Stunning, Breathtaking, Majestic

September 2005

Jackson Hole WY & Yellowstone National Park

When Edith invited me to join her for a trip to Jackson Hole WY, I was, of course, game to go but I had no idea what we would see there as I didn’t know anything about the area.  But, as Edith was a travel agent with a history of great ideas, I knew we were going to have a wonderful time.

These mountains were formed by
glacier a REALLY LONG time ago.

We actually started in Salt Lake City, Utah and then drove the beautiful six hours north through Utah and Idaho then finally along the Teton Pass into Jackson Hole, WY.  I had never driven over a mountain before, it was quite the adventure.  Safely arriving, Edith has booked us into a quaint hotel that was actually little two room log cabins. 



Edith and I hitch a ride from town up to the
Bar T-5 Dude Ranch for dinner and a show.



Jackson Hole is the gateway for many people to see the Grand Teton Mountain range and Yellowstone National Park.  Famous for its Elk-antler Arches found in the center of town as well its public art displays, this is a great community to walk around, shop, dine and explore.  While we were there we had dinner at the “Bar T 5”, dude ranch that included a wagon ride to the dinner hall, amazing BBQ and a great show.  We explored the artsy side of town, wandered the amazing shops and took a guided rafting ride down the Snake River, we even watched a Mama bear and her cub lazing on the side of the road!

On one beautiful fall day we took a guided tour through a sliver of 2 million+ acres of National Park!  Our guide picked us and 8 other sight-seers up and started our well narrated drive to the one site we all wanted to see… Old Faithful – the geyser that sets the bar for all other North American Geysers!  When we arrived at the visitor center we learned that Old Faithful was not as faithful as we thought.  It doesn’t go off every hour on the hour, but apparently it goes off in such a way that they can accurately predict the next eruption.  Bleachers line one side of this show and you wait with cameras poised for 5,000 gallons of boiling water to shoot 150 feet in the air. The noise, the spray and even the smell – it is like nothing else you will ever experience.  We wandered along wooden sidewalks from small geysers to mud pools seeing nature just doing its thing.

I have been too many places in the US and around the world, before and after this trip.  When people ask me about the most beautiful place I have ever been, I always think back to Jackson Hole.  From the grassy fields filled with buffalo and elk, to the seven peaks of the Grand Teton Mountains, along the Snake river that winds through the town and the well preserved National Park of Yellowstone, I feel blessed to have been able to visit such a majestic place.