Wyoming 2005

On our way to Jackson Hole, Wyoming from Victor, Idaho, we crossed the Teton range via Idaho 33 and Wyoming 22 going over the 8,431' Teton Pass. These winding steep roads have been very recently resurfaced and the ride was very scenic. There is a 3 mile 10% grade up and down.

 Jackson Hole is the southern tourist gateway town to Grand Teton National Park and Yellowstone National Park. The town Square is rather unique with its four Elk Antler Arches. We walked around the square and visited many of the shops along the wooden sidewalks. The upscale Legacy Gallery housed many beautiful western paintings and sculptures; expensive- we saw art priced between $2,000 to $95,000. I had a Buffalo Cheeseburger (tasted like beef to me) at the Million Dollar Cowboy Bar; Patricia was not as adventurous! Silver Dollars embedded in the bar and the western saddle bar stools along with large cattle horns and mounted game heads give this bar it's famous reputation.

Although Grand Teton is 13,700', vertical displacement from valley floor to mountain tops exceeds 29,000'.  In any event, the Tetons are a beautiful sight. On the sagebrush flats, the Chapel of the Transfiguration, which was built in 1924, is framed by an inspirational view of the mountains. We saw a herd of buffalo on the Antelope flats. This was the only wild life that we saw in Grand Teton National Park.

We explored a four wheel drive road that I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy! A park ranger told me that there were some cobble stones on the road; small boulders would have been a better description! The approximately 18 mile small boulder strewn crater like pothole rutted road bounced us and the truck about for 2 1/2 hours! On the positive side, there were some neat views of the Snake river along the way.

After our adventurous ride, the truck was covered with a heavy layer of golden dust, which Patricia washed off in a self car wash on the way back to Victor.

On our way to Yellowstone National Park (President Ulysses S. Grant signed legislation in 1872 to create Yellowstone as the world's first national park) we stopped at the National Elk Refuge Visitor Center. The elk had not yet come down from the mountains to the refuge pasture. Along the way we saw yet different views of the Teton's.

Our first stop in Yellowstone was West Thumb Geyser Basin; small thermal pools on the shore of Lake Yellowstone. We also had a picnic before checking into the Yellowstone Lake Hotel, which is the oldest hotel in a national park in the world, for four nights. We had a nice ADA cabin. The hotel was opened in 1891 and restored to its 1920 grandeur.

On the 9th, we had a nice dinner in the hotel dining room. Patricia , unknown to me, had arranged for a birthday cake. I was surprised when about six of the staff came to our table with the cake and sang happy birthday to me to the tune of Home on the Range," Oh give me a home where the buffalo roam and the deer and the antelope play, happy birthday to you, from the Lake Hotel Crew, have fun and enjoy your birthday."

On September 10th it started to SNOW on the  way to Old Faithful; it was just a snow shower, but snow none the less! It Snowed three of the four days that we were in Yellowstone. We met Bill and Sarah at Old Faithful, they would be tent camping at the Bridge Bay Campground near our hotel. We have seen elk and buffalo along the road and in the open. The buffalo just take their time in crossing the road and at one time a herd took up residence next to our cabin.

Scenery in Yellowstone and the Teton's is spectacular, especially with some snow on the ground. We have seen: elk, buffalo, and several different birds and water foul. Mountain Blue Birds are in abundance in the area. Leaves on the White Birch and Cotton Wood Trees have started to change color; looks like they will be in full autumn color in two weeks or less. We really enjoyed our short stay in Wyoming. There were no huge crowds as would be expected in the summer months.

Our cabin was very cozy. We had two dinners in the hotel dining room, but we took the rest of our meals at the rustic Yellowstone Lake Lodge Cafeteria; much less expensive than the hotel.

There is an extensive road repair program under way within Yellowstone; some roads are closed and there are delays along others. The Old Faithful Inn is being repaired which detracts from it's rustic beauty. The Yellowstone  Park map indicated that there were several picnic spots along the road from West Thumb to Lake. However, only one was marked. There were no handicap parking spaces in the visitor's parking lot or in front of the Yellowstone Lake Lodge.

We met Richard Cox, his wife Joyce, and their friend Gerry at the Bar J Chuckwagon in Jackson for supper and a western show. I had previously met Richard through iRV2, a RV internet forum. Richard had sent me e-mails with many timely and much appreciated tips relative to our travels in Idaho and Jackson. And we really appreciate them joining us; they had to travel ninety some miles one way which included crossing two mountain passes at night. The mountain passes around here are hairy enough to cross in daylight, let alone at night!

The supper was delicious and western show was fantastic. Supper was served to approximately 700 people in less than 15 minutes!

Our side trip to Idaho and Wyoming was excellent in all respects, we really had a good time.

We leave for Ehrenberg, AZ and our winter campground on Saturday, the 17th.