At Jackson Hole, Wyoming: The Start of an Incredible Time in the Grand Tetons

Wednesday, August 14, 2024

At Jackson Hole, Wyoming: The Start of an Incredible Time in the Grand Tetons

Dawn had just broken over ‘Avalanche Ranch’ where Llew and I awoke to begin our five-hour long drive to Jackson Hole, Wyoming—the next stop on our Great American Driving Adventure. Sweet Kathy actually came up to our cottage to say Goodbye to us and wish us well for our journey. The horses were in their paddocks, neighing softly in the misty morning as we waved ‘Avalanche Ranch’ farewell and set off, with Llew behind the wheel. The town of Oakland in Kamas County was also still fast asleep when we drove through it at 6.30 am. We used our trusted Waze app to find our way to our next destination: our accommodation would be the mountain ‘cabin’ of our Fairfield, Connecticut, friends, the Deans—Virginia and Jimmy—who had kindly left us the key to enable us to use their very special home.

Journey to Wyoming:

The drive through Utah and into Wyoming was as rugged as might be expected. We curved around the many bends of the Wasach Mountains even before daylight broke. It was incredibly serene—so quiet, so peaceful, so other-worldly. At many times during our drive, the highway ahead and behind us was empty—completely devoid of other traffic. It was a great opportunity for me to test my driving chops behind the wheel and to build up confidence in a strange car. Indeed, by the end of the trip, I was sharing the driving quite confidently indeed and giving Llew the breaks he needed to spend time surfing the web on his phone.

We stopped just once along the way to fill gas and use rest room facilities at a local gas station as we passed through really sleepy villages that Time forgot. As one stage, while still in the mountains, we had dreadful driving conditions (Llew handled those segments). Low-hanging clouds on the U-turn bends made us drive right through thick fog—sometimes in real pea-soupers! The skies, however, were simply stunning—shades of blue-grey in thick, foamy pillows made for some really arresting photographs. Somehow, however, while trying hard to enjoy the journey and not just the destination, we arrived at the outskirts of Jackson, the principal city in the Grand Tetons National Park where we would spend the next four nights.

Our First Impressions of Jackson, Wyoming:

For the confused, let me explain. Jackson is the principal city in this part of Wyoming. Jackson Hole is the entire region. So, when you arrive in the city of Jackson, you also arrive in the region of Jackson Hole (which encompasses the entire National Park). It had taken us about five hours to get from Utah to Jackson—five hours of sometimes strenuous driving. When we did arrive on the outskirts of the city of Jackson, we passed by any number of fast food chains—from Wendy’s and Burger King to Denny’s and Taco Bell. We also began to notice the crowds as the region is assailed by tourists in August—high summer. We drove further into the town following signs for the City Center. And within a few minutes, we arrived at the Central Square Park which is the main hub of Jackson.

Exploring Jackson’s Central Square Park:

Jackson’s Central Square Park offered parking facilities around the periphery of the park. We felt lucky to find ourselves a spot as it was close to lunch-time (about 1.00 pm) and the town was heaving. People were out and about as they looked for a suitable eatery. We were very happy to stretch our legs and decided to walk around the four sides of the Square.

Of course, the most striking element of the Park are its four corners that are marked by giant gateways made of threaded deer antlers. I am not sure if these are artificial or real—I’m guessing they are artificial as they are all of a uniform color. At any rate, they provide popular photo ops and people stood beneath them to take photos. Following their lead, Llew and I requested passers-by to take our pictures too. That done, we began our walk about the Park’s many shops.

We were quite taken by the high-end quality of the merchandise available on the Square. There is nothing shabby chic about this place—indeed, it is super classy. We found loads of interior design stores that sold the kind of domestic accoutrements that had made up the Mountain Style aesthetic that we had so loved on Kathy’s ranch: striped kilim rugs and Navajo--style blankets, Native American pottery in typical designs, wooden furniture in rustic styles, lamps fashioned out of metal farm equipment and implements—you get the idea. It was all quite lovely indeed!

And then there were the upscale art galleries that were simply bursting with the most stunning art works: paintings and sculpture that stole my heart away. Of course, the theme of all these works were Mountains and Nature. Lakes, sunrises, sunsets, woods, trees, landscapes, seascapes and cloudscapes. There were so many interpretations of animals and birds: bears, antelopes, wolves, moose, elk…as well as smaller animals such as hares and squirrels, dogs and mountain lions. The quality of the work was superior—indeed so many were of museum quality and I was astounded that they were on sale (at very hefty prices, of course). For those of us with shallow pockets, it is a real pleasure to venture inside these art galleries to merely admire the talent of so many artists and to admire the curators and marketers of their work that bring it into the homes of the public.

When we had explored some more of the shops and found the usual souvenirs—T-shirts, magnets, shot glasses, keychains, etc. we made sure we bought our own magnet—good job we did…as it would be only on the last day that we would return to Jackson again—so much did we enjoy staying within the precincts of the Park itself.

A long stroll around the area then led us back to our car where we had a nasty shock. Someone had either keyed our car or had parked too close to it and then damaged it when opening their door. We would never know, of course, as they did not leave their insurance information for us. We were annoyed that something like this had happened so early in our travels. Thankfully, we had purchased full damage insurance when renting our car and knew that these kinds of minor dents and dings were covered. Still, it dampened our vacation spirits to have to deal with something like this.

Off to Find Our Accommodation:

With our exploration of Jackson complete, Llew got behind the wheel again so that we could begin our attempt at finding our accommodation for the next few nights. We were very grateful to our friends, Virginia and Jimmy Dean, who were supposed to have been in Jackson Hole during our stay to play hosts and guides. However, unavoidable circumstances had made of them return to their principal home in Fairfield, Connecticut, where we had first met them and become friends. Having committed themselves to hosting us, however, they insisted that we should use their home and Virginia left full instructions (which we found when we entered the place, a good half hour later).

En route to finding our friends’ home, we entered Grand Tetons National Park. There is a lovely sign on the south side of the park that my guidebook (which Chriselle had bought for our use) had informed me was a great spot at which to pose for a picture as it included a shot of the Grand Teton Mountains. We did not stop at this point to pose for a picture, as we did want to find our cabin quickly. However, we would take our picture at this point in the next couple of days.

The Mountain Cabin we would occupy, for the next few days, was built (I’m guessing from the décor) in the late 60s-early 70’s. Cabin is a misnomer as it is, in fact, a sprawling home with huge square footage and many rooms, with nooks and crannies all over. It is a double storey home that contains multiple bedrooms on two levels, one of which (on the main floor) was allocated for our use. As soon as we unloaded our baggage, we entered our room and found clean linens, towels, etc. and everything we could possibly need in the ensuite bathroom. Next door, in an annexe, were two young men—possibly lodgers—but we did not see much of them at all as we were out all day. The home is crammed with furniture and all the detritus of domestic items that are accumulated over fifty or sixty years of occupancy. Sadly, we would not have much of a chance to enjoy the house as we were out exploring the park all day or looking for wild life. But it felt good to have such a luxurious place to come home to at the end of each day. The house included a large indoor swimming pool (which was not in operation), two decks that allowed stunning views of the mountains and a fully-equipped kitchen. We would be very comfortable in this space for the next few nights.

We created lunch for ourselves (as instructed by Virginia) from ingredients we found in the fridge—we shared a Club Sandwich (that we heated in the microwave) and some Chicken Soup from a Campbel’s tin of concentrated soup that I found in the pantry. Then, with Virginia on the phone with us, we keyed in the wifi password and were online. There was no movement at all around us in the gardens surrounding the home—which even had its own pond. Kathy, our friend in Utah, (who is also a good friend of Virginia) had informed us that on one of her stays in this house, she had seen a moose thread its way through the pond. It was my dearest wish to see a moose on this trip and I kept my eyes peeled for one. Alas, I would leave the national parks without seeing a single moose. But there were a large number of other wildlife sightings to keep me happy.

An Excursion to Taggart Lake:

Left to our own devices and with the time almost hitting 2.30 pm, we decided not to waste daylight but to go out in search of a hiking trail as we were both eager to stretch our feet.

Using our guidebook and the detailed map which Virginia had thoughtfully kept handy for us on her kitchen counter together with a pair of binoculars, a tub of delicious trail mix and instructions to help ourselves to any of the items in her adjoining pantry (we would have enough meals for the next few days), we set out. Taggart Lake (which was really short drive from our cabin) seemed like a good place at which to start exploring the Park.

In following the map to get to Taggart Lake, we officially entered the Park. At this point, I decided to purchase the Annual Seniors National Parks membership to which I am now entitled (Llew had obtained his card earlier on a trip to another National Park, a few years ago). I paid $80 for my card (which I obtained upon production of my passport) and felt really grateful to have it for free entry for myself and anyone accompanying me into any of the US National Parks anywhere in the country. Each time you enter the Park, you are expected to show your card.

When this mission was accomplished, we continued following signs and the map to the parking lot of Taggart Lake. After parking, we set out on foot to hike through the forest pathways that were clearly sign-posted and that would lead us to hidden Taggart Lake. Everywhere we walked, I kept my eyes peeled for wildlife. But, unfortunately, we were not blessed with any sightings—not even a bird was in sight. I guess we were far too late in the day to see any animals…but we resolved to wake up really early and go out in search of them tomorrow.

The Taggart Lake hike was deeply challenging. We walked for three and a half hours (from 3.00pm until 6.30 pm), a distance of five miles. But as most of the hike involved climbing up mountainous paths, it was very slow going. For much of the hike, we climbed up steadily. I had to stop frequently to rest as the air at these higher elevations is much more rarified than I am used to. This makes breathing more challenging and one’s stamina definitely takes a beating. Often, I wished I had climbing poles like so many of the hikers we passed who were far better equipped than we were. But the views at every turn were just lovely. Coniferous trees were everywhere. The mountains were never very far from our sight and often we felt as if we could reach out and touch them.

About two hours into our hike, we began to see our first glimpses of Taggart Lake. This was also the point at which we stopped ascending and began our descent. We would eventually arrive at the shores of the lake, as the sun dropped low on the horizon. Its slanting rays were uplifting after our long and very tiring climb. At the lake shore, we found a young man fly-fishing wearing nothing as he stood chest deep in the icy water. His friends on the shore had also just taken a dip and we marveled at their resistance. All we did was trail our fingers in the lake as we posed for photographs. It was rewarding to find the mountain peaks reflected in the still waters and we took many pictures.

About an hour later, past some rushing streams that made pretty eddies, we arrived again at our parking lot. We had consumed a large amount of water during our climb and we were ready for some snacks before we actually went out in search of dinner. The first of our hikes had been deeply fulfilling as we had seen almost everything that the Park could offer (except for wildlife): mountains, lakes, deeply wooded pathways, rushing streams, charming cascades and unspoiled vistas of Nature.

Dinner at ‘Dornan’s’:

As every guidebook and all the blogs I had read while planning our itinerary had proclaimed the wisdom of eating at least once at ‘Dornan’s’, a Jackson Hole institution, we decided to go there and get that item off our To-Do List. ‘Dornan’s’ is clearly marked and we followed signs to get there. The Dornan enterprise comprises several low-slung buildings that include an upscale restaurant for fine dining, a pizzeria—the most popular in the Park—a grocery store (for those who camp in the park and need provisions) and a gift store. Virginia had recommended that we find a spot on the upper level of the restaurant so that we could enjoy the sunset behind the mountains from this vantage point. However, the sky was fully overcast with thick cloud cover today and we knew we would not have a picture-perfect sunset. Also, since it was really chilly as the sun sank lower, we decided to leave the upper deck and get down to the main pizzeria which was very crowded as most people tucked into vast salads and substantial pizzas. We were really lucky to find a table downstairs and we followed the drill to order our dinner, pay for it and then wait for it to be delivered at our table.

We decided to try one of ‘Dornan’s’ famous pizzas and we chose a Chicken, Tomato and Spinach one that was large and much too filling for just the two of us. We drank Cokes with our pizza and then decided to take half of it home. It would provide us with a substantial breakfast, the next day. All around us, people were chattering happily at the end of what had been a fun day for them. There is a huge bar at one end where people were ordering drinks but ‘Dornan’s’ is definitely a casual family eatery and there were many children of all ages plus teenagers and their parents in the venue. It made for good people-watching as we munched.

Not too long after (as we’d had a really early start to our day), we decided to return to our mountain home. We found it quite easily as we soon got the hang of the layout of the Park. After checking our email and whatsapp notices, we had our showers and got ready for bed at the end of what had been a mixed sort of day. The difficult driving conditions, the damage to our car and the lack of wildlife had made for a few disappointments. But being surrounded by the presence of the mountains did a lot to lift our spirits and salvage our day.

Until tomorrow, cheerio…