Oh to recap our long but short, relaxing but active, Thanksgiving trip is actually a delight to reminisce about already. Our group of six had a great time in our wonderful condo in Jackson, WY for four nights. Bryan, David, Tina and myself stayed up late on Tuesday night waxing skis and packing up. We left bright and early at 7am, heading straight east. Our drive…was long:
We stopped for coffee and pastries in Ellensburg, stopped for “linner” in Missoula, and stopped for frostys somewhere in Idaho. We arrived after 14.5 hrs out our wonderfully modern and luxe condo in Jackson, WY. We had three bedrooms, two baths, gas fireplace, a huge kitchen with two ovens and a gas stove (key for Thanksgiving cooking), a large living room and a hot tub on the roof. No complaints here.
Thanksgiving day started right off with cooking. We began as we slowly woke up, took many trips to the store, and had a wonderfully complex time trying to make all of the dishes with the pans and pots provided. We were all amazed at: 1. How great all of our dishes came out…all of them and 2. That it was all finished at the same time (sat down at 3:30).
The menu:
- 14lb Turkey and homemade gravy using homemade stock = Me
- Stuffing using homemade stock = Me
- Mashed potatoes = David
- Green bean casserole = Kim
- Roasted glazed carrots = Kim
- Cornbread = Tina
- Baked mac and cheese = Tina
- Salad = Me
- Pecan Pie and whipped cream = Kim
- Apple Pie and vanilla ice cream = Bryan
I was relieved that the turkey came out cooked and juicy, everyone loves that stuffing recipe, had no problems with the gravy, and both of the pies came out so well. Their crusts were the right kind of flaky and Bryan’s apple pie was probably the best I have ever had, and I am not just saying that because he is my boyfriend, it wasn’t runny, was cooked through, great flavor, and Washington apples. Between dinner and dessert we went on a drive to watch the sunset on the Tetons so Kim could take pictures. Hot tub and movie followed.
Friday we had a free ski day at Jackson Hole, one of the best resorts in North America. Unfortunately the snow was not great but there was enough of it to open about half of the resort and it was a sunny day without a cloud in the sky…and free! We skied all day stopping just for a lunch break where they were offering $1 hamburgers and hotdogs and $1 drafts for an hour. They also had two great live bands outside in the warm and sunny air. We went back to the condo to soak our tired muscles in the hot tub before having Thanksgiving leftovers of course and then playing Scattergories.
Saturday was spent with a lazy morning of homemade breakfast of eggs, bacon, and pancakes and then the very unfortunate loss by one point to the Buckeyes. We then drove to Jackson Lake in the Teton National Park, say a ton of wild bison, and went on a very short hike to Taggert Lake. After sunset we went to the old Wort Hotel in the city center to their Silver Dollar Bar for local brews, buffalo burgers, and bluegrass music all around. The buffalo burger definitely hit the spot and the Snake River Zinger Stouts that I had made it possible for me and Bryan to get on the dance floor for two songs to music I don’t know how to dance to. We sadly had our last soak in the hot tub before settling into more pie and Cool Runnings before calling it a night.
Sunday we packed up and headed out for coffees and breakfast sandwiches at the Cowboy Coffee Co. in town before saying our good-byes to Kim and Mark. We began on our journey back to Seattle going a different way. Snow was present leaving Jackson but changed to wind, then rain, then fog. We made it back to Seattle right at 11pm, exhausted but satisfied with our travels. What a great Friendsgiving!
Chelsea
Evolving in the Emerald City 