When a man tells you he doesn’t like horses. Listen to him. I found out the hard way – by spending my anniversary in the Jackson Hole Emergency Room – that Ben and horses do not get along.

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Four years ago Ben and I made our first trek to Jackson Hole to celebrate our first anniversary. We had grand plans of camping, taking in all the scenery and geeking out at Yellowstone and Grand Tetons National Parks. And we did those things. We camped, drove, sang off key and ate far too many hot dogs and turkey sandwiches with a Honda packed to the brim with gear and food. Wide eyed and romantic – we were ready! But we sure weren’t ready for a couple of torrential downpours and a trip to the emergency room! So we called it a mulligan and this year for our one year wedding anniversary – we had a do over. Or as I like to call it, an “anniversa-redo”! This time we ditched the tents and landed at the Four Seasons Jackson Hole.

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Now, I’m no fan of flying – but the bumps and jostles were worth it when we didn’t have endless time to road trip our way there. Flying in was bumpy but when you see the Grand Tetons Right Outside Your Window, you forget all your worries and I got overwhelmingly excited about this grand adventure.

I can tell you right off the bat that our digs this time sure beat the three man tent the first time we were in Jackson Hole! If I could have found a way to hunker down there forever and just have Huck shipped to me, I would have never left… And the bed?  I might have done a trust fall onto it.

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Look at this bathroom!

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Check this view. If you’re a skier or boarder, this is a paradise. The hotel backs up right to some of the most prime skiing right out the back door!

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Our first day at the hotel was spent relaxing and taking it all in. The scenery was just as stunning as I remembered, with Teton Village looking out over the valley and the most stunning of mountains. Saturday night is rodeo night – so we went and got our giddy up on downtown Jackson. We both love a good rodeo – even if Ben doesn’t like riding.

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Just north of the hotel about 20 minutes is Grand Tetons National Park, and that’s where we spent our Sunday. After fueling up at the Westbank Grill with Ben’s Huckleberry French Toast and my Huevos Rancheros, we headed out for the day’s trek.

Four Seasons - Westbank Grill Breakfast

And look what we got to take for a spin!

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Four Seasons‘ chefs packed us a great picnic to take with stuffed sandwiches, like my Ahi Tuna sandwich and Ben’s roast beef with plenty of horseradish sauce and prime stone ground mustard potato salad. My lunch came with one of their famed Trail Mix cookies – which I will be passing on the recipe to you on Wednesday! – and Ben went with the traditional chocolate chip.

Four Seasons Picnic

 

Our next stop was to go to the famed Grand Teton barns out near Kelly, Wyoming not too far north of Jackson. You know these barns. C’mon. The barns are part of the famed Mormon Row – where some of Jackson’s earliest settlers well, settled. As beautiful as the view is, settling and taming this region would be a struggle and you got to give them some kudos for their gumption back in the day. Right next to the barns was the Jackson buffalo herd and they loved having their photos taken.

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This is the Buffalo version of “Hey, Girl”.

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The storms, just like we remember, started to set in so Monday morning Ben and I hunkered down for a cup of coffee on the back patio. And we had a couple of lovely ladies with legs for DAYS that joined us for a little nosh. They decided the trees were just right for eating – and we stuck with our coffee and toasty Pendleton blankets by the fire place. They came right up to the patio, even surprising the employees who couldn’t believe that Ben and I got to see these moose come within 15 feet of us!

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In between the storms, we treked out in the morning for a hike around Jenny Lake and then grabbed a couple of bikes from Base Camp right at the resort and rode our way down the path and dodged rain drops where we could. We failed and came back soaked, but the ride along the fences of a great cattle ranch and fields of horses was refreshing and so relaxing.

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Since it was our last night, we spent our evening at the Westbank Grill going all out with the most melt in your mouth buffalo short ribs and elk osso bucco. For dessert – since we hiked all around Jenny Lake and went for a bike ride – we split the Cowboy Cookie with a whopping dollop of vanilla ice cream on top. Then, I proceeded to fail whale into that king size bed and zonk right out.

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It was a dream and a half way to spend our first wedding anniversary – much better than the other one where we spent our day in the emergency room fixing Ben’s wonky wrist and busted lip. Jackson Hole holds a very special place in our heart, with so many memories made – and we already can’t wait to go back again. Next time, we really may never leave.

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*Note* Thank you to Four Seasons Jackson Hole for hosting us an our Anniversa-redo, we loved our stay and all opinions are our own.