Winter Vacation in Jackson Hole

We were in a brand-new condo; it was not even on the map yet because they actually were still finishing up on the garage. We had a covered garage so we did not have to walk in the snow or dig out if it snowed. There was an elevator that took us directly to our room, which was nice with all our luggage. It was the best condo I have ever stayed in. It was bigger and nicer than our house.

The condo had very tall, wooden entrance doors and then there was a nice dining room that would seat six, plus two bar stools. The kitchen had a wood-covered refrigerator; a very nice stove, oven and microwave; a dishwasher; and was fully furnished with nice new dishes, pots, pans, cups, serving dishes, and utensils. Then behind it was a laundry room with a counter, washer and dryer plus a ½ bath. To the left was a nice living room with a fireplace and big, flat TV and DVD player. The living room had a sofa bed, love seat, and rocking recliner. The living room and bedroom shared a nice-sized balcony overlooking the town and elk refuge. The bedroom had a king bed; large, flat TV; DVD player; two night stands, and a dresser. The bathroom had a huge tile shower and huge whirlpool. The toilet was in a separate room, and then it had a huge vanity with two sinks and lots of cabinets and drawers for storage. There was also a nice and big walk-in closet in there.

On the other end of the condo were two more bathrooms, one containing another washer and dryer, and the other containing a large soaking tub, a separate room for the toilet, and a double vanity. The next bedroom was also a king-size bed with a balcony that was shared by the den overlooking the ski area. The bedroom had a nice closet, dresser, two night stands, and another big, flat TV mounted on the wall. The den had a nice closet; a wet bar with a sink, microwave, and small refrigerator; a fireplace; another big, flat TV with a DVD player; and a pullout bed plus a couch and a table with two chairs and a built-in desk. Every room had beautiful pictures on the wall and very nice light fixtures and curtains or blinds. The decorations in the condo were awesome.

The condo was a little ways from the hotel, which is where all the extras were. The hotel offered a ski rental area, a restaurant that was pretty expensive, our outdoor pool and outdoor hot tub. If staying at the resort you got discounts on lift tickets, so a 1-day ticket that was usually $35 was only $20, which is very cheap for a lift ticket. The resort was just a few blocks from town so it was easy to reach shops and restaurants.

That night we went and ate at the Gun Barrel Steakhouse. This is a very neat place to go. When you walk in the door, you see a mounted bear in the window and then by the hostess desk is a full mounted Bison. My son loved walking around the restaurant and looking at all the animals. They had a mountain lion, some elk and moose mounts, and much more. I have read previously that the restaurant used to be a museum and they bought many of the items from them when they turned it into a restaurant.

They served steaks, wild game, ribs, and chicken. They also had a children’s menu. We ordered bison as an appetizer and it came with bread and cheese. Then we had two that ordered steaks, one prime rib, and I ordered the ribs. All the food was good and quite tasty. It came with a loaf of fresh bread and butter and also with a vegetable and your choice of potato or rice. I chose the rice, one chose the baked potato, and another chose the baked sweet potato. All our food was very good.

The waiter was very nice and didn’t seem to mind us walking around with my son looking at all the animals in the restaurant. The service was also very quick. It was not a cheap place but definitely not nearly as pricey as many of the restaurants on the town square. This was my second trip to this restaurant and I will return again.

We decided to go to the elk refuge. We went to the visitor center, bought our tickets, and waited on the next bus to the sleigh ride on the elk refuge. They had a lot of neat animals and facts in the visitor center. It took about 20 minutes for the bus to pick us up and we went on a short ride to where you get on the horse-pulled sleigh ride out into the elk refuge. The sleighs were full of warm blankets, but you still need to dress very warmly because it is cold out in the open field, where there isn’t anything to block the wind.

The guide driving the sleigh was full of neat information about the horse pulling the sleigh and also about the elk. They were not feeding the elk yet because there wasn’t enough snow to make that necessary. They use the money from people visiting and also sell the elk sheds each year to keep the operation going. She said they can feed as many as about 15,000 elk, but there were only about 3,500 on the refuge at the time we visited. She said the elk stay together in groups by age, the younger ones in a group and the older ones in a group. The elk were not frightened by us and we drove right up to them. We got some wonderful pictures. After the ride, we got back on the bus and were taken back to the visitor center. The elk ride lasted around an hour.

We went on a 12-hour snow coach tour through Yellowstone National Park. Our guide picked us up at our condo at 6:15am, and he took us to their business, where they served us a breakfast that consisted of cold cereal, yogurt, pastries, fruit, cappuccino, coffee, and juice. After that we got back in the van and he drove us to Flag Ranch, which is just outside the entrance to Yellowstone. It was about a 70-mile drive from Jackson Hole.

When we got there, we went in and looked in the gift shop and got something to drink. He picked us back up at the door in the snow coach, which is a van on tracks. We then went into the park.

We saw waterfalls, two bald eagles, and beautiful sights on the way to Old Faithful. Once at Old Faithful, we placed our lunch order, watched a film, and saw Old Faithful erupt. After that we ate our lunch and got back in the snow coach to go see more sights. As we were leaving the area we saw several bison and a gorgeous blue pool of water. We saw several geysers erupt and many more bison and pools of neatly colored water. The park was also full of waterfalls and lakes. It really is a very neat place to see, and if you ever get a chance to go, it is so worth the time and money.

The park is only open during the winter for guided tours on snow coaches or snow mobiles. The tours are rather costly; the snow coach was just a little cheaper than the snowmobile and, to me, a better trip. I have done both tours and got to see a lot more by snow coach because I was not driving and got to look more. Also, you are not nearly as tired because you don’t get as cold. We did get out and go on several walks, but then got back in a heated vehicle. The cost was just a little over $200 per person. Children cost the same as adults because they are taking up a seat. If traveling with young children, they do require car seats, just like a regular vehicle. We took our own because that is what my son was used to and it was more comfortable for him.

The next day of our trip we decided to ski. We were deciding between the Jackson Hole ski area and the Snow King ski area. Jackson Hole was much bigger but also about a 20-minute drive and a lot more expensive. After learning we got a discount at Snow King since our lodging was there, we decided on it. By staying there you can get an all-day lift ticket, which starts at 10am and ends at 8pm, for only 20 dollars. You can also get a 2-hour ticket for $10 or a half-day ticket for $14. The all-day is $35 if you are not staying at the resort.

They have a ski rental place in the hotel at the resort, so we went there to rent skis. They were not as cheap as the lift ticket, but still not bad. We only got a 2-hour ticket at first because it is a small ski area and we were worried we would get bored with the slopes.

The slopes were great; they had two lifts that serviced intermediate slopes and several different slopes from each lift. The mountain was also out of the wind and warmer than several areas I have skied in the past. The two hours went by fast and we took a lunch break and then went back for more.

We actually enjoyed the area enough that we returned again the next afternoon for more skiing there. We went and looked at the Jackson Hole ski area that we have skied in the past, but the prices were much higher and it seemed windier and cooler in that area, so we returned to ski at Snow King again. I would not recommend this ski area for a beginner or someone who has never skied; there was only one green trail and it was a narrow road. I did not like the narrow trails when I was beginning and still don’t care for them. This ski area has a lot of expert runs that we did not visit. It is a small area but we definitely enjoyed the value and location of it.