Yellowstone and the Tetons:
Mountains, Lakes, Rivers and a lot of Wildlife
or “How I Spent My Summer Vacation”
The Borman men’s attendance at a conference in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, in August provided a golden opportunity for a new adventure. Our first trip to the Jackson area was filled with unique experiences, delicious food, inspiring landscapes, wildlife galore and the occasional stomach-turning activities. We were joined by Bob’s brothers, Don and Neil, and their wives, Terry and Cathy.
We flew into Jackson late on Friday night and were met at the airport by an interesting driver from Spring Creek Ranch, our lodgings for the week, who was helpful and proved to be full of advice on what to see and do in the area.
View from our room (above)
Next morning’s breakfast - eggs Benedict and fresh fruit at the Granary Restaurant on the Ranch property – a short stroll from our room - was delicious, with a view that made us reluctant to move on with our day.
View from Granary (above)
A drive down the mountain and into town showed us why the area is called Jackson “Hole”. The mountains rise up from the valley floor and seem to loom over the town.
The morning’s walk around town netted plenty of souvenirs, including the elusive pink cowboy hat, and worked up a thirst, which we quenched with a local microbrew at the Silver Dollar Bar in the historic Wort Hotel. The Sturgis rally brought waves of bikers and their unique personalities to the town.
With the family assembled from Maine, North Carolina and Washington, we enjoyed a relaxed dinner at Calico Restaurant near Teton Village. Next morning Don & Terry explored the skies via balloon; then we all hit the Teton Village art show where Cathy found just the right art for her walls. Lunch at the Mangy Moose was forgettable, but dinner at the Snake River Grill, provided by the conference, more than compensated. The meal consisted of seven courses of elegantly served local fish and game accompanied by delicious wines and a light dessert. We shared the table with several interesting conference hosts and presenters. Some of us capped the evening watching the Perseid meteor showers in the darkness of the mountains around the ranch.
With the men in the conference room, the “girls” hit downtown Jackson, a touristy place with unique local wares. We all managed to find something we really “needed” to take home. The next day tested our tender-foot mettle with fly fishing and horseback riding. The Snake River Sporting Club hosted another conference related dinner – this time a barbecue served on the golf course and fully catered. The rest of our week found us doing all the touristy things that first-timers do in such a place. Over the mountains we drove – so beautiful – to the Grand Teton Brewery in nearby Victor, Idaho, and then back to have a dinner of elk, bison and trout with Clyde the bison at the Gun Barrel in Jackson.
On Wednesday we breakfasted at Jedediah’s House of Sourdough, housed in Jackson’s oldest structure and site of an impressive chunk of local history. Don regaled us with his memories of his college-age summer job at the Jackson Lake Lodge – and showed us the sights as well. We took the shuttle boat across Jenny Lake and searched out Hidden Falls. My acrophobia took hold on a climb to Inspiration Point so Bob and I retreated to wait for Don & Terry at the bottom of the trail. Lunch at Jackson Lake Lodge was yummy and the view was stunning, but the highlight was a visit by the house rodent – a ground squirrel who is a regular – that caused Terry to show off some interesting moves. More mountains and beauty in the afternoon, then back for the Jackson Hole Rodeo, a real home-town event.
Thursday found us in Yellowstone Park with a list of sights to see and animals to photograph. We saw only a fraction of the beauty that Yellowstone has to offer - Old Faithful, prismatic hot springs and other geological oddities, but we checked off most of the wildlife on Terry’s list.
At the end of a long day of driving, we settled into a second floor table for dinner at the Snake River Brewing Company, which was hopping with locals even approaching 9:00pm - good beer; food, so-so.
For those who haven’t been to Jackson Hole or the Teton-Yellowstone area, the National Parks website describes the climate this way:
The first heavy snows fall by November 1 and continue through March with snow and frost possible during any month. Summer days range in the 70s and 80s with cool nights in the 40s. Afternoon thunderstorms during the summer are common. Mild to cool temperatures through September and October. Raingear recommended during spring, summer and fall. Sub-zero temperatures are common throughout winter and demand multi-layered clothing, hats, mittens and cold weather boots.
Our days were beautiful and sunny with highs in the 80s and nights in the 40s. The final day in Jackson brought our first rain, so we popped in and out of tents at the Jackson Art Show and stores in town, wrapped around a “must do” lunch at Billy’s Burgers in the Cadillac Grille.
We wound up our day with dinner and a presentation of Seven Brides for Seven Brothers at the Jackson Hole Playhouse, whose players also stage a shootout in the town square each night and then hustle back to serve two seatings of diners before the production begins.
With sleepy eyes and beautiful memories we headed for the Jackson Hole airport at 5:00 the following morning. We were lucky to have missed any effects or sights of our infamous VP, who was vacationing at his home in Teton Pines - less dangerous with a fly rod than a rifle. Much buzzing around Air Force 2 on the tarmac, but our flight left without delay. We look forward to the 2008 conference . . . . still so much to see!
Mountains from the plane
To see the vacation photos – both ours and Don’s – go to our Flickr page.
