Alpine House, Jackson, WY

Who wouldn't be delighted to be served this for breakfast -- with an orchid for sheer beauty? When I found the only available space in Yellowstone was for old and very basic cabin, I began reading guide books and booked three nights for the segment of the vacation that came after Yellowstone, in The Alpine House B-and-B in Jackson, WY, which included spa facilities and a "gourmet" breakfast. Gourmet is thrown around at random but in this case it was true. Each morning we had a different choice of sweet or savory plate. The above is a sweet. Below is a savory, which was always eggs with some delicious accompaniment. Also available were the only flaky Danish pastries I've seen in a long time, fresh fruit and various cereals as well as excellent coffee.

We were actually very happy with our cabin in Yellowstone although it was short on beauty. It was clean and had hot water, screened windows and weather that cooled during the night so that I got up and closed the windows at some point and pulled up the covers.

The Alpine House was very attractive without any kitchiness. It had lovely flowers in the small garden, a hot tub and a sauna and spa facilities we did not take advantage of since we were hot on the trail of the elusive moose. There was a lovely ginger scented lotion in the bathroom as well as shampoo and conditioner. There were complimentary bikes which Rachel used one morning and a nice little library. What more could one want?

Well, I do have to say that Jackson also has an excellent Japanese restaurant quite near the Alpine House, called Fish. Our meal there was totally delicious and beautifully served, although we wished the dishes had come just a big further apart so we could yum over what we had just eaten before plunging into the next beautiful dish. Who would-a thunk it out there in cowboy land?