Kelly / Jackson Hole

We went to the Grand Tetons hiking planning on staying at most one night in Jackson Hole. This was before our camping trip in Yellowstone. When we were hiking in the Tetons we were debating driving up north towards Yellowstone and sleeping in our car for the night. After our amazing hike to Amphitheater Lake we were getting back to our car and there was a couple who needed a ride back into Jackson. They had be climbing up in the mountains and wanted to get a hotel for the night. We got to town and there wasn't a single room available for them. I talked to our couch surfing host, David, and he didn't have any more room at his place, but they were able to pitch their tent in his yard. It ended up working great for everyone. We were actually David's first surfers out in Jackson Hole. Mark & Ali, the climbers, are from Flagstaff, AZ so we have a place to stay when we get there!

The other coincidental thing that happened while we were climbing that day was talking to Terry Hunter. (He had been golfing with Jake that day) He told us his son and daughter in law had a cafe in Kelly, a small town with the most amazing view of the Tetons just a few miles outside of Jackson Hole. We went there and had lunch with Al & Heather and immediately we realized that we would get along great with them and that they were a ton of fun. We were planning on going to Missoula to watch Keller Williams, but they convinced us to come back down after a few days in Yellowstone to watch the show with them and their friends in Jackson.

We got back that Friday afternoon in time for happy hour at the cafe. It was a beautiful night and we got to meet half the town and hang out watching the sun set behind the Tetons. The town has about 2 streets and a yurt park! The whole town in full of amazing people too. There are artists, and pro skiers, world class rock climbers, professional bikers, published authors, mountaineers, etc. There was just so much to do and so many amazing people to meet. Saturday before the show we went white watew rafting down the Snake river with Pete Popinchalk, who was a rafting guide and amazing rock climber. That evening we went to the Keller Williams concert with a whole gang. The Kelly crew probably made up 10% of the people there! It was a super intimate venue. The next day the Steelers played and we had to have a party for that!

 Al's friend, TJ, was able to hook me up with a new mountain bike later that week. It's a Scott that was used as a rental all summer so I got a great deal on it. I'm officially part of the “Kells Angels” Gang. (Everyone in Kelly rides around on bikes and they refer to themselves as Kells Angels) We were “hood rating” all week with everyone. We went on some great hikes in the mountains and bike rides. Another friend, Rico, took us rafting again too. It was peak fall colors and they were quite impressive as we floated down I Rico actually lives inside the National Park because his grandpa with his twin brother were some of the first to explore the Tetons. They did all this work for National Geographic. Annie & I felt at home there. Annie would bake cinnamon rolls and zucchini bread and cook up delicious meals. We'd have cook outs at night and we helped Adam out in the woods cutting down firewood. We ended up staying all week then we couldn't leave before the Steelers Sunday Night game, so we didn't. This area was definitely on the top of our favorite places list and it wouldn't be surprising if we go back out to look for jobs and stay awhile.