"Jackson Area Activities" a Jackson Travel Page by glo39

Author: Diane Daniel Date: November 23, 2003 Page: M2 Section: Travel-The Boston Globe

WHO: GAIL and G... her son, of NH
WHERE: Wyoming
WHEN: Two weeks in August
WHY: ''I'd wanted to go on a wagon train ride for my birthday, but I fractured my foot and had to postpone 1 year," Gail said.
PARKING IT: ''The first thing we did was go through the Grand Teton National Park and Yellowstone," Gail said. ''I got like 10 feet away from elks," G... said, ''and it looked like there were millions of buffalo."
SLEEPY TIME: ''Part of our trip through Yellowstone, we got so carried away with all the sightseeing that I was so tired, I couldn't drive back to where we were staying. We snuck in the parking lot at The Old Faithful Inn and slept overnight in the car. We were so close to the geysers when we woke up that G... likes to say we woke up 50 feet in the air."
PLAYING HOOPS: Gail took G... to the Grand Targhee Bluegrass Festival because ''in the '80s, I was very involved in putting on bluegrass festivals in Cambridge, and I thought it might be nice to do that with my son." G... deemed the music ''all right," but loved the hula hoops all over the place, and mother and son ended up gyrating for hours.
WATER SPORTS: ''We went whitewater rafting in a canyon in the Bridger-Teton National Forest ... I'd always been terrified to do it. I loved it," she said.
ALL ABOARD: Their four-day, three-night wagon train ride, with Teton Wagon Train & Horse Adventure (www.tetonwagontrain.com), was in the Targhee National Forest. Their group had seven adults and seven children, ages 8 to 12. ''They do everything for you except pitch your tent," Gail said.
ON THE WAGON: ''Big draft horses pull the wagon and the cowboys ride alongside," Gail said. ''They teach you exactly what to do," G... said. ''How to mount a horse, how to not attract bears." Bears? ''We didn't see any, but we could see signs of them," Gail said. ''All the wranglers and cowboys sleep outside and have guns."
GETTING AROUND: ''We moved by horse, hiking, or in the wagons. ... And the scenery was absolutely stunning," Gail said. ''I liked to go on horseback," G... said. ''You go right through the woods."
SHOOT 'EM UP: ''They asked the parents if they wouldn't mind if we shot guns. I was the first woman to get up and shoot," Gail said. ''The kids shot .22 revolvers, then .44 Magnum revolvers, trapper guns, all kinds of guns."
TALL TALES: ''At night we'd sit around the campfire and the cowboys would sing songs and tell stories," G... said. ''One of the owners wrote cowboy poetry," Gail said. ''The kids were thrilled."
GETTING AWAY: ''I loved it all. ... G... loved it too. The first night in the tent he flings himself on me and says, 'Mom, this is the best vacation I've ever had.'"