Adeline and I left the house at 4 am, and so the adventure began.We had pre paid for parking at DFW in the North parking lot, but took about 30 minutes to find. I actually ended up in the DFW employee parking. By the time I found it, we had decided to just park near our gate if we were goin g to make the flight. So, we unloaded and headed towards the airport. As I was entering our Record Locator information, Dan informed me he had left his wallet. At this point we had a very small glimmer of hope that we would make our flight. He thought we should just reload up and go grab his wallet. I have never flown without an ID, and neither of us knew if that was even possible. I thought, well we better find out for sure what we should do. The American Airlines employee informed us that it was up to TSA, She said if you have cards and other information with your name on it that we should be able to fly.. So she went ahead and checked our bags and we headed to TSA. We also went ahead and changed our flight from 8:30 a.m to 1:15 p.m. They had already boarded while we were still at bag check. So we headed to Papasito’s for a Mexican style Breakfast. When Adeline travels with us we get to board early, because she is 8 months old. This was very nice, we were able to get settled in before the plane became packed. Adeline was already pretty tired after the wait at the airport so it was an interesting flight to say the least. The view flying into Jackson Hole, had me so excited for our Helicopter Tour. It was very easy to find baggage claim and National Car Rental at the JAC airport. The airport is absolutely beautiful as well. We headed from the airport into Jackson Hole. I wanted to find a walker or bouncer I could purchase for Adeline, to use at the Lodge, She loves to be active. Sadly, I had no luck. No, Walmart, or target close by. I was also surprised that there is phone service in Jackson Hole. We then headed to Teton Village, which is 30 minutes from Jackson Hole. The traffic is very busy on this route, around lunch and dinner time. We arrived at Snake Lodge and Spa around 5 p.m. I had already made dinner reservations for the night, so we cleaned up then headed to SPUR Restaurant. SPUR Restaurant was definitely one of my favorite dinning experiences of the week. The service was as outstanding as the food. Definatenly a must do if your staying in Teton Village. We ended the night with some unpacking and the new Jungle Cruise movie. It is a feel good movie with wonderful graphics and one liner jokes. It was a long but successful day.
On the second day of our trip we explored Teton National Park. It is 35.00 for the entrance fee. Also, the gas prices in Jackson Hole were 4.36 to 4.89 per gallon. The second gas staton past the airport is a little less expensive then the first. After our ride through the park, we returned to Jackson hole to stop at the Albertsons and picked up some picnic goods. We were able to walk into the Sushi Bar and eat at a dinner table without a reservation. They had great shrimp and chicken pad Thai. After dinner we headed back to the Lodge. Snake River Lodge and Spa has a wonderful indoor/outdoor heated pool with 2 hot saunas. It is enclosed in real rock cave like atmosphere. Adeline loved the pool and hot tub.
On the third day of our trip we headed out to Yellowstone to see Old Faithful. It was every bit as magnificent as the pictures. A must do for your bucket list. We saw the Geyser, Old Faithful erupt at 11:23 a.m. It lasted about 10 minutes. From there we headed to the west entrance of Yellowstone, toward Yellowstone Helicopter Tours. I had originally planed on the Safari tour, but they had no private tours available. Children who are still in a car seat can not ride in the open truck. So, I booked Yellowstone Helicopter Tours on the fly. It is an hour drive from Old Faithful to Yellowstone Helicopter Tours. There is no phone service so we just went by the map. Shortly after we arrived another vehicle pulled in. We both went up to the counter, and they said they had a tour the same time we did. This was my fault i realized, I booked the night before past 12 and got confused on the date. Luckily, they were still able to give us the tour. Yellowstone Helicopters fly over Wyoming, Montana and Idaho. Legally they can not fly over National Parks. The views were so amazing. I love heights for multiple reasons. I like to feel like a bird, flying through the air and I also like how it puts things into perspective for me. We are all so small compared to the world. We booked the hour tour, I would definitely recommend it. Zac our Pilot was very accommodating as well. He informed us that Mike Pence’s security had booked a tour with them previously, which I thought was super cool. After our ride, we headed to the Slippery Otter Pub in West Yellowstone. Their French onion soup is amazing. It is a 3 hour drive from West Yellowstone, Montana to Teton Village, Wyoming. We took the Idaho route home and I’m so glad we did. It was one of the best drives of my entire life. Driggs, Idaho is one of the most beautiful small towns I’ve ever had the pleasure of visiting. The Wells Fargo Bank is very unique there in Driggs. Adeline was pretty grumpy with her Mooma after about 5 hours in the car, but thankfully she enjoys watching nature documents and I had already downloaded a couple shows from Netflix. We arrived at our lodge around 9 p.m and we were all beat, but it was well worth it.
On the forth, we stayed around Teton Village for the most part. We slept in, then checked out the Gondola ride. It was a very pretty view of Snake River and of people parasailing. The oxygen is low of course, so we were a little light headed after coming down. I would definitely suggest a bottle of oxygen for this trip. We then headed to Jackson Hole for our 5:00 reservation. The place we ate at gave me food poisoning, so I will not mention them. All I’m gonna say about it is, don’t eat Osters in Wyoming! Not a good Idea. I threw up and had to take care of Adeline for 4 and a half hours. Luckily, she fell asleep early so I had the last 2 hours of bathroom time in peace. I really thought we were going to have to cancel our second helicopter tour, but it was too late to receive a refund And they are pretty price. I finally fell asleep around 2 a.m.
We woke up to our 6 a.m alarm and I felt way better and refreshed. We had booked a tour with Tony, at Jackson Hole Helicopter Tours. It was very easy to find the location and they explained it very well in the booking information. I used GetYourGuide.com for this experience. Tony’s Helicopter is a beautiful red, so it really stands out at the airport. The view of the Teton’s was breath taking. The Helen red mountains were also my favorite. We flew out at 8 a.m so we had the perfect morning light over the Mountains. Tony also said Adeline was the first baby to ride in his Helicopter, she’s making quite the impression as we travel. She was awake for the first 30 minute, then fell asleep. We did do a full hour. Dan was able to see a couple deer, which he said was very interesting to see from the air. We will definitely be back to experience a winter tour. We then headed towards the square in Jackson Hole. They have some of the best high end shopping, galleries and fur distributors. We picked up a couple of souvenirs, then spotted a Pearl Shop. I am a Hugh fan of Pearls so we had to stop in. The shop is named Pearls by Sheri, We got very lucky once again, Mrs.Sheri was there herself. She designs all of her jewelry with the best Pearls from the South. She Specializes in Golden South Sea Pearls. If you’re in town, you should definitely stop in and let her know Alaina’s travels sent you. We had dinner at Vilaggio Osteria in Teton Village. I really feel like a million bucks in my pearls. The mud pie dessert was our favorite. I wish I could say I went back to the Spa, but I choose to pack up instead. I am too OCD, I have to have everything packed and perfect before I can fall asleep or my mind will run on forever.
On the fifth day we loaded up, then returned to Pearls by Sheri to Thank her again for her beautiful creations. Everything went very smoothly on the flight back. Adeline slept the whole flight! We did have a heck of a time trying to find an elevator in the parking garage. Well, we never found it. We lugged everything down the stairs once we finally found the Jeep! It then took about 20 minutes figuring out the exit to the parking garage, we call this “Tolaring”. I am so thankful and blessed I get to live this wonderful life. I always come home feeling a overwhelming amount of gratitude After a wonderful Adventure.