Just Pass'in Through

Daily Mileage=66;Trip total=7945

Today was a relaxing quiet day during which we did some things in the park, town and the laundry. We went to the spot in the park (Schwabacher Road) where Ansel Adams took his infamous black & white photos of the Grand Tetons. Ours can't compare but the spot is still remote and still has the great view!

While we were there we could see evidence of beavers and then saw their dams. We didn't see any beavers but it was still neat seeing their dams.

We also went to another historic site in the park, Menor's Ferry. This is a preserved/restored area in which a homesteader, Menor, ran a ferry for other ranchers to get across the Snake River. He and his family ran a small general store by the ferry which they still have as a "gift shop" today. This was back in the late 1800's and he did well with his ferry business. They have preserved several old wagons and sleds that people used to get around back then. Eventually he sold his business to a woman who ran it for awhile before it became part of the National Park. Imagine having to travel in this wagon not only locally but across the country to get to the west!?

We also went to a wonderful museum The National Museum of Wildlife Art. It's located by the entrance to Grand Teton NP and across from a huge elk refuge. They have done an outstanding job blending the building into the environment. They also have an amazing collection of wildlife art which spans the last few centuries. We spent a couple of hours exploring the more than over 200 artists and some of its 4,000 paintings, sculptures and photographs. It was a nice respite from hiking but with the beautiful wildlife and scenic paintings we still felt like we were outdoors!

By the way, this is Rich with his friend for today. The eagle is one of the many sculptures that are found both in and out of the museum.

This afternoon we spent some more time in town. In yesterday's blog I showed the "antler" arch that is in the town center. Well, actually there are four arches at each entry and they are elk antlers that are collected and auctioned in May each year by the Boy Scouts for charity. The arches are in honor of their efforts. The antlers come from the National Elk Refuge (by the museum) since there are about 6,000 elk that winter there and loose their antlers in the spring.

We also stopped at the Silver Dollar Bar which is a legendary cowboy spot in the infamous WORT Hotel. Apparently no one thought that a high class hotel would do well in a dusty cowboy town but the owners built it anyway, and they did come. So today you can still see the bar top with all its silver dollars embedded in it. The lobby and public areas of the hotel look pretty nice too. A few years ago someone even wrote a country western song about the bar/hotel, hence the title of tonight's blog. (By the way, Willie Nelson used to sing at the bar before he went hippie and became famous!)

Here are some photos of the town. It's really a neat place to hang out for awhile!

Tomorrow we leave for Mt. Rushmore. Good night from Jackson!

Love & Joy, Maryanne & Rich