DAY FIVE: Jackson Lake...

 

During the drive to Yellowstone the day before, Trevor spotted a lake with a sandy shore and unbelievable mountain views.  Since Banner has never been to a beach or played in the sand, returning to this spot jumped right to the top of the list of "what to do tomorrow".  Especially since "tomorrow" was technically August 1st.  Nothing says August like having your feet in the sand.

So, the very next morning, we woke up, packed some snacks and headed back into the Grand Teton National Park.  The lake ended up being on the northern end Jackson Lake, which meant we drove almost all the way back to gates of Yellowstone.  At first, I was annoyed by this and took it out on Trevor with a few snippy comments about the length of the drive.  But, to be fair, the sound of my child SCREAMING in the back seat for an hour made me mite anxious and sharp.  Unfortunately, Trevor thought the lake he glimpsed through the trees with sandy shores was relatively close to the cabin.  But, in reality, it wasn't at all.  Had we realized that we'd be driving fifty some odd miles, we would have planned better for the little guy with the seven minute "ka-ka" (car) ride limit. 

Luckily, it ended up being totally worth it.  Because have you ever seen anything so beautiful in your life:

Banner was immediately drawn to the "wa-wa" (water), and made a beeline for lake.  I don't know why we thought he would stop before reaching the water's edge, but he didn't.  The next thing we knew, Banner was knee deep in mossy, deep sand.  His jeans, socks and shoes were completely soaked, and the little guy was utterly distraught (and surprised!) by the situation.

(It probably didn't help that both his parents were doubled over laughing at him, either.)

(We are terrible parents.)

I wish I had video of it, because:  HYSTERICAL.  He actually cried AT the water like it had somehow betrayed him.  Here are three stills of the event as it unfolded:

LOVE.  IT.

Of course, he didn't suffer long.  I fished him out, took his pants and shoes off and tried to introduce him to the glory of being barefoot on the beach.  Except after getting stuck in the muck, he had trust issues regarding sand.  Every time I would try to put him down, he'd cry and try to keep his feet from touching the ground.  Finally, I had to take my shoes off to show him how great it really was.  And, well, it didn't take long after that for him to get the idea:

YIPPEE!

And soon after that he found a stick, and...well, sticks and sand just seem to go together if you are a little boy (along with pebbles, rocks and any kind of ball).  We even found several frogs to chase.  It was a little boy's paradise.

(Except when mama went too close to the wa-wa.  Banner didn't like that at all.)

Here are some of my favorite pictures from the morning:

The littlest ninja warrior.

Hidden entrance to the sandy shore.

After spending about and hour and a half playing on the beach, we headed to this little pizzeria, called Leek's, a couple of miles down the road.  It was also nestled on the shores of Lake Jackson, and they had a little marina and mountain lodge set up overlooking the water.  The view was amazing:

So was the food (jalapeno and olive pizza!) and joy of watching my boys:

After lunch, we headed back to the cabin for an afternoon of relaxing on the deck, playing in the grass and eating dinner alfresco in the warm late afternoon sunshine. 

It was a beautiful day.