Holed Up In Jackson

Jackson Hole, a valley nestled at the foot of the Teton Mountain Range, is not the cheapest place in the country to stay at.  There's plenty of choices for lodging whether it be in the historic town of Jackson or the more modern Teton Village at the base of the Jackson Hole Mountain Resort.  We decided to stay at a condominium in an area called The Aspens.  The complex was past the town of Wilson on the way to Teton Village.  Overall, it had everything we needed including a kitchen, washer and dryer, two bedrooms, and two bathrooms.  The cabinets were stocked with condiments, cookware, board games, and even 2 cans of bear spray--just in case.

A year ago, we had done alot of hiking at the different national parks that we had visited.  It got to the point that The Kids had gotten pretty weary by the end of the trip.  We had done some hiking already at RMNP, so we wanted to vary it up a bit.  The Wife and The Girl had never done any whitewater rafting before.  The Boy and I had been on the Ocoee and Nantahala Rivers with his scout troop and had a blast.  Rafting the nearby Snake River is a popular activity for visitors to Jackson Hole.  It didn't seem as difficult as the Ocoee River, so I thought it would be a good activity to get the females exposed to rafting.

There's plenty of whitewater outfitters in Jackson Hole.  We made reservations with Barker-Ewing Whitewater for a mid-morning trip.  We drove to their offices in Jackson and rented some thin wet suits as the water would be chilly.  Once all the other guests had arrived, we were loaded into a big bus and driven about half-an hour to the Snake River.  At that point, I realized that I had left my GoPro camera back at the condo.  It would be nice to take photos of The Wife and The Girl on their first time rafting a river.  I still had my iPhoone X which was inside an inexpensive water-proof case.  Instead of leaving it on the bus as I had previously planned, I decided that I would take it with us.  The rapids didn't really sound too bad on the Snake River, so I wasn't worried about capsizing and losing the phone that was secured with a strap around my neck.

We shared an inflatable raft with a friendly family of four from Germany.  They remarked that there is not alot of places to whitewater where they are from.  I snapped many pictures of our family as well as the Germans so that they too would have a memento of their experience.  Our guide was a bearded, grizzled-looking man who looked like he was in his late thirties.  He had worked several seasons as a whitewater guide on the Snake River and in India.  We were all shocked to hear that he was only 21 years old.  I guess the gamma rays from all that sun exposure aged him quickly.

Our raft was carried down the river, encountering rapids of different difficulties.  Some were pretty exciting and gave us a good splash of cold water.  Others were meh.  The Girl, who was wary of getting on the raft at the beginning, was having a blast.  During the quiet periods, our guide filled us in on local lore about the Snake River and the Jackson Hole area.  

During one such pause between rapids, he invited any of us to jump into the water and take a plunge into the river.  The German family went first.  After we pulled them back on the raft, The Boy went next.  The Girl and The Wife declined to jump in.  I pulled The Boy in and then took my turn.  The water was indeed icy and I'm sure there was some shrinkage.  After a minute of hypothermia, I had The Boy try and pull me up.  Unfortunately, he was not strong enough, and we struggled.  In the process, the front of my body scraped along the side of the raft.  Once I was finally back up, I looked down and to my dismay, the iPhone case was no longer attached to the strap around my neck.  We looked around inside the raft with the small hope that it had fallen inside, but it was not to be found.  It was at the bottom of the river.

I was so angry at myself for not taking it off before I jumped in the river.  I tried to blow it off, but it was hard to enjoy the rest of the rafting trip.  It didn't help that the Snake River was just too easy.  The rapids were not difficult enough to get my adrenaline going.  Nevertheless, the rest of the family had a fun time.  Once the ride was over, we helped load the rafts onto a trailer.  We changed into some dry clothes and were taken back to the Barker-Ewing office.

It so happens, that there is also a Verizon store in the same shopping complex.  I explained to one of the salesmen about what happened to my phone and how I desperately needed a replacement.  It would cost $1,200 for a new iPhone X.  Ouch.  I was about to bite the bullet, when another salesman sabotaged his colleague and told me that I actually had insurance on my plan and could get it replaced for only $200.  That was a surprise for us because the last two times that we had upgrade our phones, we had told the Verizon representatives to cancel our insurance.  Somehow, they had continuously ignored our requests.  We had always assumed that they were doing their job and never followed up on the cancellation. Luckily for me, their mistake worked out in my favor.  I was able to have a new iPhone sent to me, but unfortunately, the soonest I would get it would be when we had returned back home at the end of the trip.  Until then, I was stuck listening to The Wife's crappy podcasts and music while in the car.

With the stress of the lost phone behind us, we searched for a place in Jackson to have lunch.  We settled on a brew pub called the Snake River Brewery which is advertised as Wyoming's oldest distillery.  For the most part, the food was good.  I wasn't really excited about the fried chicken dish that The Girl insisted that I split with her.  Being from the South, we have high expectations for fried chicken.  The beer that I ordered was really good.  According to our server, it's an old-fashion style of German beer containing pomegranates.  However, it was a sad feeling as The Wife and The Kids were buried in the cell phones, while I sat there staring at my beer.

Gose of the Phoenix

Caramel Corn

Big Hole burger with sweet potato fries

Fried chicken, cornbread, and greens

Wild game ragout

After lunch, we walked around downtown Jackson.  It was packed with tourists like us.

At the four entrances to the George Washington Park are arches made out of elk antlers.

There's no shortage of boutique and souvenir shops in Jackson.  We ended up spending the rest of the afternoon shopping in downtown Jackson and taking stupid pictures next to any statues we could find.

Hey Ben, I'll help you discover electricity...

As tempting as it was to go back to the Streetfood @ Stagecoach restaurant, we returned to our condominium for dinner.  Using the kitchen and Instant Pot, we had some Asian pulled pork with rice.

*****

Wednesday, July 25, 2019

*****

Aside from all the outdoor activities like whitewater rafting, skiing, mountain biking, etc, most tourists come to Jackson Hole to visit Grand Teton National Park (GTNP).  White men first arrived in the area in the early 1800's.  However, it took about 80 years before settlers and ranchers really started inhabiting the area.  Despite the difficult agrarian conditions in Jackson Hole, more and more homesteaders began to arrive.  By the twentieth century, the conservationist movement was already in full swing.  Local leaders began advocating the land to be protected from commercial development.  In 1926, oil baron John D. Rockefeller was so overwhelmed with Jackson Hole during a visit that he began purchasing land in the region.  This was done secretly using a shell company called the Snake River Land Company.  Over the next twenty years, the company would own 35,000 acres.

It would take decades for GTNP to become what it is today.  In 1929, the park was formed but it only consisted of the Teton Mountains and a couple of lakes at their base.  Although Yellowstone National Park lies only 10 miles north of GTNP, the locals insisted that it remain a separate entity.  In 1943, President Roosevelt created Jackson Hole National Monument with the remaining federal land in the valley.  In 1949, Rockefeller donated his Snake River Land Company holdings to the federal government.  In 1950, all three areas were combined to create the GTNP that is known today.

The easiest way for us to get to GTNP was to drive a couple of miles north past Teton Village on the primitive Moose-Wilson Road until we would be in the park.  However, that same road was closed for routine dust abatement, so we would have to take the long way and drive through downtown Jackson and up highway 191.  This route would be less scenic and take a little longer, but we would get there nonetheless.

Our first stop once we entered the park was the Craig Thomas Discovery and Visitor Center.  There were a couple of displays that tried to educate visitors on the wildlife and conservation, but in reality nobody really stops and reads them.  We just came for the gift shop.

We drove onto Teton Park Road over to Jenny Lake which was named after Jenny Leigh, a Shoshone Indian woman, who helped the U.S. survey team in their efforts in charting the area in 1872.  On the opposite bank of the lake are  popular spots such as Inspiration Point and Hidden Falls.  The trail to get to those spots can be reached by walking around the lake or taking a scenic ferry.  Unfortunately for us, the trail was recently closed because of concerns for seismic activity.  Therefore, we didn't really have a compelling reason to cross to the other side of the lake.  

Instead we saw that there are also canoe and kayak rentals for $20 per hour.  There was only one watercraft left, so we decided to take three to the canoe.  The Wife decided to stay back as she wasn't to thrilled about having to paddle.  The Girl sat in the middle of the canoe and was handed a small wooden paddle that looked like it was a toy.  Needless to say, her strokes didn't move us very far. We made our way out to the lake and enjoyed the picturesque mountain scenery.  After paddling for about 20 minutes and getting bored, The Boy and The Wife switched out.  We then paddled the canoe almost to the other side and back as the lake is not very large.

We left the Jenny Lake area and continued along Teton Park Road, passing the much larger Jackson Lake.  We turned off on a side road and headed up Signal Mountain.  Most people like us just drive up a narrow road to the top.  We did pass a family with two small kids who were biking it.  There is also a hiking trail as well.  At the top, we got a great look at the valley below.  We also enjoyed a late lunch of sandwich wraps that we had packed.

Did they take a horse-drawn carriage to the top?

After heading back down the mountain, we continued on Teton Park Road until it merged with highway 191.  We headed south back towards Jackson.  Along the way, we stopped at the Oxbow Bend Overlook to see if we could see any wildlife.  Unfortunately, the only critters that we spotted in the sunny afternoon were just ducks and an occasional pelican.

We continued south and stopped at the Bar Flying U Ranch.  In 1888, a homesteader named John Pierce Cunningham built a cabin here and would run a cattle ranch for 20-30 years.  It's footnote in history was that a couple of suspected horse thieves were gunned down by a posse from Jackson in 1892.  In 1928, Cunningham sold the land to the Rockefeller's Snake River Land Company.

There is really not much to see of what remains of the ranch--just fences and empty cabin.  We were the only people there for the 15 minutes that we stopped by.  There were a couple of signs that told the story of the ranch, but not much else of interest.

I wouldn't mind waking up to that view every morning.

There are many stops along highway 191 that have scenic overlooks that face the Teton Range.  We paused for a few minutes at a few of them.

Our next stop in our journey back to Jackson was Schwabacher's Landing.  A gravel road took us down to a parking area adjacent to a small branch of the Snake River.  Visitors can sometimes find larger wildlife in the area, but usually in the morning when the animals are more active.  As expected, we didn't see any wildlife there.  Nevertheless, the views of the area were amazing.

Our last stop in GTNP was the Mormon Row Historic District.  Mormon homesteaders were sent to the area, establishing 27 farms in the 1890's.  Despite the tough conditions of Jackson Hole, they worked the land for several decades digging irrigation ditches to grow crops.  Their lives were tough and most of the homesteaders had no running water or electricity well into the 1920's.  Eventually, most of the families sold their farms to be incorporated into the National Park Service.

One of the iconic photography locations in GTNP is the T.A. Moulton Barn.  This farmer and his family worked this plot of land from 1912 to 1945.  Their barn is the only structure remaining from their homestead.

The T.A. Moulton Barn is the most photographed barn in the U.S.

Perhaps this is the most photographed outhouse?

After a stop into town for more groceries and supplies, we returned back to our condo and enjoyed a dinner of zuppa toscana courtesy of our Instant Pot.  While we got to see the area that GTNP covers, we felt that we really didn't get the full park experience.  There are so many hiking trails and more extensive watercraft activities that the park offers that we just didn't have enough time to do.

Rocky Mountain High

It was summer again.  That meant another Griswaldesque road trip out west for the family.  The year before we had visited the Grand Circle--Grand Canyon, Zion, Bryce, Capitol Reef, Arches, and Canyonlands National Parks.  That was only scratching the surface as there were plenty of other National Parks to the north that we wanted to visit.  The star of our trip would be America's first National Park--Yellowstone.  But we also planned to visit some less visited parks as well as make it to some states that we had never visited before.

A year ago, we had used the "Every Kid In a Park" Pass that gave us free entry to most national parks.  This year, it behooved us to purchase a similar "America the Beautiful" pass for $80.  This would help us save money in the long run as we would be visiting multiple national parks and monuments.  To be even more cheap, we planned on not dining out for most of our meals.  Last year, we were not impressed by the overpriced Xanterra-run restaurants within the national parks.  But they are basically the only dining options when staying in the national park lodges.  Furthermore, we also wanted to avoid as many fast-food places as possible.  Unfortunately, when on the road, healthier sit-down restaurants take too long.  Therefore, we planned on cooking most of our meals in our condos or hotel rooms.  I planned on prepping alot of the food prior to the trip and keeping it frozen in our hotel fridges and a cooler in the car.  In order to do all this, I packed along our Instant Pot as it is the perfect cooking apparatus to cook meals in limited time.

The first national park that we would be visiting was the Rocky Mountain National Park (RMNP) that was over 1,100 miles away.  We set off early in the morning and drove for over twelve hours.  During most of the journey, we listened to a podcast that The Wife had downloaded called The Walk.  It is a thriller narrated with the listener as the hero of the story.  It was okay--much better than all of her crappy beauty and cosmetic podcasts.  I had planned ahead and downloaded several audiobooks and podcasts onto my iPhone.  But I was going to wait a little later in the trip to play my stuff.  We would have many, many hours of driving left on this vacation.

We stopped for the night at the Hampton Inn in Colby, Kansas.  It was officially the middle of nowhere.  For dinner, we ate ceviche that I had made at home and kept marinating in our cooler the entire day.  It's a wonder that none of us got food poisoning.


*****


Saturday, July 21, 2018


*****


The next morning, we got up early and continued westward until we reached Estes Park, Colorado.  This town at the foot of the Rocky Mountains is a popular launching spot for visitors to the national park.  With all the visitors to the park, this small town has some big city traffic problems.

We stopped at Boss Burgers and Gyros for lunch.  Their buffalo and elk burgers were good, but their fried zucchini, mushrooms, and pickles were addictive.

Since it was early in the afternoon, we headed to the nearby entrance to the RMNP.  There are multiple hiking trails in the park.  Just like the previous year, the REI National Parks App was invaluable before and during our hike.  We parked near the Bear Lake trailhead and grabbed our hydration packs to do one of the most popular hikes.

At the start of the more popular hikes are ranger stations.  This one had decent bathrooms and a water spigot to fill up water bottles and hydration packs.  There was also a small display of animal horns that have been found in the park.

The trail forked almost immediately with one path going towards Bear Lake and the others going to farther lochs.  We started with the latter.  Not even a half of a mile in did we start hearing whining from The Girl that her feet hurt or her pack was uncomfortable.

The first landmark that we reached was Nymph Lake.  It was merely a small pond albeit with some pretty lily pads.  We didn't linger very long as we expected better sights ahead.

We continued our ascent, stopping for the occasional break and to take in the beautiful panoramic views around us.  After awhile, The Girl rediscovered muscles that she hadn't used in the last year.  The constant complaining turned into smiles.  Soon, she and The Boy zoomed ahead of The Wife and I in a race to the next stop.

Eventually we reached Tyndall Creek and the path forked again.  Some folks headed down the left-sided path presumably to do some trout fishing in the creek.  We continues onward to the next lake.

After a mile of hiking, we reached Dream Lake.  It was a gorgeous site with the relatively clear lake and the mountains in the backdrop.  We could see some small trout swimming around.  Several hikers also jumped into the lake, some wearing swimsuits, others in their hiking apparel.  We weren't too hot, but taking a plunge in that lake looked very tempting.  After a good, long pause, we continued on to our final destination of this hike.

After another half a mile up a steeper slope, we reached Emerald Lake which is at an altitude of 10,110 feet at around the tree line.  The reflection of the mountain off the lake made for a picturesque scene.  We took a 30 minute break here, relaxing on the rocks and admiring the view.

After we were fully rested, we made our way back to the Bear Lake trailhead.  Overall, the hike was pretty easy at a little over three miles with a net altitude change of about 650 feet.  On the way out, we did stop by Bear Lake.  It is pretty large but it doesn't have the nice mountain scenery that we experienced with the higher lakes.  There is a relatively flat trail that goes all the way around the lake, but we didn't see a point in walking it.

After we left the park, we proceeded to the Beaver Brook On the River where we had reservations for the next few nights.  When we were planning our trip, I really wanted to stay at the historic Stanley Hotel.  Many people are drawn to this 110 year-old lodging because of the claim that it is haunted.  In fact, Stephen King stayed there for a night in 1973, and the supernatural presence inspired him to write "The Shining."  The Wife has always been freaked out by the movie, so she refused to stay at the Stanley Hotel.  A ghost ain't gonna scratch my back when it itches, so Beaver Brook On the River it is.

Our two story condo was spacious enough for a family of four.  There was a full kitchen, washer and dryer, and two bedrooms and bathrooms.  It would have been almost perfect except for the fact that it was sweltering inside.  The unit did not have air-conditioning presumably because the weather never gets too hot in the Rockies.  Unfortunately, inside air does not equal outside air.  Even with the windows open, the stagnant air caused the top floor of the condo to be an oven.  Ceiling fans would have helped, but those were not installed.  We were forced to spend most of our time in the bedrooms on the bottom floor.  Unfortunately, the WiFi signal in that area was terrible.

For dinner, we had pork carnitas tacos courtesy of the Instant Pot.  It was also a good way to make use of the Taco Bell hot sauce packs that I have been hoarding over the last two years.  That night, I felt slightly nauseous and had a splitting headache.  Although Estes Park sits at the foot of the Rocky Mountains, it is still about 7,500 feet in elevation.  As it has happened in the past, my body has a difficult time acclimating to any sort of altitude.


*****


Sunday, July 22, 2018


*****


I felt much better after a good, long sleep.  After breakfast at our condo, we returned to RMNP to do more hiking.  Instead of driving around looking for an open spot close to the trails, we dropped our car at the large parking area and took the shuttle bus down to the Glacier Gorge Trailhead.  It was slightly cold when we started our trek, being that it was still relatively early in the morning.  We warmed up quickly after hiking for a couple of minutes.  At this point, the traffic was still pretty busy on this trail.  Several early birds were even making their way back to the trailhead.

The first point of interest that we encountered was almost at the 1 mile mark.  Alberta Falls is a quaint little waterfall that is part of Glacier Creek.  It was named by Abner Sprague, an early explorer and settler in the area, after his wife of the same name.  Many tourists make the easy trek here and turn back around.  We continued along the path which became less crowded.

At times, Glacier Creek doesn't seem to be much of a stream.  However, it's been significant enough to help cut a path through the mountains.  The path continued along the high ledge with the creek below us.

After awhile, the combination of the steep climb, the hot sun, and the high altitude began to wear on us.  Particularly demoralizing were the switchbacks.  We would keep climbing but never seem to make any progress.  However, it was all worth it as we finally reached The Loch after 2.75 miles of hiking.  While not close to being huge, The Loch was significantly larger than Dream and Emerald Lakes from the previous day.  Many families and couples had struck up hammocks and picnicked along the banks.  We took a good break, ate our lunch, and enjoyed the area.

Eventually, we pressed on leaving The Loch behind.  The path followed closely the Icy Brook which would lead us to Timberline Falls.  After walking a little more than half a mile, it was apparent that we were all getting tired and hot.  The Kids no longer had a bounce in their step.  And frankly, the altitude was wearing me down again.  Our plan had been to climb the cliff alongside Timberline Falls to reach our destinations The Lake of Glass and Sky Pond.  However, we pow-wowed as a family and all agreed that there was no reason to kill ourselves just to see another alpine lake.

From a distance, we knew that we were
just too tired to climb Timberline Falls 

Not surprisingly, the walk back down was much easier and faster.  Along the way, we encountered some of the local residents who didn't seem fearful of us humans.  We also passed several groups who were lugging up huge bouldering mats to do some climbing.

With a mile left before we got to the trailhead, The Boy and I both ran out of water.  We both carried two liters of water in our hydration packs when we started.  I underestimated how hot and sunny it would be compared to the day before.  The Boy had been doing the sensible thing and drank incessantly during our hike (which also made him pee every 20 minutes).  In retrospect, it had been a good decision not to press on and climb Timberline Falls.  However, it was also a stupid decision not to fill up our hydration bladders to the maximum three liters when we started.

We decided to take the fork in the path that split off the Bear Lake trailhead that we had visited yesterday.  We anticipated being thirsty from the incessant heat of the sun and the ranger station had water faucets to quench our thirst.  It became a moot point, as we were suddenly drenched by a pretty heavy afternoon downpour.  Luckily we all carried our raincoats so we were fine.

We took the shuttle bus back to our car and exited the park.  We decided to drive to downtown Estes Park and see what this little town had to offer.  The main area was just a bunch of shops that lined the main street.  There were a plethora of outdoor recreation shops and the typical touristy T-shirt and knick-knack stores.  We enjoyed some heaping scoops of ice cream from one of the many parlors in the area.  Overall, the town was quaint and charming but not very useful for shopping.  We did stop by the grocery store to restock on some of our groceries.

Later that night, we had shrimp pasta and sat outside on our condo balcony enjoying the cool night sky.  The Rockies are amazing in the summertime.

*****


Monday, July 23, 2018


*****

After a hearty breakfast, we loaded all of our luggage into our car and checked out of our condo.  We made the short drive back into RMNP.  However, today, we wouldn't be doing any more hiking.  We planned on driving navigating the Trail Ridge Road that bisects RMNP. 

We made a small detour to the Sheep Lake Information Station.  In the mornings, bighorn sheep can often be seen coming down from the mountain to drink at the nearby pond.

With a small crowd of other animal enthusiasts, we craned our heads up at the steep hills scanning for sheep.  After 15 minutes of nothing, we were about to leave.  Behind us, coming from the flat fields was not a bighorn sheep, but a moose a hundred yards away.

He trotting over to the drinking pond while thirty sets of eyes were locked onto him.  The crowd shifted for a better viewing angle once he made it to the pond which was not visible from the station.  A nearby ranger made sure that no overly excited kid got too close to this wild animal.

After several minutes of drinking, the moose had it's fill and trotted off in the direction from which it came from.

We hopped back in the car, and set off for the 48 mile drive on the Trail Ridge Road.  The progress was pretty slow as the road predominately has only two lane.  We always seemed to be stuck behind someone driving 10 miles under the speed limit.  However, we weren't sweating it too much as we were busy taking in all of the scenery. 

On the Trail Ridge Road, we were literally driving in the clouds.

We made a couple of stops at some of the scenic overlooks. There are not many animals that live at this high an altitude.  We did spot one such creature--the marmot.  This little squirrel-like creature hibernates in their burrows during the winter and emerges in the summer time.

At this altitude, there were still pockets of ice and snow in the middle of the summer.

We eventually reached the Alpine Visitor Center.  At an altitude of 11,796 feet, it is the highest National Park Visitor Center in the country.  The parking lot was very busy.  In addition to restrooms and a gift shop, there are many viewing areas with vast views of the landscape.  All we could see were thick clouds...and a family of marmots.

After leaving the visitor center, we continued westward along the Trail Ridge Road.  As we dropped in elevation, it began looking more and more like a normal summer environment.

After about two hours of driving, we reached the end of the park which culminated in the town of Grand Lake.  From there we drove Northwest along some sparsely-populated highways until we crossed into Wyoming.  We continued on until we reached the "big" town of Rock Springs.  It was large enough to support a Starbucks, so The Wife was able to get her souvenir state mug there.  Several hours later we arrived at the Jackson Hole area where we would be staying for the next few nights to visit the Grand Tetons and Snake River.

For dinner, we drove to the nearby town of Wilson to eat dinner at the Streetfood @ the Stagecoach restaurant.  This is a non-fussy eatery where friends and family can chill out and eat really good food.  We placed our orders and found a picnic table outside as the weather was perfect.  Patrons were sprawled out on the grass, many enjoying glasses of beer.  Several cyclists, still donning their helmets were also enjoying a snack while taking a break from their rides.

We enjoyed their take on Korean and Mexican comfort food.   The Korean chicken wings and the chipotle cream shrimp quesadilla were surprisingly pretty spicy.  The streetcorn fritters, bibimbap, Philly cheesteak, and lamb burgers were also good.  The only food that was just okay were the truffle fries.  I took several photos of the food on my iPhone--probably the best pictures I have ever snapped.  However, it's hard to post them when they are underwater.