More rainy days.......

Its been cold and rainy for the past several days, and we've been able to be outside for most of them-at least for part of the day. But, its seems we have been inside a lot lately too. We are so comfortable in our camper....and really don't want for anything. I even tried having a "garden" on the countertop, so I would have fresh basil and rosemary. Hahahahah....i think my plants lasted about a week and a half. We did have a few good dishes out of these before they looked like this! Especially the sweet potato fries with rosemary!

really?

basil

rosemary...dropping leaves like crazy...what's up with that?

Again, we are so comfortable...the camper is perfect for two. We have pretty much settled in now, but still make some improvements as we feel we can. This usually happens during rainy days. Hahaha. Last week, when Tom was hiking to Lake Solitude, I put all of my winter clothes in the storage area under the bed so I could make more room in the closet, and moved things around to be more easily accessible. Tom doesn't have nearly as much clothing as me, so I didn't have to move any of his stuff. Hahahah. Ever since I've moved my warm clothes, it has been cold. Go figure!

The weather has been quite raw..we've even had the heat on during the day! Its in the low 40's some afternoons. Some RV models come with electric fireplaces, and we thought...ah, what a waste of space. Who would ever use that?  Hahahah.  Sounds kind of nice when the weather is like this. (Reality check though....we'd rather have storage space)!

office setup still good!

the knitting lounge-hahahah

it snowed on Grand Teton peak

its snowing up there!

We like to do something every day, even if its just walking around the campground or some of the shorter hiking trails. Otherwise, we would end up pretty much sitting all day if we stayed inside the camper. There are not too many steps to the kitchen, or bathroom, so its actually scary when you think about it. Not too healthy! We decided it would be a good day to see the National Museum of Wildlife Art in Jackson. On the way,we passed the airport, which apparently has some direct flights during the season (winter) from key cities, such as Newark! Who knew? I think there is also a regional plane to Salt Lake all the time. Anyway, the airport looks pretty small to me. That's it, in the sagebrush field! 

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Jackson Hole Airport

not too large

incoming flight

could only see one plane on the ground

The National Museum of Wildlife Art is directly across from the National Elk Reserve and about 5 minutes down the road from the airport. The landscape is stunning. The building itself is beautiful, and the collection of art displayed was excellent. Outside, there were many sculptures to be admired. We were one of the few out there, due to the nasty weather. I took a few pictures of some of the sculptures. There were several more, and a whole lower level that we did not go to.

the art museum

stunning bronze sculpture 

more sculpture throughout the parking area

there's the elusive moose!

one of my favorite pieces

cool

ski slopes behind Tom!

is that a sheep?

 The building itself, both outside and inside, is gorgeous. The details are perfect for housing "wildlife art", and frankly, the building itself was a work of art. There was a cafe, that we didn't go in, and a gift shop that we perused for a minute or two. Mostly, we spent our time admiring the artwork.

front entrance

I'm sure its nice at night as well

the sign behind me advertises yoga (outside classes by the sculptures!)

the main lobby is on the lower level

great sculptures everywhere

this one had water dripping off his antlers...it was a pond

We were allowed to take photos inside, but of course, no flash. I took a few pics of my favorites. I tried to link the artist with the picture! There were several rooms with displays, and we spent a couple of hours meandering through. Nice afternoon!

didn't capture the artist's name, but this is one of my favorites!

the detail and lighwas amazing on this one

 Another section of the museum had a display of the artists workroom in Teton Village, before he passed away. Of course, I found that very interesting! The artist's name was John Clymer.

workroom

workroom

workroom

workroom description

portrait of John Clymer

John Clymer

 There was another artist that we particularly liked, and he was from Germany. His name is Carl Rungius. I am not familiar with wildlife artists, but he had quite a display that filled most of one room.
See the pictures below for some of his work.

There was also a display of some of his working tools-paintbrushes and paints. Its amazing that such crude and simple "tools" are used to create such detailed and beautiful art. The artist is truly gifted!

 This museum also had a few sitting rooms, with some art work in them. We spotted the fireplace immediately, and Tom took advantage of the warmth! It was a really raw day!! We sort of wanted to break out our books and make ourselves comfortable...hahahah.

nice warm fireplace

this picture in the lobby was stunning...the lighting in the picture was amazing

very cool ceiling! the whole building was a work of art

the presidential eagle

isn't this a cool building....side view! with rocks placed strategically

on the driveway

bad picture of the front of the building

On the drive back, we stopped once again to photograph the mountains with some new snow sprinkled on top. Another nice visitor offered to take our picture together....who could refuse that!

Tom's favorite mountains

aawwhhh

On the way home, we stopped again at ...you guessed it....Oxbow Bend. It is very scenic and is known for wildlife. We have stopped here every single day that we've been here in Colter Bay and scoured the area with our binoculars looking for moose. Sometimes even twice in one day. No moose!! But, here we have a nice looking bald eagle in the back tree. Its quite a distance from the road, and I was happy not only to spot it, but to get a picture too.

bald eagle

it was in one of those trees back there!