Here is a rundown of the trip out west to Jackson Hole and trip back to Florida. The trip out was 2532 miles with several stops to see friends (Crestview, FL and New Iberia, LA) and relatives (Dallas). The trip back was 2335 miles with the difference primarily being taking a more northern route east from Shreveport, LA to Montgomery, AL and then south into Florida. We didn't have time to visit enroute on the way home other than 1 day in Dallas to see daughter Wendy and her family. Coming back we did miss the bumpy roads (yea right) in Louisiana, especially along I-10.
In Dallas we did experience the "Boulevard" which is the SMU tailgating extravaganza before football games. Despite not having a good team for many years (June Jones is bringing SMU football back), one of the things that SMU students know how to do well is tailgate. A large area centered around the main drive through campus is blocked off from traffic on game day, and student and academic organizations set up tailgating tents for a giant pre-game party. Students and fans throw elaborate parties with lots of food and drinks, and the people watching is bunches of fun. The students get dressed up for games (think cowboy boots and sundresses for the girls) and it's fun to watch all of the little kids wearing SMU gear and throwing footballs on the lawn. The business school sponsors its own tailgate, which Wendy and family have attended for years. For this game, the nice spread was catered by Friday's with ample iced beverages as well as mixed drinks.
About a half hour before game time the band and cheerleaders march in a parade towards the stadium (see below). You can barely make out a few tailgating tents behind the band. The only downside was that the temperature was in the mid-90's with no air moving.
The best part of our Dallas visit was time spent with family. Here Wendy is cutting a special cake (with cherry icing) while Amelia and John look on.
BY THE NUMBERS
We averaged 7.4 mpg going west and 7.2 mpg returning to Florida with our motorhome. We attribute this small difference to having to use the air conditioning in the motorhome most of the trip eastbound due to the warmer September weather as compared to the cooler weather in the spring. Another interesting fact is the cost of gasoline was at least 10 cents per gallon cheaper at all stops coming eastbound; we actually got gas at many of the same stations both coming and going. RV parks averaged about $30 per night for the entire trip.
We had a significant reason for returning to Gainesville - the birth of our 4th grandchild, scheduled for September 17. We arrived back in Florida on September 15th to the expected heat and humidity we had been avoiding all summer. We were so glad to visit with a very pregnant daughter Laura, son-in-law John and 3 yr. old grandson Jack for dinner, as we hadn't seen them in nearly 5 months.
One of the things we were not looking forward to on our return was our yard. Normally covered only with pine bark nuggets, it was severely overgrown with knee-high weeds, forcing my schedule for the next few weeks to include many sessions of "on my knees" weeding.
We were all set for the birth on September 17. But we got a call from our daughter early that morning - she caught a stomach virus from son Jack, and her C-section was postponed until she was well enough to withstand the surgery. Oh joy, two more days of pregnancy!
Our new grandson was born on Sunday, Sept. 19. Henry Luke weighed in at a hefty 9 pounds, 14 ounces at 9:14 am (easy to remember). Chubby cheeks, dark hair for now and hungry from day 1.
We have spent a lot of time with grandson Jack on the weekends to help entertain him with trips to various parks, stores, and the local pool while John and Laura get Henry acclimated to their home. We also do puzzles and games, as well as watch Jack's favorite shows.
Ann has spent a lot of time helping feed and change Henry, who eats a lot and often.
We had our last dinner in Jackson at - where else - Snake River Brewing Company. The previous week we were given a tour of the brewery along with a sampling of the eight beers on tap. Ann insisted on this picture to commemorate the evening.
On Tuesday, we headed back towards Dallas to spend the weekend with Wendy, Scott, Amelia and John. We expect to be back in Gainesville in time for the birth of our 4th grandchild scheduled for September 17th.
As the season winds down, we thought we would share some highs and lows of working in the Jenny Lake Store. We have our share of international visitors from all over the world. I have met guests from Australia, Japan, China, India, and all parts of Europe. It is sometimes a challenge to verify the signature on a credit card receipt as evidenced by this credit card slip.
I have previously mentioned the hot dog machine. In late June we received a second hot dog machine which we keep in the back of the store. Each machine holds 18 quarter pound all beef hot dogs and there were some days when we still couldn't keep up with demand. In early August, we had several days where we sold over 100 hot dogs.
A new item this year is smoothies or slushies. We pour a liquid made from concentrate flavor juice into the machine and it will become a slushy overnight. One night I filled the blueberry above the max fill line and overnight the ice pushed the cover off the top of the machine and some ice fell into the display of cowboy items on the left of the machine. I helped Ann clean up the items covered in blue slushy before we opened the next morning.
As the days have become shorter and fall temperatures have arrived, we sometimes see mule deer in the parking lot next to the store. One night after we closed the store, we found these visitors who were enjoying the grass and shrubs.
We were challenged by Wyatt, Store Operations Manager, who hired us, to have a day with $10,000 in sales. We achieved the goal in July and were rewarded with a pizza and beer party at Leek's. Here are pictures of our crew starting with Wyatt and his wife, Isabella, who were celebrating their 6-month wedding aniversary as well as our good year.
Ron and Karen, store managers, who live in California and were in the RV site next to us at Gros Ventre Campground.
Dick and Sheri, our friends from Rock Springs, Wyoming, that we shared the boating trip on Jackson Lake and the drive along the Beartooth Highway.
Bob and Michelle from Bozeman, Montana.
Don and Elaine from Fort Worth, Texas.
Interesting questions we heard during the year include:
- Do you have chopsticks (to eat the Ramen noodle cups we sell)?
- Is there a lake here (did he wonder why the area is called Jenny Lake)?
- Where do they keep the animals at night (they are wild animals; this is not a zoo)?
- Where is the tram to the top of the mountain (there is a shuttle boat to the trailhead to Hidden Falls and Inspiration Point; the only tram is 10 miles away in Teton Village)?
- And finally, who did the landscaping (mother nature, this is a national park)?
One of the unique things about the mornings in the Tetons is that the views are spectacular. Recently we saw this bull moose no more than 10 yards from our RV. Look at that moose's beard!
One morning as we were leaving for working the early shift, the Tetons had a pink glow but only for about 5 minutes as the sun was rising. We took this photo, then moved up the road another few miles to take another picture, and the pink glow was gone in just one or two minutes! We sell photos and magnets with the mountains looking pink - and now we know how they were photographed.
As a fringe benefit, all GTLC (Grand Teton Lodge Company) employees are given a $15 gift certificate that can be used at specific dining establishments within the Park. We had heard a lot of good things about the dining room at the Jackson Hole Golf and Tennis Club so we tried it for lunch on one of our recent days off. We choose to be seated on the outdoor patio since it had warmed up to the low 70's.
Here is the view from the outdoor patio across the practice putting green and the driving range to the Teton Mountains. This view shows the lushness of the golf course while hiding the ruggedness of the mountains themselves.
The meal was excellent and the service was good but the view was priceless. Overall it was a nice outing prior to going into the town of Jackson for our weekly visit for groceries.
Last Monday we took a trip to Yellowstone Park with our co-worker friends Dick and Sheri. They both know the area extremely well and wanted to show us the sites often missed by tourists. Our first stop was at the Yellowstone Hotel which borders Yellowstone Lake for breakfast. This is an historic building dating back to the early 1900's but is very similar in design to the Yacht and Beach Club at Walt Disney World. There were old photos in the lobby of guests arriving by stagecoach and some of the early versions of the automobile.
We next stopped at Lower Yellowstone Falls where the temperature was a balmy 39 degrees (Dick's car has an outside temperature gauge) about 11:45 a.m. A front came through the night before, giving us our first hint of fall. yet the date was August 23rd! If you look closely at the rock sides of this canyon, you can see where this park gets it's name. Along our drive we saw many bison as well as some deer and antelope. We also saw two bears but they were too far away to get a picture.
We get lots of questions from guests while working in the Jenny Lake Store. Other than Where are the restrooms?, the next most asked question is Where do you go to get the boat to cross the lake? Before we left Grand Teton National Park for the year, it was time for us to experience being a tourist again, hiking the trail at Jenny Lake. We have hiked this trail many times before, but it is one of those traditional "must do" activities while in the Tetons.
On a day off last week, we boarded our shuttle boat for the 5-minute ride across Jenny Lake. Here is a view of the Grand Teton peak from the boat dock.
The lake was very calm in the early morning as we crossed the lake. Here is a picture of one of the three boats in operation this morning as it passes us heading back to the main dock.
This photo was taken as we approached the dock at the other side of the lake. Again, notice how calm the water is. The wooden railed fences line the first 150 yards of the trail up to Hidden Falls and Inspiration Point. You can get an idea of the steepness of our hike by looking at the fence line rise from right to left.
As we began our climb up to Inspiration Point, we passed yet another stream of snow melt coming down the mountain. We never get tired of viewing this crystal clear water rushing down the mountain side. The dead tree trunks over the stream is another example of how the National Park Service lets fallen trees alone so mother nature can take its course for the tree to eventually rot and feed the soil with nutrients.
We reached Inspiration Point after a moderate one mile climb, including about six switchbacks, parts of the trail where the trail turns 180 degrees. The view of Jenny Lake speaks for itself. The view down to the lake shows just how rugged this part of the mountain is. Also, if you look closely, you can see another shuttle boat heading back to the main dock at the top of the picture.
The view up to the top of Mt. Owen (mountain to the north of the Grand) is impressive as well. You can see several small glaciers which still are covered with snow. At 11,000 ft. plus in elevation, the temperatures are much colder causing the snow and ice to melt very little.
From Inspiration Point we hiked down to Hidden Falls and back into the woods from the main trail. While you can hear the falls, it is not visible until you are right in front of it because of the denseness of the woods. It was this water from the falls that formed the stream shown earlier.
We continued our hike down towards the lake and then took the trail around the west side of Jenny Lake. We were extremely cautious as there have been bears sited along this route. This day the only wildlife we encountered were small chipmunks and a squirrel or two.
We did see several areas where there were huge rock slides or avalanches many years ago. This was evidenced by "rock meadows" containing new tree growth with trees less than four or five feet tall. We also saw several areas where there was a lot of berries including raspberries and huckleberries. This is probably the reason for the bear activity since one of a bear's favorite foods is huckleberries.
We took this picture of the Tetons from the south shore of Jenny Lake near the main boat dock. The picture is similar to one we took at Phelps Lake showing the contrast of the wooded mountain next to a very rocky mountain with few trees.
On this morning, we saw 2 moose as we were leaving our campsite at about 7 am. These moose were about 20 yards from the back of our RV. As you can see, the bull moose had quite a rack.
The cow moose has a mouthful of sagebrush.
We do not get tired of seeing the wildlife up close and personal. However, we won't get any closer, as we understand that moose can be very dangerous when confronted by humans. And we respect that this is their habitat that we humans are just lucky enough to be sharing.
Last Monday evening we finally got to go on the dinner cruise on Jackson Lake from the Colter Bay Marina. The weather was "iffy" but the boat captain said let's cruise to Elk Island for steak and trout. Our co-worker friends, Dick and Sheri, from Rock Springs, Wyoming, joined us for the cruise.
The clouds parted and there appeared to be blue sky behind Mt. Moran as we cruised to Elk Island. About halfway along our 20 minute ride, rain drops begin falling on the roof of the boat. The rain was letting up as the boat docked on the island, so we were hopeful for a good picnic dinner.
However, our nice picnic was not to be. About halfway through our dinner, we were treated to not only heavy rain but HAIL. Boy, was the weatherman wrong on this one! All we could do was laugh as we tried to finish our meal in the midst of hailstones, hoping that the downpour would finally stop.
Do I look like I am enjoying this weather ?!? Here I am waiting under a tree for dessert, an apple or peach cobbler which employees were trying to cook on an open stove while being drowned by the pouring rain..
When the rain did not let up, we went back to the boat with the promise that cobbler would be served on the boat. About 10 minutes later, we got the word from the boat captain that the rain had prevented the cobbler from getting warm, so dessert to end the picnic was not possible. Nevertheless, we were all smiles as we waited for Capt. Jim to take us back to Colter Bay Marina. One of the other passengers took this picture of us on the stern of the boat with Mt. Moran partially hidden by my big head.
And yes, the reason it is called Elk Island. Here is a picture of a bull elk coming down to the shore for a drink as dusk settles in. Look at those antlers!
On our 2nd day off last week we took a short 3-mile hike to the land where the Geraldine Lucas Homestead once stood. This was the first hike we have taken that didn't have some "ups and downs" enroute. Usually we hike along rocky paths that challenge arthritic knees and ankles. This hike was over flat land on a mostly narrow dirt path which was muddy in spots from a rain storm the previous evening.
Geraldine Lucas was a feisty, independent pioneer woman who began her homestead on Cottonwood Creek in 1913. She filed a homestead claim for her 160 acre parcel in 1918 and lived alone there. Later in 1924 at the age of 58, she became the first Jackson Hole woman to reach the peak of The Grand (the local name for Grand Teton Peak, of which these mountains are named).
Most of the hike was along Cottonwood Creek which is mainly fed by snow melt from The Grand. The sounds of the running water added to the stillness of the morning.
Once we crossed this log bridge, the path wandered away from the creek through areas of spruce trees, so the Christmas tree lot smell was with us again.
This picture was taken in a meadow about a quarter mile before we reached the place where Lucas' homestead once stood. The Grand is the peak in the center and is flanked by Mt. Teewinot on the left and Mt. Moran on the right. We would think these views of the Tetons were the primary inspiration for Lucas to homestead this area. Notice all the spruce trees in the background. The dead trees are the result of an infestation of pine bark beetles that is plaguing the western U. S. mountains.
This picture shows just how clear the water in Cottonwood Creek really is. This photo was taken from the path towards the edge of the creek. The water is about a foot deep and appears almost invisible.
This other view from the bridge to the parking area shows rapids along the left side of the creek and a small rock bar on the right. Even with a depth between 2 and 3 feet deep, the water remains crystal clear.
