You Only Live Once
Usually YOLO (“you only live once”) is reserved as a declarative statement made right before somebody does something stupid. In the most entertaining cases, YOLO is preceded by “Hold my beer.” Tyler and I don’t drink beer, but this weekend was certainly a YOLO decision! At the end of April, the federal government graciously gifted Tyler with eight hours of extra vacation time. It was technically an Easter break, but because there’s a separation of church and state, the government couldn’t say that. Regardless of what the government called it, we were eager to do something big with the extra time off. Why not a weekend trip? But to where? The answer seemed obvious. We were going back to my favorite national park: Grand Teton.
Featured photos: https://photos.app.goo.gl/MsSXf5ZQ4MwLLY9q8
April 27th, 2024 - Jackson, Wyoming
As we were packing for our little getaway, I happened to catch a glimpse of Tyler’s cowboy hat sitting in our closet. In high school, Tyler had starred in a commercial that had been filmed in Utah. As part of his “costume,” the company bought him a cowboy hat. With a grin, I said, “I dare you to wear your cowboy hat out west.”
I meant it as a joke, but Tyler grew thoughtful. “I could, but what would I wear it with?”
The next thing I knew, we were in a Tractor Supply store earnestly discussing felt and hat bands. Now, I know somebody is probably thinking it, so I’ll just go ahead and say it. I know we’re Ohioans. I know it’s a little corny for an Ohioan to wear a cowboy hat. (Someone on the airport shuttle later commented, “It looks like y’all are going to Texas!”) But in the grand scheme of things, who cares about being corny? It was a YOLO trip with YOLO decisions. Plus, turns out my husband looks great in a cowboy hat. Win win.
Tyler‘s cowboy hat later lead to an entertaining interaction at the airport baggage carousel. While waiting for our bags, I watched a man glance over at Tyler and give him a once over. Literally, this man looked at Tyler’s hat, then the boots, then back up again. With a grin, he said “So are you going to the rodeo or coming from one?”
Tyler, a little caught off guard, replied, “Oh, we’re going to Jackson.”
“Oh.” The man nodded uncertainly, clearly not recognizing the name of the Wyoming town. He crossed his arms, grew thoughtful for a moment, then grinned again. “I wanna be a cowboy when I grow up.”
We all chuckled. When silence fell, Tyler asked, “So where are you from?”
“Oh, upstate New York… yeah, no rodeos up there.” We all chuckled again, and then were swept into a minute of silence as we watched the suitcases circle the carousel. I was starting to feel awkward. Clearly this man thought Tyler was a cowboy, and I somehow hated the idea of disappointing his fantasy. Sure enough, the man broke the silence a minute later when he leaned in with a big smile. “So. Do ya rope ‘em?”
I would have wilted under the social discomfort, but Tyler was committed to the story. He simply smiled and shook his head. It was brilliantly clever, a truth without elaborating. On cue, our suitcases rolled around on the carousel and granted us the perfect escape. Social awkwardness was avoided, and no lies were told. Still, I should make a PSA here. Mr. New York, if you’re reading this, we are sorry to disappoint you. We’re just Ohioans with fancy hats!
We stayed the night in Salt Lake City, then began the four-hour drive north the next day. Our scenic route took us through Soda Springs, Idaho, where we made sure to stop for the hourly geyser eruption in the middle of town. We had discovered the geyser by accident the last time we were in Soda Springs. It erupts every hour due to a timed-release system the town installed. As an interesting aside, the town was forced to install the timed system after it was discovered their humble geyser was interrupting Old Faithful’s schedule up in Yellowstone. Heaven forbid a little agricultural town interfere with the tourism!
The early spring roads were beautifully scenic on our drive to Wyoming. Devoid of their leafy crowns, the aspens were stark against the early spring landscape. Pure white and whimsical in shape, aspen trees lend themselves to a number of descriptions. One might compare them to rows of bleached gravestones, the skeletal remains of winter’s harsh grip. I think aspens look more picturesque than gothic. They’re simply an elevation of snow’s color, brushstrokes of white painting upwards into a grey skey.
We rolled into Jackson right around lunchtime, so we got ourselves a quick lunch at Wendy’s, just like true Ohioans. Unlike the red roofs and brick facades I’m accustomed to at home, this was a Wyoming Wendy’s. Its outside was a warm brown, welcoming in nature. Inside, stained glass windows decorated with elk and bighorned sheep cast colorful reflections on the floor. I snapped a picture and sent it to my family, saying “I think all Wendy’s should have stained glass wildlife in them!”
The rest of the day was spent with blithe tourism. Having visited Jackson once before, we were well aware of the sky-high cost of living. You can’t expect to escape Jackson without spending more money than you had intended! However, we discovered a work-around. We’ll let you in on our little secret. If you ever want to get touristy things in Jackson, start at the grocery store! We strode into Albertson’s with purpose. I was focused on finding myself a new shirt to wear back home. We had done this by accident on our last visit, and had scored ourselves hiking sweaters for a mere $12 a piece. For Jackson, that’s a steal! This time around, we found some cozy sweatshirts. Mine was a pale green, the same color of the mountains on a foggy morning. I was very pleased.
We gave ourselves sticker shock at a Boot Barn and a fancy cowboy hat store, so we stuck our hands in our pockets and resigned ourselves to window shopping for a bit. I snuck in a new coffee mug and a clearance shirt, but otherwise we kept it pretty cheap. We were just content to be in Wyoming! Jackson is a beautiful town, and it lends itself well to any kind of tourism- even the budget kind! Jackson seems to be self-aware, because it features a long list of online webcams that hopeful visitors can watch from afar. I am well-acquainted with these webcams. On quiet evenings together, Tyler and I like to log on and check webcams across Wyoming. First Yellowstone, then Grand Teton, finally settling on a Jackson webcam to see the tourists. This past winter, Jackson strung up Christmas lights that glowed cheerily through thick, fluffy snowflakes. Those webcams are half of the reason why we took our quick trip to begin with! There’s a Hallmark quality to Jackson, a romantic allure that is contagious to travelers like us. Now we were here, walking the streets we had dreamt about all winter. Like any dutiful tourist, we got our picture taken under the signature elk antler arches that guard each corner of the town square. Then, just for laughs, we logged on to the webcam and waved at ourselves! We felt like celebrities, if only to us.
Despite the rainy forecast, a friendly sun began to push itself through the clouds. This was unexpected. We had expected nothing but rain that day, so the sunshine was a huge blessing! Seizing the moment, we jumped in the car and headed up into Grand Teton. From experience we’ve learned that the Teton mountains are shy. If photography is your goal in the park, you learn to pay attention to the clouds. On this partly-sunny afternoon, we were blessed with a view of the mountains. Not all of them, but most of them! I was elated. Ever dutiful to my growing photography passion, the camera was out the entire time! We ended up getting a series of couples photos together. Don’t ask me why- it just felt right! The sun warmed our shoulders, the blue mountains glowed, and romance was in the air. Why not take some pics? You only live once!
An entire town of ground squirrels were very intrigued by our behaviors. They scampered, unafraid, near our feet. Like whack-a-mole, they popped in and out of their numerous holes. They were charming, honestly! You couldn’t help but be amused by their short legs and cute faces. Tyler grabbed an incredible video of one squirrel doing a stare-down with him. This squirrel kept full, strong eye contact with Tyler for at least a minute! I’ll be sure to link the video in our photo album. It was pretty great!
We rounded out our evening at the Million Dollar Cowboy Bar. Given that we aren’t drinkers, it follows that we aren’t frequent bar visitors. But the Million Dollar Cowboy Bar isn’t just a bar, it’s the icon of Jackson, Wyoming. It was the perfect front for our cowboy charade. The barstools are worn leather saddles. Old West silver dollars (supposedly a million of them) are embedded in the glossy wooden bar. Cowboy paintings, taxidermy, and wagon wheels decorate the space. With hats sitting high on our heads, we ordered ourselves tall drinks of water and some greasy bar food. Then we sat back to enjoy the environment. We didn’t get to see a good old-fashioned bar brawl (I was kind of hoping we would), but it was still a good night!
It wasn’t just a good night for us. As we left the bar, a white ballgown caught my eye. Across the way, a bride in a silky dress posed happily for photos with her new husband. The glowing cowboy atop the bar sign cast a warm hue over the night. They were perfectly happy, and so were we. When you only live once, it’s best to make every moment count.
I think we succeeded that day.
—Disclaimer: We know that post is out of sequence with our current publishing order. Due to numerous requests for this story, we are posting it early. We will be back with 2023 stories in two weeks!—
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