Good Times in Jackson, WY

 Although, we are southbound, We just keep making our way east...Finally with huge benefits in the form of a mini college reunion:  former bearcats Kelly, Karen, Mags and Jen.  It's been years!
Sunday afternoon, bry and i rolled into town after a 4 hour drive from the gorgeous craters of the moon.  The jackson residents, Kelly and Brian, welcomed us over for refreshing mojitos made with local mint.  About the same time as us, Karen and Mark (plus their 2 cutie pies) rolled into jackson after 4 and a half weeks into their 6 week national park recreation tour through California, Nevada, Utah, Wyoming, etc.  And not much later surprise guest Mags pulled in after a 5 and a half hour drive from her eastern Wyoming hometown.  We spent the evening bbqing, catching up, reminiscing, and generally in awe that we were all in the same place at the same time.  Very fun time!  We had so much to talk about!
 When it got late...Karen, mark, Sammy and Kirra returned to their 34 footer in the nearby RV campground....Mags crashed in kelly and brian's spare room.... And Bryan karma & i camped stealthily in the bus parked in the driveway.  We slept awesome!
The next morning mags took off nice and early, inviting us to shift our route and come spend a night with her in riverside, Wyoming.  Maybe mags, just maybe.   We spent the morning with Kelly, while Karen and fam were off in search of their teton campsite for night 2.  We all joined up once again for lunch at the snake river brewpub and a couple hours of walking around the touristy, very wild wild western town of Jackson  Holy antlers and cowboy boots!  Kelly knew all the locals.
 
We all spent another evening together grilling and just being together.  We talked quite a bit about Karen and Mark's road trip vs our road trip.  Although we are both living on the road, driving, camping, exploring, etc...our experiences are quite different.  The Richards family taking a 6 week vacation visiting as many national parks as possible in what is truly a home on wheels, with an itinerary and a schedule.  I mean, of course, with a 20 foot truck and a 30 foot trailer, in the peak of summer, one must have spaces reserved and tickets purchased.  And us...celebrating each time "E" starts, not knowing exactly which direction we will drive or where we will sleep until late afternoon of each day.  Because, with our little vw bus, we can guerrilla camp in a grocery store parking lot or down a dirt road.  We laughed at their organization and they laughed at our lack thereof.  Pretty funny.

All in all, jackson was so off our mexico/ central american path, but such a good time.  So worth the drive!