On Wednesday, we dropped off Daisy and Ramsey at a nearby kennel and headed (without our trailer) for Jackson, Wyoming---just 25 miles away. Jackson is in the heart of Jackson Hole---a generic name for the entire valley. A fellow named Jackson was instrumental in the area's history; and "hole" means "valley" to fur trappers (who were there first). Thus, the name Jackson Hole. Jackson is a crowded tourist town with a definitely western ambience. One of its popular bars, The Million Dollar Cowboy Bar
is across the street from a park in the center of the city, famous for its arches at each corner---made entirely of antlers.
We stopped in Jackson, which very near the south end of Grand Teton National Park and is only 100 miles from our destination hotel in Yellowstone National Park, primarily so we could pick up Becky's father (Bill) and brother (John) at the Jackson Hole Airport on Wednesday night. During the day, we went to Grand Teton NP to have lunch with Don and Joyce Wells, two people we worked with at the South Rim of the Grand Canyon.
They now both work for the company that operates the facilities in the park. It was fun seeing them again. We arranged to meet them at the Blue Heron Cafe in the Jackson Lake Lodge,
which is a modern building with an absolutely heart-stopping view of the Grand Tetons. The lodge was built in the '50s, but designed by the same man, Gilbert Stanley Underwood, who designed the rustic lodge at the North Rim of the Grand Canyon in the '30s.
Wednesday night, we had a nice dinner (at Giovanni's in Jackson) with Linda Beaudoin, who worked with us at the North Rim, and her significant other, Rod. They are also working at Grand Teton NP.
We then went to the airport to pick up John (Bill wasn't feeling well, and opted out of the trip at the last moment) and settled in for the night at the Quality Inn.
Thursday morning, we dropped John off at the Dave Hansen Whitewater office in Jackson, so he could be transported to a whitewater rafting put-in spot---to join Becky's sister Wendy and her two daughters, (her husband, Kai, opted to play golf instead), and Becky's brother Peter, and his wife, Terry, and son Jack. At the last moment, we decided to follow the bus to the put-in spot to see everyone off and take appropriate pictures.
We then headed for our hotel---the Lake Yellowstone Hotel. We first saw the hotel six years ago, and have been looking for an excuse to stay there ever since. It's located right on Lake Yellowstone, with a fabulous view of the lake from its huge lobby and front lawn. It's a classic wooden hotel, built in 1891, and was the first one built in the park after it was declared a national park.
Fun facts: (a) The park is named after the Yellowstone River, the longest undammed river in the U.S. (it empties into the Missouri river), and (b) Lake Yellowstone is purported to be the largest mountain lake in the continent, but we were later advised that the unstated qualifier is that the "record" only applies to lakes above 7,000 feet, and Lake Tahoe is larger but less than 7,000 feet in elevation.
Those of us who arrived first met for cocktails in the hotel lobby,
and then had a surprisingly nice dinner in the cafeteria at the Lake Yellowstone Lodge, a pretty, rustic place just a few hundred yards from our hotel.
Thursday evening, the rest of the group arrived in scattered groups. Some got lost on the way to the hotel. (The signage in the park, it was agreed, was pitiful.) On Friday, we took several cars to nearby Biscuit Basin to take a short hike to pretty Mystic Falls,
then went home for a nap, then headed out again to, primarily, the Old Faithful area---37 miles away from our hotel. Very scenic. We had a wonderful dinner, and a timely show by the geyser, at the Old Faithful Inn.
Saturday included an all-day, private tour of the park on one of the historic buses at the park.
Our driver/tour director, Rich Bond, was terrific. We saw amazing waterfalls,
stunning canyons, and all kinds of thermal goodies.
Everyone had a great time. We got back to the hotel just seconds before our scheduled dinner reservations, and then a marvelous dinner in the hotel dining room.
After dinner, some of the folks went to see if they could find sime bears. They were successful.
Sunday was getaway day and we met my daughter Donna, and her husband, David, and daughters, Meghan and Emily, (who were returning to their home in Park City, Utah) at the Jackson Lake Lodge, to show them that fabulous place.
Then we went with them to have a very nice lunch at the Signal Mountain Lodge (also in Grand Teton NP).
Then, we dropped John off in Jackson, to fly to Los Angeles Monday morning, and we arrived back in Victor at about 4:00 pm, and relaxed.
Monday morning we picked up Daisy and Ramsey, who spent most of the day sleeping, which they typically do after we've kenneled them. We then prepared to leave Tuesday morning for Dillon, Montana.
The Yellowstone Adventure was officially over.
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