Girls Weekend - Jackson Hole, WY - July 2016

Cara, Sarah, Kristina, Jodie, and Shawna

Shawna was invited for a girls weekend in Jackson Hole at Jodie's house, along with some of the other Denver Book Club gals - Kristina, Cara, and Sarah.  Shawna was able to fly out there on points but arrived late on Thursday night due to delays.  Kristina and Jodie were waiting up for her with a glass of wine.  Jodie gave a tour of the house which is stunning with great views of the Tetons - Shawna call it a mini-Aman!  After drinking a glass and catching up, we went to bed.

Jodie's House

View from Jodie's House

Sarah arrived on Friday morning so after breakfast, Kristina, Jodie and Shawna left to pick up Sarah at the airport and then went stand-up paddle boarding on String Lake in Grand Teton National Park.  We had stopped in town and grabbed some salads and drinks for lunch.  The lake was gorgeous with the mountains in the immediate background.  The weather was also awesome!  It took a few minutes to get accustomed to the paddle boards but then quickly got the hang of it.  We boarded over to the other side of the lake stopping a few times to take in the scenery.  At one point, Sarah fell in as she tried to swat a wasp and Kristina fell in as her board caught on a log in the water.  Thankfully the lake is quite shallow so it was easy to get back on the board.  After boarding, we ate lunch along the lake, relaxing in chairs that Jodie had packed.  At this point, we had to head back to Jodie's house so we could meet up with Cara who was arriving early evening.

Stand-Up Paddle Boarding on String Lake

Hanging out at the Lake

We decided to stay in for the evening so we could enjoy Jodie's house. Jodie had set out some cheese and crackers for an appetizer so we ate those while drinking wine and catching up with Cara.  Jodie then made burgers, a salad and sweet potato fries for dinner which was all very yummy.  We ate dinner on the patio and soaked in the views of the mountains!

Dinner at Jodie's House

On Saturday, we had all the best intentions to go for a hike.  There was quite a bit of smoke in the area due to forest fires nearby so we opted to wait it out a bit for the smoke to dissipate.  We went into town and had brunch at Persephone Bakery where we had a yummy sweet potato hash.  Following brunch, we walked around town, ducking into a few stores and galleries.  At this point, we decided to go for a hike.  Sarah was not feeling well so we dropped her off at home and the rest of us went over to Jackson Hole Mountain Resort and took the gondola to the top of the mountain.  Unfortunately, once we got there, it started to rain and it was crazy windy - we tried to wait it out for a few minutes but since it didn't look like it was going to get any better, we took the gondola back down and hiked for about an hour at the base of the mountain.  The weather was just fine at the base - par for the course with mountain weather!

Jackson Square

On Top of the Mountain

After cleaning up back at Jodie's house, we went to dinner in town at King Sushi.  Sarah was still not feeling well so she didn't join us.  The sushi was great in spite of the fact that it's a land locked place - we shared edamame, crispy rice, two sashimi dishes, and two rolls.

Sarah, Kristina, Jodie and Shawna

On Sunday, Sarah and I had to leave for the airport mid-morning while Kristina and Cara had to leave in the early afternoon.  We went for an hour hike along the hillside near Jodie's house and then relaxed at her house while we waited for the shuttle.  Jodie packed us a few snacks for the plane which was super helpful since the food options at the airport were quite disappointing.  No one wanted to leave - Shawna even contemplated hiding somewhere in Jodie's house!  However, the awesome weekend had to come to an end - it was so great to hang out, laugh and take in the beautiful scenery!