Jackson

Today was scheduled to be "Jackson Day" in Jackson Hole.  Before heading to the Jackson Town Square for the Farmer's Market, Lily spotted a prairie dog in the back yard.  We baited it with some cinnamon raisin toast, which it seemed to enjoy, but it scurried back into its hideout whenever we came onto the porch.  Lily was a patient hunter.  The temperature at 9:00 AM was 55 degrees, but it felt colder.   

The town square has elk-antler arches at each corner of the park, which seems like quite a feat.  The Farmer's Market had the usual assortment of crafts, food (the best of which was pastries, breads, jams, honey, etc.), and produce.  We had a great cup of coffee from Cowboy Coffee Co., which roasts its own beans and posits that "friends don't let friends drink corporate coffee."  The 20 oz. cup was only $2.25 - a steal.  

After some mid-morning pastries, we headed to a toy store the girls had spied the night before.  Think Wonderworks on steroids.  Most of the toys were really cool, engaging, and well thought out (they had good board games and a pair of bear claw slippers that were really tempting), some were really expensive (a 32,000 piece puzzle for over $300), and the shop owner was a superb salesman because you could tell he genuinely loved the toys.  We got out of there with a streamer thingy, which was actually quite fun to play with.  

What does E equal, again?  

Statutes of Mark Twain and Einstein.

The shops around the square were great - a little something for everyone.  The girls got "thinking putty", to keep their hands busy during down times like waiting for lunch and riding in the car.  It didn't take long for the hand putty to make it to the face, which got a little too close to the hair.  Not a good combination.   

Once entangled, this huge glob stubbornly refused to budge, so Sarah Ellen got her second haircut of the trip.  This was lunch at McPhail's, by the way, a family-owned spot that serves a most excellent burger and philly cheesesteak.    

Once back home, we enjoyed a summer thundershower followed by a rainbow.  

On the road, we ran into a "moosejam."  There were 8-10 cars pulled to the side in each direction because a moose was munching on some grass off the shoulder.  We barely saw him, but the glimpses were pretty impressive - a big animal with an enormous rack.  You can't see anything in this picture, but this will remind us of the big event.  We haven't seen nearly as many moose as I had hoped this far into the trip.   

Wednesdays and Saturdays in Jackson are rodeo nights.  The girls got new shirts for the occasion, and everyone had on their cowboy boots!  

The rodeo is quite entertaining.  Every time I go to an Edwin McCain concert, I wish I was a rock star.  Every college football season, I wish I was a wide receiver.  The list goes on.  After watching the rodeo, it might be nice to be one of the cowboys strutting around on horses between events, but I don't have much desire to ride an angry 2,000 lb bull for 8 seconds with nothing but a rope to hang onto.  One of the riders got bucked early, very close to the stall gate, and the bull turned to gore him, kicking and bucking wildly.  The rider somehow wriggled out of there, with the help of some really brave bullfighters, but the risk is great.

(not this guy - the other rider was pinned close to the wall) 

This white monster was especially mad, and didn't want to go back in.  

One of the highlights was barrel racing.  It's a women-only event, and one of the riders was 12!  

It rained hard the first hour of the rodeo.  

Cowgirls

The quote of the day was when Sarah Ellen said, halfway through the rodeo, "I thought the rodeo was horses everywhere dancing to music."