The city of Jackson, Wyoming, makes an excellent base for excursions, and on our recent stay at the rebuilt Rusty Parrot Lodge & Spa, we took advantage of our location to make memorable day trips.

Jackson Hole, the valley in which Jackson sits, includes Grand Teton National Park and the National Elk Refuge. Though the elk had already moved high into the mountains for the summer, our guide from Jackson Hole Wildlife Safaris showed us plenty of other animals during our half-day private wildlife expedition, arranged by the Travel Office. Picking us up in his SUV, with abundant snacks, muffins and coffee in tow, he facilitated sightings of bison, raptors, pronghorn antelope, an elusive long-tailed weasel, white pelicans on Jenny Lake, a black bear on a distant hillside that we could see through his scope and a female moose that walked within 30 yards of us. Our guide was a fount of information about the natural and human history of the area.

We also took in the Snake River with Barker-Ewing Scenic Tours, another Travel Office recommendation. A van drove us from a designated parking area to our private inflatable raft (less-expensive group trips are also available). Our guide was an old hand with a dry wit. He helmed our three-hour float — the 10-mile trip seemed perfectly adequate, though 20-mile trips are also offered — as we watched bison make their way down the mountains, a moose peek out from the quaking aspens, river otters tumbling in rapids and ospreys, eagles and common mergansers hunting for food on the river. It was lovely and lazy but still had the sense of an adventure. Note that all passengers must be at least 6 years old and weigh 50 pounds or more.