As I sit on a bench outside Cowboy Coffee Co., sipping a cappuccino, the sun blazing down on my head, I can almost imagine a time long gone when cowboys tethered their horses and bought their provisions at the general store. Today, the general store sells souvenirs, instead of provisions, and the saloons have become high end art galleries selling $20,000 paintings. And I love it!
The Stay
Rusty Parrot Lodge – Being a SLH member has its benefits and it’s evident at the Rusty Parrot – including free breakfast, late check out and free in-room wireless.
Our upper level King room was nicely furnished with a pine framed bed, down comforter and even a stuffed teddy bear to greet us. There was a hand written welcome note on the desk as well as a plate of fresh fruit for our enjoyment.
The bathroom was spacious and filled with L’Occitane products. There were robes in the closet as well as a humidifier for our use.
As we were walking to our room, we passed The Wild Sage restaurant where we had dinner reservations. The restaurant was closed at the time, but the doors were open and we saw a chef rolling out fresh pasta. There were lovely flowers at the entrance and I immediately knew we had made the right decision to dine at the hotel on that first night.
Coffee and tea are available 24 hours a day on the upper level library area, where couches, books and a fireplace create a warm and relaxing atmosphere. There is also a lovely outdoor deck with couches, fire pit, jacuzzi and rotating lounge chairs.
The front desk staff was both knowledgeable and helpful.
Location – Excellent
Staff – Knowledgeable and helpful
Rooms – Rustic luxury
Dining – Top notch
Dinner at the Wild Sage restaurant was delicious and the breakfast (included in our room rate), was yummy. When commenting to the server that I loved the huckleberry jam, she showed up a few minutes later with a container of jam for us to take home. Unfortunately, I had to tell her that I couldn’t take it in my hand carry, but I sure was tempted to try.
Tip: After dinner head to the Silver Dollar Bar in the Wort Hotel for cocktails and music.
For your morning coffee fix head to Cowboy Coffee Co.
Tip: If you love chocolate, pastries or gelato master chocolatier and chef Oscar Ortega has the sweet for you. Stop by his workshop Atelier Ortega or his dessert boutique Coco Love. There you will find his handmade chocolates, award winning gelato and scrumptious pastries.
Activities
BrushBuck Wildlife Sunrise Tour. is a 4 hour Grand Teton tour that (in our case), started with pickup from our hotel at 6:30am.
Our tour guide, Duane, arrived promptly at 6:30am with snacks, water and sodas for the ride. @Tee2Pub and I hopped in and were very excited to start this adventure. On the way to our first stop Duane filled us in on the history and statistics of the area. He was knowledgeable and fun to listen to. We talked about indigenous animals, the magnificent Grand Tetons, American Indians and the town of Jackson.
Once we arrived at the Elk refuge viewing point, Duane jumped out of the car, setup two tripods with Nikon telephoto lenses and showed us a lovely herd of elk. That was just the beginning. Duane knew the area like the back of his hand, and turned here and there and the next thing you know we were staring at a beautiful moose with the Grand Tetons as its background. OMG! What a picture!
Around the next bend was a herd of bison that were so close we could have reached out and touched them. Needless to say, we took pictures from the car.
Continuing on we saw long horned sheep, mule deers, eagles and yes, even a grizzly bear. The only animal that remained elusive to us was the wolf.
All in all, this was an educational tour, adventuresome, and a pure delight. Duane has extensive knowledge and can answer any question you have. Would we take this tour again – you bet we would.
Comfort level – very nice SUV, with a great heater
Educational – very knowledgeable guide
Animal sightings – many
Fun factor – a blast!
TisforTravel 
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