bobanddenisewanderlust

Our plan had been to wake up early and go in search of wildlife, but that did not happen! We ended up leaving by 9:30 and drove south on SR. 89 to Jackson. Jackson is the closest town to Grand Teton NP. The town has grown since the last time I was here in 1975! Our first stop was at the visitor center, note the roof…

then on to the bank to cash a check. We could stay in our parking place for 3 hours, so we wandered around town. This is Bob sitting with a statue of Mark Twain.

Across the street was Turpin Gallery. Bob’s mother’s maiden name was Turpin, so we wandered in to see the gallery. The gal there said that the owner, Ronnie Turpin, was at their other gallery up the street. So we wandered that way. He was there, so we introduced ourselves. His family was also from Kansas, so they must be related, but this guy had no interest in speaking with us. Oh well!

Here is Bob standing in the antler arch. There is one of these arches on each corner of the town square.

Our next stop was at a store called Vom Fass. If anyone is interested in starting a business, this is a franchise, and is really neat! They sell flavored vinegars and oils. Plus spices and liqueur’s. They have ‘casks’ of oils and vinegars and do tastings. One of the samples was nectarines in a mango vinegar with a flavored oil. It was really good. Bob even tried a beer vinegar, which he was not impressed with; but we bought some lemon infused vinegar for putting on our salmon and asparagus.

Next door was a chocolate shop, so each bought some chocolate. It was time for lunch, so we took the advice of the full-time RV’er, who was a summer employee at the visitor center, and went to lunch at The Bunnery. This was a bakery which was also a restaurant, and a very popular place. The food was excellent!

We went to Ace Hardware for some Velcro to attach the tire monitor. The suction cups had stopped working and the monitor kept falling down at the most inconvenient times.

We turned north taking SR 22 to Jackson Hole Ski Resort. We had thought about taking the tram to the top, but the price was too high to just take the ride. We have paid less to ski all day!

So we continued north on SR 22 back into Grand Teton NP, entering at the Granite Canyon entrance. As we were traveling north we noted this smoke in the sky. We asked the Ranger if it was a fire, and she said yes. It started on the 20th and so far has burned 1700 acres off to the east, not in the park. The fire was caused by lightening.

The road was terrible until just past the Laurence S. Rockefeller Preserve. We stopped at the Menors Ferry Historic District and the Chapel of the Transfiguration(a small Episcopal church). The church was built in 1925 and services are held there every Sunday. The view from the church, behind the alter was beautiful.

Menor’s Ferry was built by Bill Menor;  the first commercial ferry service across the Snake River. Visitors can ride the replica of the ferry, but it was not running while we were there.

The Maude Noble Cabin and General Store was also in this area. In 1923, this was the site of the local’s meeting with the Superintendent of the NP Service to lay the foundation for the creation of Grand Teton NP.

We continued north to Jenny Lake, where we wandered through the visitor center and general store. Then we returned to Coulter Lake RV park, which seems to stay full every day! We grilled pork chop for dinner while batting the mosquito’s.

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