Day 3

This morning we woke up to a beautiful day and Stevie’s birthday!  In the morning, Stevie, my dad, Cannon and I wondered down to the visitor's center to check out the options of what to do and to see the mountains.  Cannon and I wondered on a bit further to hike a short trail which led to a spit with a fabulous view.

When we returned to the cabin, we gave Stevie his presents and a cake that we had hidden from him.

After checking out all the possibilities, Stevie decided to do a rafting trip down the Snake River for his birthday.  This was not exactly a high-adventure white water rafting trip, but more a scenic, relaxing drift down the river.  The guide was excellent, though, and gave us history of the area as well as pointing out some wild-life (like some pronghorn deer and several bald eagles).  The most exciting part was the brewing storm over the Tetons.  While it started out a beautiful, sunny day, the minute we hit the river the sky over the Tetons turned black.  Never fear, we never got wet but we did get a beautiful lightning and thunder show!

After our drift down the river, we went back to the cabin for a bit before heading over to Jackson Lake Lodge for a special birthday dinner.  The Lodge had the most amazing view of the Tetons and we were treated to the sun setting on the mountains while eating a spectacular meal which included buffalo tartar, elk steaks and Idaho trout.  Yum!  All in all, I think it was a pretty nice way to spend a birthday.