Day 31: Snake River Kayaking and a Moose Show
One of my very favorite activities in Jackson is kayaking the Snake River. Kayaking is so much fun because we can enjoy incredible scenery, get some exercise and chat as a group while we move down the river.
We were up before 7 a.m. to get all the boats packed up and all the supplies that go along with them. Including the two kayaks we had in the RV, we had six boats total, which fit the whole crew of 10. We took three cars to the Jackson Lake Dam and then dropped a car off at the takeout point (Pacific Creek) while the rest of us worked on inflating kayaks.
The water is so clear; we could see 100s of fish swimming in the river. We also saw some herons, white swans, and other birds, and Jane saw a snake in the water. We had three swimmers (by choice): Nicole, Cooper and Nicholas. The highlight for me is always the Oxbow, which is so beautiful, and it feels extra cool to be on the water when most of the other people around there are viewing from the shore.
Our inflatable boats have more drag than Rob’s parents and especially more than the hard kayaks, but the kids didn’t really mind our slower stroll down the river.
After the couple hour float/paddle we enjoyed a picnic lunch at the takeout point before heading back to the house.
Back at the house all four boys played a new-to-us video game together, Soul Knight. Apparently it was quite thrilling as they beat the game the first time they tried. What luck, which didn’t happen the following attempts, but it didn’t stop them from playing even more. It is really cool that at ages 16, 12, 9, and 7 they all get along so well. Rob and Brian enjoyed a beer on the deck while Nicole and I did the 4-mile hike to the top of the hill and back.
Nicole and I headed out to pick up pizza from Hand Fire Pizza for dinner, which was delicious and a hit with everyone. After dinner, the adults chatted on the deck about Yellowstone (the Baers were just coming from there) and reminisced about old times. The boys went back to playing Soul Knight, this time in the darkness of their room, which our boys are still talking about as a highlight of their visit.
Nicole had commented that seeing a moose at the house would really be the cherry on top of an awesome 48 hours together. Wouldn’t you know it, while we were still on the deck, we heard some branches breaking in the woods near us. We get up to check it out and not only was there a moose cow, but she also had her calf (likely born in May) with her, too. They stayed and munched on the vegetation near the deck for about 30 minutes. We were able to be super-close without being in danger or interfering with their eating. The kids all came up from gaming and stayed quite a while to check them out, too. As if seeing the mama and calf wasn’t enough we even saw the calf nurse! The calf wasn’t so gentle, which made the kids all giggle when watching. It felt like we were in the middle of a national geographic show or something. What a way to end their visit!
