Moose in my house

Daily Mileage=98;Total trip=7879

Today we decided to stay an extra day in the Tetons. It is really lovely here and we think the schedule change is worth it. So, after doing some of the administrative work to make that happen, we drove over to a ski resort/town called "Jackson Hole" in Teton Village. We went to lunch at a bar/restaurant called, The Mangy Moose. Rich could identify with the name since Many comes from the French "Magny." I always tell him his family name is really mangy not magny, so this was a must see while we were here.

It's a great fun place and in season I'm sure it's packed. For all of you who ever belonged to a ski house once in your life (and my cousins know what that's like), it reminds me of a place we used to go to up in Mt.Snow, VT. Lots of fun and partying etc., Needless to say, they have lots of memorabilia and a huge moose that's pulling a sleigh hanging from the ceiling. Crazy or what??

Here's Rich having a close in encounter of the moose kind!

After hanging out at the Mangy Moose, we went back into the park. We stopped at two wonderful little chapels in the park throughout the afternoon. One is Catholic and the other Episcopalian. They are in different parts of the park and both are wonderful. The Chapel of the Sacred Heart is in the northern section and overlooks Lake Jackson. Simple and beautiful.

The Episcopalian church, Chapel of the Transfiguration, is unbelievable. It's a small cabin with a window behind the altar that looks out to the Tetons. It's a spiritual experience just sitting in the building. And, when you are surrounded by such beauty out here you truly do feel the presence of God.

We did a relatively easy hike around another beautiful lake, Jackson Lake. It is rather large as a result of a dam that was built before the area became a park. (The NPS doesn't usually like to interfere with nature so dams are something they don't encourage.) It was a relaxing walk until we both heard a sound coming from the dense woods next to us that as Rich says, sounded like something between a snore and a growl. We didn't wait to see what it was and we didn't want to wake up whatever it was! However the lake is yet another beautiful spot. Here it is with those Tetons again. You just don't get tired of them in any view!

The park has many overlooks that show wonderful vistas. We stopped at one that had a great view of the Snake River as it meandered through the park. People raft and kayak down it. Fishing is also very popular here. The river is pretty to look at and usually animals are down by the edge drinking from it. Of course, those Tetons are in the background finishing the perfect view one more time.

We also went to the oldest building in the park which is a very old cabin that belonged to J. Pierce Cunningham, a homesteader back in the 1880's. Motel Six is like the Plaza compared to what these people had to live in! It's basically two small cabins joined with an open, covered breeze way. The original ranch was 160 acres as allowed by the Homestead Act of 1862. They had to live on the land for five years and build a cabin that was at least 12'X12' and grow some crops on it. Then it was theirs. Needless to say doing ranching in this area was not easy although he did OK for awhile. In 1925 cattle ranching reached an economic low. Many ranchers were going bankrupt. So in the end, when Grand Teton NP was established in 1929, he along with other ranchers sold their land which eventually became part of the park. When you walk through the building and the surrounding area, you can't but wonder in amazement how these pioneers survived at all. And, we worry about extra towels in the room!!

We had dinner at a local, "game" restaurant tonight called Gun Barrel. We dined on elk, since we won't be getting much of that when we go home. It was delicious and the place is like a western museum with antiques and animal trophies throughout it.

So another grand day was had in the Grand Tetons.

Good night, Love, Mare & Rich