After we entered Gunther in a local car show and got VIP treatment this weekend (I’ll post about that later), I got my wish granted when the hubs graciously drove me up through Teton Valley, over the pass into Jackson and then down towards Alpine and home through Swan Valley, where we stopped to snap a ton of pics along the way.

We really enjoyed the drive for the most part, but there was a certain sadness I felt that I couldn’t quite put my finger on. I think it started before we even left town when we had to stop and get a few things at the store and then grabbed breakfast at our favorite cafe. Everyone seemed so downcast and despondent and the mood everywhere we went was so, well, not what it should have been for such a beautiful fall day.

Everyone just seems weary of what’s happening with the you-know-what and are sick of it affecting every aspect of our daily lives and it’s sad.

Still, we didn’t let that stop us from enjoying our day trip so we loaded up on coffee and off we went!

We did get hung up between Teton and Tetonia (yes, we have two towns near each other with similar names) because of road work, but it wasn’t too bad and the views of the Tetons were breathtaking when we finally got past it all and hit the open road.

Gunther purred like a happy lion the whole way. He’s still probably gloating to himself about all the attention he got at the car show. 😄

We stopped to stretch our legs along the same viewpoint where I took my son up to watch the sunset on his birthday a few years ago.

It was back when I could still drive, before my mastocytosis progressed to the point that I started passing out and having seizures which made me lose my license. I can’t begin to describe how much I miss driving but I’m sooo glad we have that memory to share (as well as some gorgeous photos of the sun rising over the Tetons).

We drove over the pass and went up through Jackson and then back down along the back road past the golf and tennis club, whose live web cam I always check in with and share snapshots here sometimes. It’s funny to have the wealthy folks wave at us like we’re one of them, when we aren’t.

Like, at all.

We are just normal, working class people who drive a nice car that the hubs got a great deal on through his line of work. 😆

We stopped for lunch in Jackson and on the way down towards Palisades we took some time to hike a short trail along the Snake River so we could see the beautiful fall colors up close (and test my endurance which was abysmal! Ugh!!).

It’s at a point with a lot of whitewater called the Big Kahuna and Lunchbox Rapids which is really popular with kayakers and fishermen.

We didn’t see any of them, but went at the perfect time for taking in the fall colors, as you can see.

These pictures just don’t do it justice. You can’t feel the cool, fall air or smell the forest scents coming from all directions but if you ever find yourself in our “backyard”, you’ll definitely want to stop here along the way.

It’s one of the last road trips over the mountain that we’ll be able to take in Gunther before he has to go back in the garage for the winter and we swap him out for the 4wd truck. Some years we are still able to drive him locally up until Thanksgiving, but definitely not over the pass, which will be covered in snow soon enough.

We will be going that way again, though. The Pedigree Stage Stop is scheduled for January and we never miss it (unless we have to) and we love to run the dog sled team up at Alpine after the pro mushers have run through.

I just hope the you-know-what doesn’t cause them to cancel the ceremonial start to the races in Jackson again. I don’t even want to book our hotel room ahead of time until we’re sure (sigh).