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play Clockwise from left: The Four Seasons in Teton Village—not your average dude ranch; horses in the shadow of the Grand Tetons; grizzly bears roam these woods, along with wolves and coyotes; grilled-fig pizza from Il Villaggio Osteria, housed in the Hotel Teton.
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IN + OUT
HANGING TOUGH
Animal Attraction
An old-school road trip to Wyoming, where the wild things are. By Leilani Labong
T
he great outdoors? Sign us up. A rustic outdoor adventure sprinkled with creature comforts? Even better. So dust off your camping gear and pack up the car: With only two months left until the green meadows and forests around Jackson Hole are concealed under a thick blanket of snow, the clock is ticking on the great American road trip. The two-day, 940-mile drive from San Francisco to the west entrance of Yellowstone lands you at the picturesque Madison Campground (nps.gov/yell), where you can pitch your tent among the lodgepole pines and take walks along the wide banks of the nearby Madison River, a popular watering hole for bears, elk, wolves and coyotes. After you’ve auto-toured Yellowstone’s famous geothermal features— gurgling mud at Fountain Paint Pots, the neon show at Grand Prismatic hot spring and, of course, Old Faithful’s awesome eruption of boilinghot water—head south about 70 miles through Grand Teton National Park to Jackson. The rooms at the luxurious Four Seasons in Teton Village (fourseasons.com/jacksonhole) have gas fireplaces, private balconies and marble-clad baths—a welcome foil to your previous bare-bones
accommodations. Treat alpine-dry skin to a Red Carpet facial at the resort’s world-class spa; the deeply relaxing treatment features products from Los Angeles’ renowned Kinara skin care clinic. Just a five-minute walk from the hotel is Jackson’s newest rustic Italian eatery, the popular Il Villaggio Osteria (jhosteria.com). Snag an alfresco table, order the grilled fig pizza with speck ham (it’s made with local ingredients and rivals SF’s best blistered thin crusts) and raise your glass to the glacier-topped Teton mountain range, the evening’s dramatic backdrop. The Teton Science School (tetonscience.org) offers daily wildlife expeditions in Grand Teton starting at dawn—when the park’s animal population actively hunts for morning grub. Stake out popular wildlife haunts in custom vehicles fully loaded with a safari-style roof hatch, binocs, spotting scopes and the ingredients to concoct a low-brow favorite of local mountain climbers: the “Teton mocha” (brewed coffee, instant cocoa and powdered creamer). Rest assured, your tour guide, a bona fide Marty Stouffer doppelganger, will wax eloquent on everything from the feeding habits of huckleberry-obsessed bears to the mating rituals of wily coyotes. Welcome to your wild America. x
DOUBLE DUTY
We don’t want to think about what would happen if our iPhone died in the midst of a mountain climb. The new lithium-powered vest from Ardica is equipped with the Moshi system, which provides heat and enough power to charge any personal electronic device compatible with its USB port. Available at Lombardi Sports, 1600 Jackson St., 415-771-0600, lombardisports.com 7 x 7. C O M
Stuck in a workout rut? TRX Training Center will snap you out of it. Based around the TRX Suspension Device that leverages gravity with your body weight, the center’s Body Blast and Circuit Training classes aim to simultaneously increase strength, balance, flexibility and core stability. If you can’t make it to class, TRX is portable enough to use anywhere, so you can whip your butt into shape no matter your location. 1650 Pacific Ave., 415-655-4797, trxtrainingcenter.com
REMATCH.COM If you’ve ever wanted to pick up a new hobby but balked at the cost of equipment, Rematch Sports has you in mind. The sporting goods consignment store in Russian Hill is stocked with gently used items, from snowboards and wet suits to fishing poles and tennis rackets. Get the gear for a relative bargain and, if you find the sport is not for you, sell it back to them later. 1567 Pacific Ave., 415-830-9470, rematchsports.com SEP T 2009
CLOCKWISE FROM TOP RIGHT: COURTESY OF FOUR SEASONS TETON VILLAGE; ISTOCK; DAVE PARSONS VIA ISTOCK; DAVID AGNELLO; COURTESY OF TRX TRAINING CENTER; ISTOCK; COURTESY OF ARDICA
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