Home from the Range

Finally! I'm able to upload our pictures from our trip. Let me just say that RoyBoy1 did a phenomenal job with planning this trip! He was so excited to surprise me and the result was that we truly had a wonderful time together. When we arrived at the airport to check in, he was still trying to keep the destination a secret, but bless his heart, he was having trouble getting his ticket to work on the automated check-in machine. The airline lady came over to assist and asked him where his final destination would be. I cringed as I saw the disapointment in his face and he slowly said, "Jackson Hole". WHAT?! I got so excited because I had never been there and I knew that it would be cold...and romantic!

We traveled throughout the day and got into Wyoming after dark. It was so cold outside and we were so tired. When we got to our ranch, it was very dark and quiet and we couldn't see anything, as far as scenery. The next morning, I opened the curtain to go out on the porch and this is what I saw:

Can you believe that view?! I was stunned and literally stood there starring at the beauty for a few minutes. Unless you've seen the Grand Tetons in person, you cannot explain this view. The pictures do not even do it justice. It is something out of a movie. The smell of Jackson Hole is wonderful, too. It's a constant "fire burning in the fireplace" smell that's mixed with cold, crisp air and pine. I loved it!

The first day we took off right away for Cody, Wyoming. Roy has been talking about a certain museum in Cody for years. It's the Cody Firearms Museum and it is FULL of Winchesters. Winchester used to be a maker of guns, for all of you gun-illiterates. This was his "selfish day" he warned me would take place! It was a four hour drive east, but we did it through Yellowstone National Park so the views were unreal. Roy was so excited to go on a tour of the Firearms Museum that he even arranged for a private tour.

After seeing over 6,000 guns (yes, six thousand) we went to the research office where the staff can find where any Winchester originated from! Can you imagine?! Oh, the thrill. By this time in the tour, I have to admit, I was very bored, but I was still smiling and meeting Roy's eyes with smiles and words like "wow!", "That IS a pretty gun", "I can't believe the condition that thing is in!" and I would even shake my head in awe at the gorgeous Henry's on display. Anyway, our tour guide looked up one of Roy's Winchester's in the records (Roy knew the year AND serial number on the top of his head!) and the smile on RoyBoy's face was totally worth the 8 hour car drive for the day. He was grinning from ear to ear and he was so proud to see the original records of his nineteenth century gun. I can still see his face in my mind and it brings a smile to my face when I see it!

On the drive back, we stopped by Old Faithful. I had been there when I was 13 when my family went there for Christmas. Back then, there was snow everywhere so this time, it looked very different. We got there just in time to see some action:

We even had to stop for wildlife crossing on our way back:

The next two days were rainy and overcast, so we slept in, walked around the downtown area of Jackson Hole, took naps, drank hot chocolate, and drove around the surrounding areas. It was too cold to do any outdoor activities like horseback riding, but it was still nice to just have no schedule or kids around. We even went to go see some movies. Here is what Roy thought about "Nights in Rodanthe":

I have to agree. It was pretty bad. And Appaloosa wasn't any better. We also drove around the Teton ski area, where we were lucky enough to narrow down the choices for our future vacation home. Now we only need to raise about $6.2 million:

Here are some pictures of the cute, little town of Jackson Hole...

Another cute thing was the stop signs at our ranch. They all said "WHOA" instead of "STOP".

Every night Roy would make a fire in our room before we went to bed. We'd be so cold coming in for the night, and a roaring fire was something that we looked forward to. I tried to get Roy's picture next to the fire but he said, "no, because if I do, you'll put a stupid caption on your blog like, 'this guy lights my fires'". Hmmmm. Good idea, Roy. Thanks! So, here is one of the fires that the guy who lights my fires lit:
On our last full day in Jackson Hole, we drove through the Teton National Park. This was my favorite day because the views were unreal. We would get out of the car every once in a while and there would be no noise. Just magnificent views and fresh, cold air.

I wish I could add a scratch and sniff area here for the wonderful pine scent that we smelled when we took these pictures!


We had such a good time together and agreed that we need to do it more often. We missed those little kids of ours, though. I have to admit that a lot of our conversations went back to Caroline and Roy Austin. We arrived back in Charlotte on Tuesday night and came home to two excited kids....well, basically one. Roy Austin was timid and a little scared. Thank you to my mother-in-law for watching our kids for 6 days! That was a lot to take on and we really appreciate it. The kids had a great time and it was such a needed get-a-way for us! Thank you, Roy!