So we have been traveling up a storm this summer. From wedding to wedding, and most recently to Jackson Hole, WY. We had the first ever Howell Family vacation and it was AMAZING. I got to expereince many things that were quite new to me and I had Scott right beside me to partake in them all, which was so much fun. We got to learn new and hilarious things about all members of the Howell clan, and let me just say that MANY memories were made!!!
Here are some pictures to document our incredible trip.
We started out with white water rafting and Erin got to be our "hood ornament" on the front of the raft, since she did not want to paddle. The FREEZING cold Snake River water was drenching her the entire time. I was laughing so hard I could barley paddle, not very helpful to the rest of the raft I am sure.
We were picked up on the fourth of July and taken into the Gros Ventre Mountain Range, this is where we camped out in really nice tents and we had Brian and Molly to guide and feed us on our hiking safari. We ate a lot and we hiked ALOT!! This was more hiking than I had ever done in my entire life. We were going straight up mountains and then the next hour stomping through snow. This was a great family bonding expereince. As we kept on going it made me excited to make it to Flat Creek Ranch and get to experience a vacation instead fo a hik-cation!
After two nights in our tents on the third day we made the final decent into Flat Creek Ranch, and the real vacation began. What an amazing place!! Every time I would take a picture I knew that the picture could never do justice to the actaul place. I really think that this is one of the most beautiful places I had ever been. The mountains, the lake, the cabins, the food and the people were all more that I could have even dreamt up.
While at the ranch we horseback rode, which was not my favorite, but it took Scott back to his days at camp, I could tell that he was in his element with all of the horses. Those saddles and the bopping up and down was a little to uncomfortable for my taste though. We also went to a fly fishing clinic which I really enjoyed, since I had no clue where to even begin learning to fly fish on my own. I can get bored pretty quickly, but with fly fishing, you can keep casting and casting which makes it interesting and it is so beautiful to watch. I learned a lot by watching Scott and my brother-in-law Clay. They both were pros in comparison to me, that is for sure. I had a little incident the first day with a strong current and a lot of stubborness. Because of this equation I walked into the midddle of the creek and the current took me under, I was up to my neck in the COLD water that was going down my waiters (not very pleasant), but besides that I really enjoyed it. I wish that I had gotten the fishing license for one more day, but on the other hand, I would not have had an excuse to relax and read my book on our back porch overlooking the amazing stream.
All in all the trip was wonderful and I think about Flat Creek Ranch on a regular basis. I think everyone should get to experience such a beautiful place way up in the Wyoming mountains!
Thank you John and Ty Howell, you opened my eyes to so many new things in eight days! What an incredible time was had by all!
