Rafting the Snake River

On Contiki's Northern Adventure after our night in Jackson Hole we had the opportunity to go white water rafting on the Snake River.  Never one to miss an adventure I jumped at the opportunity.  I did go white water rafting once before on the Delaware River years before so I had an idea of what I was getting myself into, but this was still FUN!

Our morning started with a ride to their shop and getting fitted with wet suits and shoes for the day.  I do recommend both, particularly earlier in the season when the water is colder as they will help keep you a bit warmer.

My boats guide was Alex and he was great!  He gave us all the directions on where to sit, when to row and when to relax.  He told us fun stories about his history as a guide, and a few of his friend's funny stories too.  He encouraged us to all jump in the river too, and my boat was the only one where everyone jumped in.  Oh, and no one fell in by accident either!

We did have class 3 rapids, which is what I experienced on the Delaware River.  I would suggest that for most people class 3 rapids are just fine.  If you have young kids or less mobile people then it might be a bit much.  But for the average person class 3 will be fun, but not too hard.  Spring is the best time for class 3 rapids, because of the melting snow in the mountains.  Unfortunately, melting snow makes for cold water.

And so for the bad part of white water rafting.  It's COLD!  When you're floating along the river all is well, but then you start hitting the rougher water and you get splashed.  Eventually you get soaked and it's cold.  But then the sun comes out and warms you up.  Once you're warm, you get soaked again.  It's a cruel cycle...  But it's fun and invigorating.  And just when I thought I couldn't take it anymore, Alex told us we were going to pull over and get out.  Our ride was about an hour and a half. Perfection!

I don't remember the name of the company we used.  I tried looking on the internet, but still couldn't find it.  And since we never got our pictures or our bracelets for jumping into the river, I decided I wasn't going to kill myself over it.  I'm not sure whose fault that is, Contiki or the rafting company.  It was only the second trip of the season that Contiki used this company and obviously they hadn't worked out all the kinks.

I Dislocated My Hip on a Horse in Jackson, WY

After finishing up in Yellowstone National Park it was time to head to Jackson, Wyoming.

We arrived at our hotel late so we had to head straight to our trail ride and cookout.  The setting was marvelous, in the valley at the foot of the Jackson Hole Resort.  We quickly lined up to mount our horses and set off in groups of about 8 people.  My horse was Pepper and he was very good.  Gentle and well behaved.  He just liked to rub up against some of the trees from time to time.  About halfway through my hips were killing me, every step of the second half of the hour long ride hurt.  But the view was fantastic as we climbed up and back down a trail through the hills of Jackson.

After our ride I did manage to get off Pepper under my own power, and managed to walk around a bit too.  I guess I didn't really dislocate my hip, but it felt like it.  We waited for all the groups to finish their trail rides and then took wagons to a secluded area for a cook out, complete with Cowboys.  They made us chicken, corn, tomato salad, corn bread, lemonade, watermelon  some beef and a fruit cobbler for dessert.  The food was good, and it was served on tin plates, and we sat at picnic tables.  It was a lot of fun.

But it only got more fun, we then had the chance to learn how to rope a steer (not a real steer, that's cruel), chop would and play horse shoes.  Wood chopping, not my thing!  But if I tried I could make a career roping steers.  I think I'll stick with my day job though.  It was a lot of fun and as a group activity, allowing us to bond in a different way then you do while riding a bus.

Later that night we decided to hit the town.  We wanted to go to the Million Dollar Cowboy Bar, but it was closed for a special event.  Boo!  We did go to another random bar and some of the underage girls did get in, which was good for us.

But the gem of the city was the taxi drivers, yes, the taxi drivers.  I had different ones going to and from the bar, but they were both nice friendly guys happy to talk about Jackson.  We learned a bit about the economy, the price of houses and life there.  It would be a great place to live, but I can't afford it.  I'll have to find myself another place to live. :(

As a place to visit though, even just the small glimpse we had said a lot about the place, it was beautiful, but still had the large town/small city feel.