Wedding Pictures!!

Our pictures are up.  There are pictures from our photographer (Mark Fisher) and from all of our guests during the week.  Check them out!

http://betsyandericwedding.shutterfly.com/

Oct 11th accommodations - The Wort Hotel

We've decided to stay at The Wort Hotel our last night of our trip back in Jackson Hole.  For those that are staying til then we've arranged a group rate with the hotel.

Please call the Wort Hotel Reservations at 800-322-2727 or 307-733-2190

Jackson Hole Excursions

If anyone is looking for things to do in Jackson Hole/Grand Tetons here are a few things to try out.

• Whitewater Rafting
• Jackson Hole Whitewater
• Barker-Ewing Float Trips (will have to see if this one is open as some close in late Sept/early Oct)
• Kayak and Canoe
• Rendezvous River Sports
• Fishing
• Snake River Anglers
• Mangis Guides
• Grand Fishing Adventures
• Teton Troutfitters
• Hiking
• Hole Hiking Experience
• Horseback Riding
• WW Guides
• Wildlife/Tours
• Spring Creek Ranch Wildlife Tours
• Wildlife Expeditions
• Mountain Climbing
• Exum Mountain Guides
• Jackson Hole Mountain Guides

West Yellowstone Excursions

For those of you that are coming up to West Yellowstone for a few days, here is a list (that the Bar N Ranch provided for us) of activities and their preferred companies. Eric and I will be sticking to the more touristy sightseeing, but there are so many awesome things to do off the beaten path!!!
 Tonya (at the ranch) said she would be happy to make any reservations for us (T: 406-646-0300 ).  If you want to make your own reservations, she said to mention that you will be a guest at the Bar N Ranch.

Horseback ridding: yellowstone-guides.com
 Kayaking trips: http://lavacreekadventures.com/   (They have a special trip that leaves right from the ranch.)
Guided Fly Fishing trips: http://wyflyshop.com/
Guided trips into the park: http://www.yellowstonevacations.com/yellowstone-park-tours/buffalo-bus-tours/rates-package/ 


If you are thinking about booking an activity and want to see if anyone wants to join you, feel free to post it on our web page!


Thanks!
Betsy & Eric

Good Morning America, Most Beautiful Places in America

 Good Morning America had a contest and voted Jackson Hole, Wy one top ten most beautiful places in America!!!
Check it out!


http://abcnews.go.com/Travel/best_places_USA/slideshow/photos-grand-teton-national-park-wyoming-14264668

Great Website!

I found this great website about the Grand Tetons! Check it out if you have a few minutes!
http://www.discovergrandteton.org/

Extended Booking

The SCR has extended the booking till July 1st (our RSVP date). So if you are still interested in the ranch, go ahead and call. Tell them you are with the James/Toal wedding. They still have double queen rooms avail. and make sure you get the discounted rate. If there is any problem, get the name of the person helping you and call me! If you still want the list for other hotels, let me know!

Getting Closer!

Hi Everyone!
     If you haven't booked the Spring Creek Ranch  yet, I asked for an extension on the discounted rate. I will find out today and post it. I have a list of other hotels in the area (in town, less expensive and very close to the SCR). If you want them, leave your name and email address as a comment to this post!
                                             I can't believe it's June already!

RSVP card mystery

Hello  Everyone!
Eric and I are getting RSVP cards in the mail everyday! A few days ago we received a mystery card. There is absolutely nothing filled out on it! Ha! The person or persons took the time to tape it shut. If this sounds like your card, let us know!

Flight Info

Flights have unfortunately skyrocketed in price.

Check out kayak.com for best deals.  Airport code for Jackson, WY is JAC.  Unfortunately there are no direct flights (most go through Denver or Salt Lake City).  We've noticed lately a lot of flights with 2 stops (not fun) for much cheaper than 1 stop, so if you are willing to have 2 layovers go for it.

At least two people have booked a vacation package through Travelocity which included flight, Spring Creek Ranch accommodations, and a car for a few days so that may also be something to check into (Travelocity, Orbitz, Expedia, Priceline, cheapflights.com, etc)

We are planning on having a welcome dinner on Thursday evening that will be pretty casual.  If you can get an early flight for a good price then by all means go for it.  If not, then take your time getting in and we'll have some food waiting for you when you arrive.

Good Books

If anyone is looking for a good book or two to read about Yellowstone/Grand Tetons be sure to check these (or any others out).  These happen to be top books on Amazon on the subject...we own all 3.
Stay tuned for more details about each book or go to Amazon for detailed descriptions.

Yellowstone Treasures:
This is a must read.  We used this book throughout our entire trip.  It has great info by mileage which is useful while driving around.

Frommer's Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks

Top Trails Yellowstone & Grand Tetons: Must-do Hikes for Everyone

Bar N Ranch Update!

We almost have the entire ranch booked! AWESOME! We have heard that they are still giving the discounted rate (although, we can't guarantee it).  If you plan on coming up to West Yellowstone and want to stay at the ranch, check the rooms/cabins that are left...there are only a few options left!

For those not staying a week...

Just so everyone is aware, Monday October 10th 2011 is Columbus Day so most schools and probably a lot of businesses are closed.  I don't know if this will change your plans to stay til Monday rather than Sunday.  I know a lot of you still have kids to get back home to (if you are not taking them along).

For those staying 3 nights (leaving Sunday):
We recommend driving around the Grand Tetons with us on Saturday.  We will then be heading up to Yellowstone and would encourage you to drive up with us.  You can go as far as you'd like.  You will most likely have enough time to see West Thumb area and Upper Geyser Basin (Old Faithful and majority of other geysers are in this area).  If time permits you'll hopefully have time to head up to Grand Prismatic Springs which I think is also a must if you've traveled out there.  By that time you'll probably want to start heading back to Jackson (2+ hours away) to get back to your hotel for the night or continue onto West Yellowstone with us if you decide you want to stay the night there.  It depends on how much driving you want to do the next day and what time your flight is.  I know a few of you have decided to come up to Bar-N for the night so we welcome everyone else to.  Maybe some of you doing this can even carpool together.

For those staying 4 nights (leaving Monday):
Everything included in above 3 nights but instead of driving down to Jackson you can continue onto West Yellowstone with us and stay 2 nights at either Bar-N Ranch (if they will allow a 2 night stay) or another hotel in town.  This way you'll get to spend another entire day in the park.  The next day we'll explore the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone area which includes the Upper and Lower Falls.  We'll also probably stop by Yellowstone lake for a few pictures and hopefully we'll see some good animal activity in Haden Valley along the way.  You can then return back to West Yellowstone for the night.  I'd recommend an afternoon flight the next day so that you can drive down Monday morning (~3 hrs scenic drive to airport).
Another option is to stay 1 night in West Yellowstone and last night back in Jackson.  This way you can spend all of Saturday and Sunday with us driving around Yellowstone and then you can head back to Jackson towards the end of the day on Sunday (probably from Jackson Lake area which is probably 1.5 hours from Jackson).

For those staying the entire 6 nights with us please see the "Wedding Weekend" tab for our planned itinerary.

You didn't miss our wedding

So apparently on our "Save the Date" we put 2011 on the front (correct) and 2010 on the back (obviously wrong).  The printer must have screwed things up  :-)

You luckily haven't missed the wedding.  It is October 7, 2011.  Sorry for the mistake.
Now go and make your travel arrangements!

Wedding Date

We picked a date!

The wedding will be October 7th, 2011 in Jackson Hole, Wyoming @ the Spring Creek Ranch.

Save the date will be out shortly...

Engagement Trip - Day 4

  Today we slept til about 7am. I can't believe we are engaged. I'm pretty sure I woke up with an actual smile this morning. I was up in the air about if I was gonna put it on facebook. I wanted to tell more people before they found out on facebook. I texted Janet, Meg & Jac. I called Jess, she was super excited. I knew my mom would call Joanne, I wanted Jess to hear it from me. So, then I put it on facebook for everyone to see. Eric texted a bunch of his family and friends as well.

As we got ready the view from our balcony was so cool, the mountains looked like a backdrop, a painting on a large canvas!   On my way down to breakfast, Gina and Meg called me, I was so happy to tell them. Jac texted me right back a few times. Her las one was so funny “so is this our 24 hour notice to get to Vegas?”. Eric's family started answering right away also. By the time we were ready to leave I had like 20 replies on FB. So crazy! So we ate our breakfast and hit the road.

Engagement Trip - Day 3 - THE Day!

   It was 6am when I reached over to hit the snooze button. I was so excited! We actually got up right away and got ready. I packed us veggie sammys for lunch from some supplies we got on the way up to West Yellowstone. The cooler was packed and we were dressed for adventure!

We got engaged!

Champagne @ Artist Point at Grand Canyon of Yellowstone

We got engaged in Yellowstone National Park on September 2nd, 2010.  The Lower Falls at Red Rock Point was the perfect setting.

We loved our vacation so much that we decided to get married here.
More details to follow...

Engagement Trip - Day 2

Today we woke up to the sound of rain on the roof of our cabin. We hit the alarm off because there wasn't any reason to hit the trails if it was poring. We looked out the window and the Tetons were blanketed in a dense fog. Maybe the bottom 10% of the mountains was visible. Packing up our room was bitter sweet. We loved our little cabin tucked away at the bottom of the majestic mountains on the shore of the lake. We packed and set out in hunt for a good breakfast and some scenic drives. Breakfast was another good meal at our lodge. It was the same waitress and the same view. Eric ordered a skillet breakfast without eggs, extra veggies, the waitress giggled, but didn't make him repeat it. I had a bagel, strawberries and a banana, which I saved for a snack. We started our trip with full bellies and needed to get gas. We started out a little disappointed by the fog and rain but the Tetons still did not let us down. Even though we couldn't see the snow covered peaks, they were still as awesome.

Engagement Trip - Day 1

Rocky start to the trip – enough said. When we were just about to land in Jackson Hole, Wyoming we saw the biggest mountains we've ever seen. It was a little weird to see them covered (peaks) in snow. We flew over this lake that was as blue as the water in the islands. It was just what we needed to get excited for the trip. We got off the airplane, walked on the tarmac, and through a doorway made of antlers – we were not in Jersey anymore. We got our car and bags and headed out. It was so cold compared to the 90 degree weather we were so used to.

Rental Car

Our car is a silver Subaru Impreza. Love It!