This week Ted needed to travel to Idaho, and I decided to tag along!
Boise really is a hidden gem. But it is really out in the middle of no where. Though the streets were less busy, they are lined with cute shops, breweries and restaurants. Being the state capital and a college town, it reminded me of a newer version of Madison and state street. If you find yourself in Boise, I would recommend Bittercreek Alehouse and Barrell 10 Brewery.
When in Idaho... you find the Potato Museum and take a quick photo!
Being two hours away from Grand Teton National Park, we decided to take a quick day trip to hike some of the lower elevation hikes we would over look in the summer months. Jackson is a very cute town that we really enjoyed during our 2019 visit, and had the same great experience even with COVID social distancing in play. We previously stayed at and Airbnb that was fantastic, but we opted for the Inn on the Creek Bed and Breakfast this time and would highly recommend. Lovely staff, a happy hour and pumpkin spice French toast all made for your room. Unfortunately we experienced less of Jackson this time and grabbed dinner at Jackson Drug, an old pharmacy turned in to an awesome burger and milk shake spot. A new addition to our blog is Trip Advisor account! Which, honestly I don't know why we didn't do this sooner. Set up by State, if your ever looking for a good recommendation from people you actually know, check out our "trips" section on our profile. We only heart those we actually would go back to! Click HERE to check it out, otherwise the link will always be on our Everyday Life page & Local Flavors section.
The image makes the Grand Teton range look tiny, but if you've never been, they literally shoot straight up out of the ground. The mountain range, 40 miles long, 7-9 miles wide, with the highest peak: Grand Teton with an elevation of 13,775 feet and eight peaks over 12,000 feet.
Leigh Lake Trail
Moose Pond Trail - but no Moose to be found...
Mormon Row- Always a picturesque view. But it was a much more pleasant experience this time (compared to June) as there was not as many people trying to capture the same photo at the exact same time!
On our way back in to town, we finally saw a moose! Two actually, a bull and his lady friend. Tons of idiot tourists (flip flopper guy with cell phone in had... for example) went down in to the meadow to get a closer photo of the pair. We choose to utilize our long range lens and do our best to get a good photo from the road. I think we did just fine, without the additional half mile meadow walk into bull moose territory. Did I mention the rut season ended last week!
90 West - Out of Missoula is a very pretty drive, filled with mountains, pines and rivers. You are probably thinking well... duh. But the alternative route would have taken us through way more fruit farms, hay fields and flat, flat lands. AND!!!! One thing we finally found were larches! We had no idea what larches were before moving here, but it's something people flock to see in the PNW. Although they are conifers, larches are deciduous trees that lose their needles in the autumn. They also turn a lovely yellow color before dropping their needles. Driving along 90 all I could think about were the Green Bay Packers! The hillsides rolled with green and gold! Check out more about larches HERE.
We could not have painted the skyline any better. The first photo is looking down at the Columbia River, and the second photos (no filters, or editing) you see the sunset silhouette of Mt. Rainier.
As we approached the Cascade Mountain range and then Snoqualmie pass, the Blue Moon started to crest the Mountains. We stopped for a bit, ok 30 minutes or so... to capture some of the orange glow.
"In nature, nothing is perfect and everything is perfect. Trees can be contorted, bent in weird ways, and they're still beautiful."
- Alice Walker
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