Meet Jan Gibbons, a dedicated cook, camp host, and your occasional tour guide at our Jackson Hole Outfitters camp. Along with her husband, Mark Gibbons, Jan has been a part of our team since 2011. These two make quite the duo. Every year, come late-May, Jan and Mark make the western trek from southern Illinois to Alpine, Wyoming.

Jan and Mark spend their summers at the Jackson Hole Outfitters camp. Despite their separate responsibilities, they stay equally busy serving clients and savoring the warm summer months. Mark wrangles horses and takes guests on trail rides while Jan keeps the camp in tip-top shape. Just the other day, we were lucky to slow her down and ask what a typical day in the life looks like. Enjoy!

“Well, these guys keep me pretty busy. Typically, I get out of our tent between 6:30 and 7:00 a.m. to start breakfast. The typical breakfast is bacon (Falls Brand — it’s the best!), eggs, hash browns, and toast. While prepping the first meal of the day, I check-in with Candace; she schedules all of our trail rides and will let me know if any new rides or overnight guests have booked for that day and / or the following days. After breakfast, the guys get busy saddling horses (if we have rides going out that morning). Shortly after, our clients begin arriving for their rides and head out with the guides at 9:00 a.m.

Once everyone takes off for the day, I get started on chores around camp and will work on those until 11. Then, I check back in with Candace to see if there have been any changes to the afternoon schedule. A typical day of chores looks like cleaning the bathrooms, get all of the guests’ bed sheets changed, as well as clean their tents. After schedule confirmation, I begin to prep lunches for the guests who are riding half-day rides. Our afternoon guests begin arriving around 12:30 p.m., I great them, get them set-up with lunch and then help the guys get the guests on their way. If we have overnights coming into camp, they generally show up any time after 2 p.m. At this point, I play camp host, give a camp tour, and help guests get settled in.

For the evening, I begin prepping our true western dinners around 5:30 p.m. and serve dinner between 7 and 7:30. Once they’re back from their afternoon rides, the guys feed the horses around 6 p.m. and get the horses settled in for the night. I also check back in at 7 with Candace to get a report of changes for the next few days.” Jan spends the rest of the evening winding down before bed.

We also asked her what she enjoys most about summers in the Greys River Valley. She said she appreciates cooking on the grill during the summer months as it allows her to enjoy the views from the deck at camp; it also keeps the cook tent a cooler temperature. Additionally, Jan loves learning where our riders come from — some visiting as close as Wyoming and some from as far as Denmark and the Netherlands.

In the off season, Jan works for a consulting company for public housing agencies. She travels about three of the seven months she is “home” in the winter. Being able to plant her roots in the Greys River during the summer and fall is a welcome change in comparison to her busy travel lifestyle. Her job allows her to work for JHO in the summer and fall and with them in the winter.

Jan and Mark have four grandkids, horses at home, and dog named Sackett.