We spent a day and a half walking around the heart of Jackson, WY. I love to shop and Bill does too...up to a point. At when he reaches that point, the commerce dept of Jackson, placed benches. Of course the prime photo-op are the…Read More

We spent a day and a half walking around the heart of Jackson, WY. I love to shop and Bill does too...up to a point. At when he reaches that point, the commerce dept of Jackson, placed benches. Of course the prime photo-op are the antler arches on all four corners of the Square. They are a magnificent achievment of collecting, preparing, and weaving to form the free standing arches. Everybody wants to take a picture here.
Our first afternoon-evening walk about culminated at the Town Square Tavern for our evening meal. That was a big mistake. We had to climb a long flight of stairs. At the top was a dimmly lit sports bar with a very high noise level (and it was only 5:30pm). Maybe it was due to the noise level, but Bill's order was terribly messed up. He ended up with nothing on his plate that was edible.
The next day we continued our shopping and found some really nice pieces. One was a bison carved out of Picasso Granite. Another was a smokey topaz gem set in a silver cage like mount on a ring. Oh, it takes my breath away just looking at it. Primarily the shops catered to rich cowboys, lots of leather and suede fringe, big belt buckles, fitted cowboy shirts and boots...lots of boots. There were other fun purchases like taffy from a candy store and another charm for my necklace.
In the evening we walked out to The Bunnery a Bakery and Restaurant. We liked the menu and the choice of indoor or outdoor seating. It was mighty warm that afternoon so we settled inside. After we ordered a lady came along with mop and bucket filled with Pinsol and swabbed the floor around us. That triggered an asthma attack for me. We begged her to stop, but there must of been a language barrior because she took two more swipes. I had to go outside while Bill talked to the waitress about relocating us to an umbrellaed table on the patio. Neither of us remember if the food was good. I was too busy trying to breath again and Bill was suffering from the heat. Close

The single largest regret that I have about our short trip to Jackson Hole was that we didn’t get the opportunity to experience the gorgeous snow conditions and wonderful terrain of Grand Targhee, which is a fairly short 1 hr 45 min. drive from Jackson…Read More

The single largest regret that I have about our short trip to Jackson Hole was that we didn’t get the opportunity to experience the gorgeous snow conditions and wonderful terrain of Grand Targhee, which is a fairly short 1 hr 45 min. drive from Jackson Hole, on the other side of the Grand Teton range. Targhee boasts smaller crowds, over 500 inches of natural snowfall per year, and a guarantee that if you are not satisfied with the snow conditions on any particular day, you may return your ski pass and receive a voucher to ski on another day that same year. There’s no snow making here - and they don’t need it. The motto: “snow from heaven, not from hoses.” Everyone to whom we spoke gave this place rave reviews. Targhee will surely be one of my first stops when I return to JH. Close

Established in 1929, expanded in 1950 and situated in north west Wyoming, The Grand Teton National Park is a 50 mile long valley known as Jackson Hole surrounded by the Teton range, a 40 mile long mountain range. Grand Teton is 13,770 feet high and…Read More

Established in 1929, expanded in 1950 and situated in north west Wyoming, The Grand Teton National Park is a 50 mile long valley known as Jackson Hole surrounded by the Teton range, a 40 mile long mountain range. Grand Teton is 13,770 feet high and the range has 12 pinnacles over 12000 feet. The Snake River runs through the park giving advantage for water activities such as Fly Fishing, Kayaking and White Water Rafting.

We entered at Moose Junction, paid our $20 entrance fee (valid for both Grand Teton and Yellowstone for 7 consecutive days) and made our way to Jenny Lake where our first and only full day in the park commenced with the boat trip on the lake. We bought our tickets, boarded the boat, grabbed a blanket each and sat down to wait for the boat to depart.

Immediately it left the dock, we realised how rough the strong wind was making the lake. Spray, it was more like buckets of water, was wetting us through as the boat was tossing about on the water. We were shielding our faces from the water with the blanket and had no idea where we were going as we couldn’t see a thing when after about 5 minutes the boat stopped. When we looked up we realised we had gone back, the journey having been abandoned as being too rough. We all got a refund and vowed to try again the next day.

After this we had to rely on the car and made our way to Signal Mountain which is reached via Signal Mountain Road an offshoot road from Teton Park Road, which climbs for 5 miles to 800 feet. The road is very narrow and winding, but at the top there is a small car park and a short walk to an overlook giving views of Jackson Hole Valley and Jackson Lake and the Teton Range. Due to the wintry day there was a lot of fog about, but we got some beautiful views through the breaks.

Descending back to Teton Park Road we saw a group of people with telescopes, spotting scopes and binoculars at the side of the road and, having read what to do in this case, stopped and asked what they could see. We had binoculars thrust at us and told there was a golden eagle in a tree about a half mile away. We were thrilled when we actually saw it and took photos (although it is hard to spot on camera).

This got us in wildlife mode and with eyes darting everywhere, our next stop was Oxbow Bend where we joined a group of people all waiting hopefully for moose, as they are known to graze in the shallows of the Snake River, but they didn’t appear.
The park is teeming with wildlife and during our first day we saw the golden eagle, a bald eagle, pronghorn and a mule deer.

We didn’t have much luck with food and drinks in the park. Our first try for a coffee was at Jackson Lake Lodge, but there was a power cut so they had no electricity. Later in the day, we managed to find a sandwich at one of the visitor centres, but the coffee had run out.

We made our way back to Jackson, through Teton Village, dominated by the ski slope and aerial tramway (this tramway climbs 4,000 feet in 12 minutes), stopping at turnouts on the way for the scenic views available at every turn in this beautiful park.


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What a peaceful, beautiful and exhilirating experience we had when we created our own personal driving tour of Grand Teton National Park! With our worn and torn map of Yellowstone and The Tetons, we mapped out our own driving tour that would fit…Read More

What a peaceful, beautiful and exhilirating experience we had when we created our own personal driving tour of Grand Teton National Park!

With our worn and torn map of Yellowstone and The Tetons, we mapped out our own driving tour that would fit within our time frame.

Not knowing what to expect, we set out from Yellowstone's Old Faithful Inn on June 5th. We exited Yellowstone through its South entrance and were immediately on the John D. Rockefeller, Jr. Memorial Parkway that runs into Highway 89/191/287. As we drove past Flagg Ranch Village, you could catch an occasional glimpse of the mountains ahead. Excitement grew as we passed the Lizard Creek turnout and it wasn’t long before the ‘photo opportunity’ happened and we were out of the car snapping away with our cameras. Back into the car and just a little further down the road was another turnout, and, of course we had to stop! This time everyone had their binoculars out peering into the marshland to see what was moving. It was a moose grazing and lazily making its way around the valley. Back into the car we go after observing the moose for awhile and our next stop was at Jackson Lake Dam for another photo session. At the Jackson Lake Junction, we picked up the Teton Park Road and about 7 to 10 miles away, we turned left onto Signal Mountain road. This is a 5 mile drive to one of the park’s most panoramic views of Jackson Hole and the entire Teton mountain range. Continuing on from Signal Mountain , we took the Jenny Lake Scenic Drive and stopped at the Jenny Lake turnout. There were more than enough things to do here as well as enjoy the Cascade Canyon view and Jenny Lake. After spending quite a lot of time at Jenny Lake, we’re back to driving, stopping at all of the turnouts to take photos until we get to Moose.

At Moose, we made a left turn onto Highway 89, where we gazed out the left windows as we had a continuous, awesome view of “Teewinot, Grand Teton, Mt. Owen, Symmetry Spire, and Mt. St. John". To our right on Highway 89, we saw bison grazing ever so slowly in a field of bright yellow wildflowers. The sight was so spectacular that it was enough for another photo stop! Along the way, was the Snake River turnout, and yes, we stopped!! There my husband found his way upon the rock ledge and brought out the binoculars for viewing the wildlife in and around the Snake River and getting a closer view of the glaciers. (I think this was his most enjoyable part of the driving tour)!! After leaving this turnout, we continued on to Moran Junction. This leg of the journey was around 18 to 20 miles. At Moran Junction, we made a left turn and took in my favorite site, Oxbow Bend. One cannot describe in words, the actual beauty that you see from this point. From Oxbow Bend, we continued on for 2 or 3 miles until we reached Jackson Lake Junction. At Jackson Lake Junction, we rejoined the Teton Park Road and followed it down into Jackson, where we spent the night!!!

Thursday morning found us up, eager to hit the trails again. This time we reversed our driving tour, as we wanted to get to Oxbow Bend while the morning sunlight was upon the mountains. We went from Jackson back into the Grand Teton National Park and at Moose, took Highway 89 up to Moran Junction. At Moran Junction, we turned left and went to Oxbow Bend. The difference of a few hours in lighting makes an unbelievable photo comparison.!! At Jackson Lake Junction, we made a right turn and went to the Colter Bay Visitor Center to make our final Teton souvenir purchases. After leaving Colter Bay V/C we then repeated the previous day’s driving tour with the exception of Signal Mountain. We promised ourselves that we would not take any more photos, but naturally, that didn’t happen!!! At Jenny Lake, the water was just so ‘perfect’ with the snow capped mountains in the background, that you just "had" to try and capture the feeling and spirit of the moment!! However, we did manage to drive leisurely through the park and enjoy the awesome sights without taking ALL of the turnouts this time!!! As we were exiting the park for our final time on Thursday afternoon, we saw two deer grazing to the right and yes, you guessed it…. we stopped and took a picture!!

We hope you have enjoyed reading about our driving tour in The Tetons and that you will enjoy a few of our favorite moments captured in our many photo ops!!

We arrived at the base lift at Jackson Hole one morning and were greeted by a sign reading, "Temperature, -20. At the top of the lift, 0. At the top of the next lift (the top of the mountain) +15." Not every day is like this,…Read More

We arrived at the base lift at Jackson Hole one morning and were greeted by a sign reading, "Temperature, -20. At the top of the lift, 0. At the top of the next lift (the top of the mountain) +15."

Not every day is like this, but they happen several times each winter in Jackson. This is the weather phenomenon called a temperature inversion, known around the Intermountian West simply as "The Inversion".

Normally, wind stirs the atmosphere, making temperatures drop as altitude increases. When the winter wind stops, weather turns upside down and colder, denser air sinks to the valley floors while the warmer air rises to the top of the mountians. I saw it happen this morning.

Our house is at the bottom of a mountain with Deer Valley Ski Resort on top, 4,000 feet higher than our house. There is a recording thermometer at the top of Deer Valley on the Internet. At the top of the mountain at 8am yesterday, it was 4°. Went up to 15° around 2pm, then down to 5 at 9pm. After 9pm, the temperature rose every hour until 8am this morning when it was 19° on top and 1°at our house. The Inversion was back.

Over the years, we’ve made about 10 ski trips to Jackson, and caught inversions two to three times. They were all the same—frigid in the valley (town), but pleasant on the mountain, though cold. The Inversion is created by large high pressure systems which produce sparkling, cloud free skies and brilliant sunshine in the mountians. Some valleys, like Salt Lake City, turn into cold, smog-choked hell holes. Jackson doesn’t yet have enough polluting cars to get too bad on pollution, but it will be well frozen in the valley, where all lodging is.

We have also run into The Inversion in Bozeman, MT, (Big Sky) and a god awful Inversion week in Salt Lake City where we had to drive with headlights on to see the road at noon. But in all, go up the mountians to ski, and it gets warm and sunny.

By far, The Inversion is at its worst in Salt Lake City, where too many cars create a foul smelling—you can actually taste it—choking smog which the Inversion traps in the valley. The Inversion may sometimes be seen at work by watching the smoke from a chimney. The smoke plume will rise for a while, then it stops going up and spreads horizontally. As the air gets warmer with increasing attitude, the smoke which started rising at the surface because it is hotter than the outside air, soon reaches air that is hotter than the smoke, so it can’t go up any more.

Salt Lake City’s Inversion creates a dense blanket of smog, looking a lot like a cloud that hangs over the valley. At the ski resorts above the smog line, there won’t be a cloud in the sky. One day, we were in a really bad smog cloud that reached halfway up the first lift at Solitude Ski Resort. We got on the chair in a smelly fog, and about halfway up the mountain, came out of the fog into brilliant sunlight, with blue skies above us and a solid cloud blanket below.

The good news is that western ski resorts and valleys rarely get an Alberta Clipper, the big cold air systems that sweep down across the Great Plains from the Canadian Arctic and put most of the nation west of Denver in the deep freeze. Once, we were skiing at Bridger Bowl just outside Bozeman when a Clipper struck. We could look east from the top of the mountain and see the start of the plains, where the temperature was 35° colder than we were.

We have been skiing the west for over 30 years, and living there for 10, but only once has an Alberta Clipper been so strong that it managed to cross the mountain wall where the Rockies meet the plains into the intermountian zone. That was memorable, however. The high temperature at the top of the mountain where we were skiing was -17°. Wearing all the layers we could muster, and wrapped in the finest northern goose down, we could stay outside for about 2 hours at a time between warmups in the lodge.

The lesson here is not to worry about temperatures when planning a ski trip to the west. The incredibly cold  temperatures shown in the weather reports are almost always valley inversion temperatures, and they won’t bother you skiing, up on the mountain where it will be warmer and gloriously sunny. The low humidity of the west also makes cold weather feel less cold than the same temperature feels in more humid places

The range of quality in accommodations in and around Jackson Hole and Teton Village is varied. But don't expect a large selection of the luxury accommodations you would find in communities such as Vail/Beaver Creek; while there are 'nice' and better-than-just-comfortable accommodations, you shouldn't…Read More

The range of quality in accommodations in and around Jackson Hole and Teton Village is varied. But don't expect a large selection of the luxury accommodations you would find in communities such as Vail/Beaver Creek; while there are 'nice' and better-than-just-comfortable accommodations, you shouldn't expect much more than, say, the charming rustic surroundings of the Wort Hotel, where the finer accents of the Old West are in abundance. The bottom line: you can stay in Jackson Hole at a reasonably comfortable place, at a reasonable price. You can also pay up a little, and receive with that the additional few niceties. The most important question is actually whether you prefer to stay in the town of Jackson Hole and drive (or take the START bus) to the ski area, or stay closer to the mountain and Teton Village, and drive to town for shopping/dining. It's a short drive in either direction; you can't really go wrong. Close

Pack lunches/trail snacks for the skiing day (the food on the mountain isn't very good and the lines can be long). At night, the choices in Jackson Hole range from fast food (McDonald's, Taco Bell) to casual but somewhat upscale steak, game and seafood…Read More

Pack lunches/trail snacks for the skiing day (the food on the mountain isn't very good and the lines can be long). At night, the choices in Jackson Hole range from fast food (McDonald's, Taco Bell) to casual but somewhat upscale steak, game and seafood restaurants. If you're used to upscale glitz and glamour while you dine, you will be disappointed. However, you will likely appreciate the fact that you can wear jeans and a sweater (along with cowboy boots and hat, if you're so inclined) pretty much anywhere - remember, this is a real skiers vacation! Reservations are taken at most of the nicer places, and are probably necessary during the peak weeks and weekends of the ski season. Close

Shopping in Jackson Hole seems to be confined to four distinct categories: your basic Gap-type clothing shopping (yes, they have a Gap, and I think that’s about it for mass retailers); vast varieties of Native American-inspired art and jewelry; impressive galleries of Western inspired painting,…Read More

Shopping in Jackson Hole seems to be confined to four distinct categories: your basic Gap-type clothing shopping (yes, they have a Gap, and I think that’s about it for mass retailers); vast varieties of Native American-inspired art and jewelry; impressive galleries of Western inspired painting, sculpture, carvings and photographs - all ranging from the prohibitively expensive to downright affordable; and, of course, Jackson Hole tourist shopping, where, at the Jackson Hole Resort Store (on the Jackson Town Square), among other places, you can buy all the Jackson Hole-related t-shirts, hats, posters, and key chains you can fit in your suitcase. Most of the shopping experience in Jackson is centered around the town square. Close

Mooooooose! Go Mooooooooose! Jackson's winter season is marked by more than great skiing, lots of snow, and thousands of elk in the reserve. It is also marked by a special season--moose season. These are not your average moose, however. These are moose of the padded,…Read More

Mooooooose! Go Mooooooooose! Jackson's winter season is marked by more than great skiing, lots of snow, and thousands of elk in the reserve. It is also marked by a special season--moose season. These are not your average moose, however. These are moose of the padded, skating, stick-wielding variety.

The Jackson Hole Moose are a minor league hockey team with major league style. From mid-October until mid-March, the moose play about once a week at Snow King Arena. The fans are wild about the team, and the Moose respond accordingly. It is always very exciting hockey and always a great chance to hang out with the locals.

The arena is located at the base of Snow King Resort. The arena serves plenty of snacks and beer. All games start at 7:30pm. For a schedule of the home games, check out http://www.jacksonholemoose.com/index.htm.

The Moose come highly recommended to any visitor to Jackson. Yes, the crowd typically consists of local, dedicated Moose fans. But the atmosphere is lots of fun for any hockey fan. It's a great experience. Bring a jacket, though. This is one of the colder arenas I have experienced. But, hey, it's Wyoming. What do you expect? Have fun!

Jackson, with a population of 8647, is a tourist town popular with both winter and summer visitors alike. It is renowned for world class skiing and is in a very scenic location on the southern edge of the Grand Teton National Park, which adjoins Yellowstone…Read More

Jackson, with a population of 8647, is a tourist town popular with both winter and summer visitors alike. It is renowned for world class skiing and is in a very scenic location on the southern edge of the Grand Teton National Park, which adjoins Yellowstone National Park at the northern end.