geyser and dragon's mouth thermal features...gotta love that Disney magic and the AWESOME Disney Adventure Guides.

We then stopped at Lake Yellowstone Hotel on Yellowstone Lake. Lunch was at the restaurant there. Regan had a smoked salmon bagel, Kelsie had pasta with tomato sauce, Nikki had turkey sandwich crusted with Parmesan and I had a pastrami and turkey sandwich. We also got dessert there.

We had a little time after lunch to look at the lake and walk around the hotel. Then we boarded the motor coach for Brooks Lake Lodge http://www.brookslake.com where we would spend the next three nights.

The ride was about 2 1/2 to 3 hours and we watched Brother Bear on the ride.. As we got near to the Lodge, Christy asked us to fill out disclaimers for our stay since we would be doing lots of activities at the lodge. As the motor coach made the turn off the main road onto a dirt road, the excitement built. About 1 1/2 miles up the dirt road we pulled up to Brooks Lake Lodge where we were greeted by "Cowboy Jim". The motor coach pulled through the gate and we got off the bus and were welcomed into the main lodge. It is a historic lodge over looking Brooks Lake. We entered the main seating room, walked through the bar and tea room and congregated in the dining room.

We were going to be the only guests at the Lodge for the three days so we had a little orientation with the staff of the lodge. Then each family was taken by a member of the staff to their cabin or room. There are 7 rooms in the main lodge and 8 cabins behind the lodge. We were in the Solitude Cabin which had two bedrooms, 2 bathrooms a loft and sitting area. We were amazed at the beauty of the cabin and the surroundings.

After picking our chins up off the floor we unpacked and walked around the lodge grounds. There are stables, a spa, a trout pond, canoes on Brooks Lake, hiking trails and the beautiful lodge and we had to explore as much as we could before our social hour at 6:00.

At 4:30 every afternoon they have tea in the tea room. There is a fruit and cheese platter put out on the baby grand piano along with fresh cookies. Hot tea is served as is iced tea and lemonade which are available after 10:00 every day.

Social hour began at 6:00 and we all congregated in the main lodge seating area, bar and tea room to socialize, read, and play games. This turned out to be one of our favorite times of the day as we all got to know each other better.

Dinner was at 6:30 and we had a buffet of bbq chicken, hamburgers, prime rib and salmon. There were three large tables, one of which the kids chose as their own, and a few smaller tables in the dining room so we all just found a place to eat and visited during dinner.

After dinner we had free time. Phil, Laura, Christy and Susie decided that they wanted to go canoeing so Sam and I walked down with them so we could photograph them out on the lake. Nikki joined us for a little while and then headed back to the lodge.

When they all got back off the lake we walked back up to the lodge and visited again before heading back to our cabins to turn in.

Trail Blazer Day 4

An Adventures by Disney Trip to Wyoming

July 12, 2006

Breakfast today was in the restaurant at the Old Faithful Snow Lodge. Christy suggested that we have the buffet because the service can be a little leisurely. The buffet had eggs, bacon, sausage, pancakes, pastries, cereals, granola, yogurt and fruit. Antoinette joined us again today. Nikki ordered biscuits and gravy because she didn't want a whole buffet breakfast. It took 45 minutes to get them (I guess you could call that leisurely).

We met in the lobby at 9:00 am and were introduced to Lee who was our guide from Xanterra Parks and Resorts. Lee took us over to Old Faithful so we could catch the eruption.

After that we spent the remainder of the morning going around the Upper Geyser Basin looking at the thermal features there. Lee explained to us that since this was a public area we could not stop people from joining our group and listening to what he was telling us.

He had great information about the wildlife, the thermal features and the history of Yellowstone Park. I have been to Yellowstone in the past but learned so much by being with someone who has the kind of knowledge that Lee has that I can't imagine doing it without someone like Lee or Chris.

We got back to the Snow Lodge around 12:15 and there was a buffet lunch waiting for us of cold fried chicken, sandwiches, salads, chips, cookies and drinks. We ate on the patio of the Snow Lodge.

After lunch we all boarded the motor coach and rode over to the Paint Pots area to see the thermal features there as well. Lee gave us narration on the ride over and then all around the area as well.

When we got back to the Snow Lodge we had free time until 6:00 pm so Regan, Kelsie, Nikki and I headed out so the girls could do some shopping. We got over to the gift shop and cafeteria by Old Faithful just as the rain hit. It rained and hailed for about 20 or 30 minute, just long enough for the Kelsie to pick out what she wanted.

Then we headed over to the Old Faithful Inn to take a look at it. It is a beautiful old hotel and it is undergoing a restoration that is making it even more beautiful. There is another gift shop in the hotel so We had to stop and look around there too. Regan found what she wanted and we found something for Nikki's parents. It was interesting that all the gift shops sell different merchandise. Very different from Disney.

While we were in the shop it started raining so we sat in the lobby and rested for a while before we decided we had to purchase rain ponchos so we could get back to the Snow Lodge to get ready for the evening.

When we got back to the room Regan took a shower and Kelsie watched Pirates of the Caribbean on the portable DVD player while Nikki and I read.

At 6:00 the kids were gathering in the meeting room with the Adventure Guides and the adults got to go to dinner at the dining room in the Old Faithful Inn. There were three reservation times and two tables booked at each time. We were assigned our times by the Guides. We met Kim, George, Antoinette, Stephanie, and Susie in the lobby of the Snow Lodge and walked over to our dinner reservation at 6:15. We asked if we could be seated at one table instead of two separate tables.

We ordered two each of the appetizers and then shared them around the table. There were buffalo wings, shrimp cocktail, hummus spread and baked brie. We also had our choice of soup or salad and I had a delicious onion cream soup and Nikki had salad. (I can't remember what everyone else had.) For dinner I had baked chicken breast and Nikki had Roast Pork. Nikki's dessert was Yellowstone Caldera (a hot lava cake) and I had lemon sorbet. We all shared our food around the table and had a great night.

After dinner we met back with the kids and the counselors at the Snow Lodge for a group activity. We walked over to Old Faithful for a scavenger hunt. We were all given a compass and rope and directions that would lead us to clues that we used to get our final answer. The kids decided that it should be a contest of kids against adults so we divided up into four teams of adults and two teams of kids. Antoinette, Stephanie, Nikki and I were a team and we took second place. Adult teams took the first three places and the last one and the kids took fourth and fifth place.

By this time it was pretty late. We walked back to the Snow Lodge through the Old Faithful Inn and Chris pointed out some of the restoration that is taking place in the Inn.

Yellowstone Journey Day 3

An Adventures by Disney Trip to Wyoming

July 11, 2006

Breakfast again today was in the Silver Dollar Grill at the Wort Hotel. Our bags needed to be ready to be picked up from our room by 7:30 so we headed to breakfast about that time. That morning Nikki had granola, Kelsie had a fruit plate, Regan had pancakes and I had eggs bennedict. We met in the lobby and boarded the motor coach.

All the kids decided that they belonged together at the back of the bus so the adults sat toward the front. From here on out the kids rode in the back of the bus and when the opportunity presented itself, they ate together too. The kids developed good friendships on this trip and so did the adults as well.

Our motor coach took us into the Tetons to Jenny Lake for our boat ride and hike. Before we started, we stopped for a group photo with the kids and then one with the adults. It was quite a scene as 14 kids and 17 adults plus two adventure guides and a motor coach driver all posed for photos.

We then walked to the boat dock and boarded boats which took us to the other side of the lake. We then made the hike up to Hidden Falls where we spent about 30 minutes before continuing on to Inspiration Point.

When we arrived at Inspiration Point, Chris and Christy took off their backpacks and gave us all bottles of water and snacks of fruit treats, jerky and granola bars. While we took photos and visited about the beautiful scenery we were in the middle of a few chipmunks started to beg for food. This kept the kids entertained for quite a while.

Our hike down was uneventful and we boarded to boats back across the lake to the parking area. Once we were on the bus we took a short ride to String Lake where we were to have our picnic. While Christy and Ray (our motor coach driver) went to find tables Chris showed us a few Disney shorts starring Donald and Goofy.

Christy came back and told us our picnic was ready and we headed off into the trees to the tables. They had put red and white checked table cloths on the tables and had our sandwiches, chips and brownies in baskets on the tables. Sodas were in a cooler on the ground. The sandwiches were huge and delicious and Chris suggested that we put our brownies in the sun while we ate our sandwiches so that they could get warm and gooey for dessert time.

After lunch the kids all started playing a game that looks something like survivor. They were all standing on logs to see who could stay on the longest.

While Christy and Ray cleaned up, Chris took us all over to the lake so we could see it. Then we made a stop at the restrooms before boarding the bus for our trip to Yellowstone.

As we entered Yellowstone, Chris began to give us information about the park. He had been a Park Ranger prior to becoming a Disney Adventure Guide so he was very knowledgeable about Yellowstone. He told us about the fires of 1988 and pointed out the new growth that is all over the place. We also saw some wildlife as we rode along.

We stopped at West Thumb Geyser Basin for our first experience in Yellowstone. Again, Chris' knowledge was very beneficial. He knew so much that we had people join our group to hear what he had to say. At one point he got laser thermometers out of his backpack and gave them to the kids to share so that they could see how hot or cold the different features around the geyser basin really were.

This was the kids first exposure to the lovely aroma that comes from the thermal features and they had plenty of comments about it. They also loved the thermometers and even watching fish swim in Yellowstone Lake.

After walking around West Thumb, we were back on the motor coach for the rest of our journey to the Old Faithful area. We were going to be staying at the Old Faithful Snow Lodge. Christy let the kids know that our rooms didn't have televisions in them and that there was no gym in the hotel. You would have thought they were going to die. (I think when the trip was over none of them missed these things.)

As we entered the Old Faithful area Chris explained that this hotel is open year round and was rebuilt in 1999. It was chosen over the classic Old Faithful Inn because it has bathrooms in the bedrooms and the Old Faithful Inn does not. The bus pulled up in front of the hotel and as we stepped off the bus Christy handed us our room keys and reminded us that dinner was at 6:00 in the meeting room on the second floor of the Snow Lodge.

Our room was nice, nothing spectacular but we were in Yellowstone Park and that is good enough. There were two double beds, a desk, two very small closets and a large bathroom. There is no air conditioning in the room so there was also a fan in the room. The hotel itself was very pretty.

Kelsie and I went for a walk around the area because she is on vacation so she had to buy something. While we were out, our luggage was delivered to our room and Nikki got them arranged in the room. We decided not to unpack anything because we were here for two nights and there really wasn't any place to put our clothes.

At around 6:00 we went upstairs for dinner. The kids decided that they would all eat together at one table and from that moment on anytime the opportunity presented itself, the kids ate with each other leaving the parents to eat and visit with each other.

Dinner was a buffet. There were chicken fingers and pizza (for the kids) salad, rolls, green beans, bison chili, elk medallions and wasabi coated salmon. For dessert we had huckleberry cobbler ala mode.

After dinner the kids all went down to the lobby to hang out and the adults stayed in the room to visit. Chris came by and told us that Old Faithful was getting ready to erupt and we could watch it from the windows of the room we were in. Just then the kids came into the room so we were all able to watch Old Faithful erupt.

Things started breaking up and so we headed down to the lobby. The kids wanted to stay and visit so Billy & Polly, Phil & Laura and Nikki and I walked over to Old Faithful. It wasn't scheduled to go off for a while still so we all walked around and talked. At about 8:45 we walked back over to the Snow Lodge to get the kids to come over and watch the 9:10 eruption of Old Faithful.

It turned out that most of our group decided to watch Old Faithful so we all watched it together. It was really a pretty site with the sun setting.

Then it was back to the hotel for the night.

Teton Pioneer Day 2

An Adventures by Disney Trip to Wyoming

July 10, 2006

Breakfast today was in the Silver Dollar Grill at the Wort Hotel. According to our Daily Quest, we could eat anytime between 6:30 and 9:00 am. We headed to eat around 8:00. We were seated and started looking at the menu. Another Adventurer, Antoinette, arrived shortly after us and we invited her to join us for breakfast since we had not ordered yet.

Nikki ordered a skillet with eggs, sausage potatoes and other good stuff. Kelsie ordered silver dollar pancakes from the kids menu and Regan and I ordered breakfast burritos. Shortly after we ordered, Christy joined us for breakfast. Service was pretty slow and we barely finished by 9:00 which was our designated time to meet the rest of the group in the lobby of the Wort. Luckily there were several others in the restaurant still.

We headed to the lobby where people had begun to gather. Chris told us we could get on the motor coach so we all began boarding. Once on the motor coach, We began our ride up to the Tetons for our mountain bike ride.

We passed Moose Junction and then made a right hand turn onto a road that took us back to where we would be biking. There was a herd of Bison (buffalo) in the field. After Ray, our bus driver, parked the bus we all got off and met Stephan, our bike guide.

Stephan and his co-workers helped us all get fitted for bike helmets, bikes and for the older folks, gel seats. We began our bike ride on Mormon Row. Just down the road a little is a famous barn that you will see in many photos of the Tetons. We stopped here for group photos.

Our bike ride was 8 miles total, about half on dirt roads and trails and about half on paved roadways. It was an awesome experience to be biking in this beautiful country. We were all provided water bottles on our bikes and were encouraged to drink a lot. At about the half-way mark we stopped so we could refill our bottles and rest. The last 2 miles of the ride was down hill and a perfect way to see the Tetons and cool down from the ride.

Stephan was a great guide, full of interesting information about the Tetons and Jackson area. After our ride, once we were all back on the motor coach Stephan presented us with our second pin that said "Teton Explorer". We then left for lunch in Jackson.

We pulled up in front of the Jackson Playhouse and Saddle Rock Family Saloon where we were going to have lunch. The tables were pre-set and we were all seated by the hosts and hostesses. There was a salad on the table served in an aluminium bucket. Since we had ordered our lunch during dinner the night before we didn't have to order. Nikki had ordered tuna salad, Kelsie and Regan had chicken sandwiches and I had a steak sandwich. During lunch the waiters and waitress sang to us and we all sang Happy Birthday to Jakob and Chris gave him a birthday pin. Dessert was a little platter of small desserts that we shared around the table.

After lunch we got back on the motor coach to head off to our river adventure. We had our choice of white water rafting or a float trip. The majority of the group chose white water rafting. Our motor coach stopped at Barker Ewing where we signed our disclaimer and were given wet suits (if we wanted) and water booties. The folks taking the float trip got on a van and were taken to their trip while the rest of us got back on the motor coach and headed for our launch site. Once there we were given time to change if necessary and then were divided into boats and walked down to the Snake River to board. In our boat with Jake as our river guide were: Sue, Doug, Tim, Jonathan, Stephanie, Aislynn, Sam, Janet, Thomas, Christy, Kelsie, Regan and me. We had a great time on the river. It was about two hours on the river and I believe 4 miles.

There was a calm part of the river where people were able to swim if they wanted. A few of the girls on another boat decided to jump in and got right out because it was so cold.

There is a company called Float-O-Graphs that takes photos of the boats as they are going down the river. I couldn't believe how good they were so I purchased 8 of the 9 that they had.

We were the last boat out and so the last one back. After changing and getting back onto the motor coach we headed back to the Wort Hotel.

The Jackson Shootout was scheduled for 6:15 so Nikki and the girls, along with Antoinette went to town square to watch it while I took a quick shower and got into dry clothes. The shootout is celebrating it's 50th year this year and was a fun show.

Dinner was in the Silver Dollar Grill at the Wort and we could order an appetizer, main course and dessert plus a non-alcoholic beverage. I had some very delicious pan seared tuna for an appetizer and bison steak for dinner plus creme brulee for dessert. Kelsie had soup and pasta and creme brulee, Regan had soup and beef fillet and cheesecake and Nikki had salad and beef fillet and a carrot cake.

After dinner the girls went to the gym in the hotel to work out for a while and Nikki and I went on a walk.

Then back to the hotel for bed.

Wyoming Welcome Day 1

An Adventures by Disney Trip to Wyoming

Sunday July 9, 2006

We were in the car and off by 8:00 am. We made to it Adam's house in Idaho Falls by 11:00 am. After spending about an hour visiting with them we headed out, stopping at Wendy's for a burger and getting gas at the Shell station.

The drive through Swan Valley, Victor and into Jackson was beautiful. We made it to the airport at about 2:45 pm. I pulled up to the curb to unload the bags and up walked Chris, one of our Adventure Guides. He figured that it had to be us since we had a Mickey Antenna Ball and Utah plates.

Chris helped me unload the bags, showed me where to park and then took me into the airport to pay the parking fee of $8.00 per night. Just as we pulled up, the skies opened up and it rained hard for about 15 minutes. That was about as long as it took our shuttle to arrive to take us to the Wort Hotel in Jackson.

When we got out at the Wort, we were greeted by Christy, our second Adventure Guide. She helped us check into our room and told us we needed to be back in the lobby by 5:45 for the beginning of our adventure. We were in room 119 just off the lobby on the main floor. The room was beautiful with log furniture. There was a welcome bag on the bed with water bottles, rubber bracelets, a journal, water proof neck wallets, a compass, binoculars and bandannas.

After the bellman brought our bags (all the tips were included in the package price), Regan, Kelsie and I went to explore Jackson while Nikki unpacked the bags.

At 5:45 we met in the lobby of the Wort with Christy and the other 29 members of our Adventure. Christy led us down the main street of Jackson to Jedediah's where we were going to have dinner.

We were each given a lanyard and a name badge (sticker) to wear for the night. Chris and Christy officially welcomed us and gave us a brief overview of the excitement to come. We then played a "get to know you" game and had introductions from each of the families. There was one family that had airline troubles so they joined us a little later that night.

Then it was time to eat. There was a buffet setup with tossed salad, tomato and mozzarella salad, prosciutto wrapped shrimp, grilled vegetables, scalloped potatoes and rolls and then we had our choice of salmon or steak. Dessert was our choice of bread pudding or cheese cake. We were given our first pin that night that had Chip and Dale on it and said Wyoming Welcome.

After dinner we headed back to the hotel for bed.