Jackson Hole, Wy - our third famous Ski Resort in less than a week-and not a drop of snow to be found! It definitely retains the flavor of the old west - but in a very yuppified manor. Great stores for fabulous western wear - if you ever need to appear in "City Slicker" - this is your place to shop! Really wonderful things.
Our lack of planning almost caught up with us here. After finding our first 3 choices "full", we got the last space at the KOA in Teton Village! It caused us to go "YIKES" - maybe we better get our act together here in these popular parks, so we promptly made reservations for the next 4 nights here and in Yellowstone. I think once we get through here, we can go back to our whimsical ways!
The Shootout in the Town Square was not nearly as good as the one in Joseph, Oregon! We, of course, had to give the ole saddles a try in the Million Dollar Bar. A real "shit kicking" place. We had saddle sores after about 2 drinks and had to move on.
The Wort Hotel proved to be our favorite. The SilverDollar Bar & Grille has an interesting history. They had a massive fire in 1980, but the semi-circular bar was saved. It has embedded in it 2065 1921 uncirculated silver dollars. They were bought directly from the Denver mint in 1949, and you can tell they were never circulated because they have no "mint mark" on them. You know, the "D" for Denver, "P" for Philadelphia, etc. They are however, worn. That is because there is no covering over them. You actually lean your elbows right on them. Some have tried to remove them from their black plastic surrounding, unsuccessfully. When they were originally embedded, the plastic was drilled out slightly smaller than the dollars. The dollars were frozen causing shrinkage - (stay with me - this is basic physics!) and the plastic was heated, causing....yes, expansion. Then the frozen dollars were set in and the whole thing allowed to "cure", causing a very tight fit! The value of the bar today just for the silver is about $6.00 per coin (I'll do the math for you, $12,390), or a collector would pay $18-20 per coin ($41,300).
Our second night in town, we came back to the Wort for a quick dinner, and managed to get there just as the band was setting up. A real Western band (they stressed that they don't do "Country"). Two gals and a guy -- Davy Gravy and the Bisquits -- can you believe that name! They were very good and everyone in the bar had a great time!! And the Corn Chowder was to die for! Done like French Onion Soup, only with Cheddar Cheese oozing down the sides.
So what did we do in Jackson besides eat, drink and shop? Mostly looked at the breathtaking scenery. We did go White Water Rafting on the Snake. Not nearly as rollicking a ride as Oregon Rivers, but it was still fun. We toured all through the park. Got some good pictures of Moose and the scenery.
We went to the old Jenny Lake Lodge today. Small and intimate, not nearly as commercialized as the rest of the Park. It is not, however, on the Lake. That was a bit disappointing.
The Jackson Lake Lodge is much larger and much more commercial, but the views are spectacular from there. They have a great bar (no we didn't test it out!) with outdoor seating that almost touches the Mountains.
The wildflowers here are spectacular! So many varieties, and they are everywhere. The colors fill the rainbow from pinks, to blues, to purples, to yellows, to oranges, all mixed in together. Really a site to behold. I really wanted a beautiful bouquet, but the Park Rangers frown on that activity.
We did a hike this afternoon along the edge of Jackson Lake near where we are staying at Coulter Bay. Had a delightful conversation with a Professional Photographer and his wife from Colorado. They were shooting wildlife in the park and had been waiting patiently for some specific shots for over a week. He was retired from IBM with a golden parachute, and now following his passion -- we loved it!
The Visitor Center at Coulter Bay has a wonderful Indian Museum. Small, but has a lot of interesting things and the Park Rangers give frequent tours.
We are in a cabin that was moved from Jenny Lake in the mid 50's, they added electricity and plumbing to it, but it is basically the same as when it was there. Exposed log sides -- inside and out -- tile floors with hooked rugs, and mostly period furniture. No phones, no TV. Peaceful, restful.
Onward to Yellowstone. What a testimony to nature. You can see the best and the worst all within the park. The fire of 1988 is still very much in evidence, all over the park. Some places are haunting in their stark sticks still stretching to the sky (pretty good alliteration, huh!), others, hopeful in their regeneration, and still other places totally devoid of fire penetration. Almost without reason as to what happened where.
The rivers, streams and waterfalls make you think this is "normal" geography, then you round the next corner, and you know, this is one of the strangest places on earth. More "Thermal" activity than all the other places combined. Beautiful springs, tall and small geysers, weird colors, pots of mud plopping and steaming, steam in your face, noxious sulphur smells, and people everywhere enjoying what nature has provided.
It seems the wildlife cause the most traffic problems -- you'd think these fools had never seen a deer or elk! Maybe they haven't. They stop their cars in the middle of the road, and shoot pictures from the window! -- Get off the road, get your fat ass out of your car and walk 50 feet to take your disposable camera picture!! Unbelievable!!
We have seen Moose, Elk, Deer, Bison, Swans, Black Bears, and more birds than we could possibly know. You could waste rolls of film trying to take it all in - but ultimately, the best pictures are the ones that will remain in your mind.
We took a 3 mile (RT) walk today to view the Morning Glory pool. One of the most famous, and unfortunately, one of the most vandalized. Due to people throwing things into the vent, the water has cooled and allowed the beautiful blue color to begin to fade at the edges as different bacteria have begun to grow. What a shame. Old Faithful, however, is still in good form, and the Park Service is doing a good job of trying to keep the park accessible, yet not overrun. No small task.
We wish they would spend some money on the roads! Many of them we are sure are the original from 1930! On Monday, we discovered an odd "thing" hanging down from underneath our rig. On closer inspection, we have broken a rear shock. A nice young man at a service station wired it up so it wouldn't drag, but we are off the Billings to see about a repair. In the meantime, we are driving very slowly and carefully!
Lodging in the National Parks is quite interesting. All types, from primitive to rather elegant, is available. It takes a bit of delving to figure out what is what. We stayed at the only RV Park in Yellowstone (adequate, but surely not the nicest we've stayed in), but also a cabin at Mammoth Hot Springs that would be the pride of any Army barracks! Since the Army ran the Park in the early 1900's, and Mammoth is the HQ of the Park, I'm sure these were Army housing! You can figure that anything under $100 is going to be basic, with the prices going to several hundred a night for the most desirable locations, like Old Faithful Inn. Some of the campgrounds allow RV's to dry camp (no hookups - generators allowed during certain hours). None of the reference books do a very good job of explaining all this. Hopefully, as we visit more National Parks, we'll get this figured out!
Mammoth has thousands of little critters called pigwhistles. They look like a cross between a chipmunk and a small weasel. This whistle like birds, and will take things from your cabin or car given a split second to do so! All doors closed at all times, is the motto here! They are very friendly and quite cute.
My sister reminded me on the phone tonight that our Dad had worked in the Park during College (Montana State). She thinks he worked at the Texaco station at Canyon Junction. We were there, and it is now a Conoco, but the building sure looked like it could have been from the 40's!. She also said that Mammoth was a big hangout for the College kids, in both Dad's era and hers (she also went to MSU). Oh the stories those Terraces could tell....
It looked to us as though Mammoth Hot Springs is drying up. We didn't think it was very interesting, except for the two huge bull Elk that were posing for us on the top of the upper terrace - it made for a spectacular picture - I hope I got a good one! The springs are mostly dry, and what had been pools are also dry. Don't know if it just a dry year, or if this is a permanent thing.
The big debate leaving Mammoth was whether to take the Beartooth highway into Billings, or go the "safer" route through Livingston. The Beartooth is supposed to be spectacular--but scary -- and very high -- almost 11,000 feet. We decided to suck it up and go the Beartooth. I drove since we have decided I do better on these kinds of roads if I'm in control! (imagine that!) What a breathtaking choice! The road really wasn't that bad (easy to say when you're driving!), but the scenery was like nothing we've ever seen before. You are high above the tree line, looking down at the glaciers, and eye to eye with the tops of very rugged mountains. Alpine meadows strewn with boulders left by the Ice age, and the bluest nosegays of flowers you have ever seen. The sky was so blue, but the air so thin. I was actually a little lightheaded. They were doing some repaving right at the summit. We were sitting in the car for about 20 minutes, taking in the view, when the cell phone rings! We couldn't believe it. Here we were, on top of the world, miles from anything -- and we had cell coverage! The world really is getting small. It was Andrea and Nick and Megan, looking for Grammie!
Safely back down at 3000', we stumbled into the Montana Dodge dealership right at closing. They hustled up the special heavy duty (coil over) shock we needed, and said be back at 7:30 in the morning. What service!
With the shock safely fixed, we decided to fool around in Billings another day, as we aren't due in Sheridan until Saturday afternoon to visit with my sister's mother-in-law, Birdeen. Another ole telephone company gal! The weather here is hot, hot, hot - new record highs for them - 102 yesterday. I decided it was finally time for a haircut, so looked around the Dodge dealer til I found someone who had a cute short cut, and got the name of her hairdresser - in fact, she called and made an appointment for me! I had decided to get it cut up over my ears, and a little shorter. Well, I am short - but it is cute, and so easy. I think mine is actually shorter than Phil's now! If I ever get the camera back (supposed to be ready Monday), I will put a pic of the new me up for everyone. My hairdresser in Portland, Brian, won't believe I actually got it cut this short!
Friday took us to The Custer Battlefield. We spent all afternoon there. The Park Ranger talks about the Battle were wonderful. This guy should make a video to be used in the schools. He really made the whole thing come alive. As he pointed to various places in the valley, you could almost hear the Indians in their camp, and see the Army on the hills. We then got the audio tour and drove the entire battlefield. Never has a piece of history been so alive for either of us.
Our National Parks Pass that cost $50, has now crossed the break even point - and we still have 10 months to go!
Our close to this week was a really lovely visit with Birdeen. She will be 83 this fall, and is doing great in her own home. The home Dick (my brother in law) grew up in! His room is just like he left it -- except the dirty sox have been picked up! She took us to the historic Sheridan Inn for dinner. Phil liked it because Buffalo Bill Cody used to stay here. Birdeen showed us all over town (took at least 15 minutes!) and we retired to her home for a good rest and lots of good conversation. Like most women from her era, she had to send us on our way with a good home cooked meal in us -- her chicken and noodles, peas, salad, mashed potatoes, and spiced peaches -- for LUNCH! -- was above and beyond the call -- but everything Dick had said about her Chicken and Noodles was true! We wish her many more years of independence.