Happy Birthday America!

I must say, 246 looks good on you! We spent this Independence Day off the beaten path, literally exploring a road less traveled. The day started with breakfast and a Bloody Mary (cuz we ARE on vacation after all) after which we ventured back into GTNP. Only this time, we turned right instead of left and took a dead end road leading out of the park. As the road went from asphalt to gravel to dirt the scenery just got better and better! We drove for 2+ hours and never did see the end before we turned around. But what we DID see was absolutely amazing…. Ranches, rivers, meadows, mountains…. And horses! Hundreds of horses!! Ronald Reagan is quoted as saying, “There is nothing better for the inside of the man than the outside of the horse.” So forgive me in advance for the over abundance of horse pictures in this post. During our drive we came upon a pasture with at least a dozen horses standing at a gate alongside the road just begging us to stop! So we did, and we must have spent 20 minutes there petting them and just admiring the place they called home. I told my husband to just leave me there and pick me up on the way back out, but luckily he talked me out of it, for which I am so thankful because the beauty we were yet to see was amazing. It’s hard to put into words, or to capture in a photo, how stunning the backcountry can be. This truly is God’s country, so it only seems fitting that we finished off our day inside the park at the Chapel of the Transfiguration. This quaint chapel has the most stunning view of any I’ve been in. A beautiful place of worship.

To continue celebrating the 4th, we attended a pops concert performed by the local symphony. And then we watched fireworks from the front porch of our hotel room. The perfect ending to a perfect day! Next we head out of Jackson Hole and into Yellowstone country, where I’m sure more beauty awaits!