48. Wyoming – Part 2

Month: September 2018

Location: Jackson Hole, Grand Teton National Park and Yellowstone National Park

It was bright and sunny and a perfect day to be outdoors.  But first, there was a matter of some breakfast and the place which I had picked – ‘Nora’s Fish Creek Inn’ – was a few miles in the opposite direction to ‘Grand Teton National Park’, where I was headed next.  However, since I was already on the doorsteps of the park, I didn’t mind the detour.  Plus, there are worst places to be driving than this.  The restaurant appeared to be in middle of nowhere, thought that had not stopped a big crowd from showing up.  I had to wait for a long time to get a seat at the bar and even longer to get served.  However, I was pleased with the food, which despite being standard “country fare”, was quite good.  With that taken care of, I was now on my way.

Perfection

Once again, I found myself on “Route 191” headed through the town and past the airport.  Just a few miles from the airport was the left turn to get to the parks visitor’s center.  As far as one of these goes, it was quite big, with a big table sized topographical layout of the park, where the visitor's could walk around it and identify places that they wanted to visit.  However, the most incredible thing for me was outside, behind the center – the panoramic view of the ‘Grand Teton Range’.  The word “breathtaking” is used quire often, including by me.  But this was something straight out of a postcard.  I couldn’t wait to get started.

I mean, look at this!

One of the most well-known landmarks of this area is the winding “Snake River”.  In fact, years ago when I had first heard of this park, it was a picture of this river that I had found enticing.  Talking to the “Park Ranger” yesterday, I had learnt that there were a bunch of companies that offer a “float trip” down the river where visitors could enjoy the views of the beautiful park while lazing on the float.  It sounded like fun, but then I saw that these trips took hours, which was time that I wasn’t prepared to spend on this activity.  There were a couple of trails that I wanted to explore and the first one was called “Hidden Falls”.  To get there one had to take a shuttle boat across ‘Jenny Lake’ and there was a moderate climb.  Sounded like a good place to start.

The magnificent 'Jenny Lake'

Riding towards ‘Jenny Lake’ took me past the spectacular sights of the park, and I could see many places where people had pulled over to take pictures.  But I had a ferry to catch and based on the parking lot when I arrived, so did several other folks.  I found a spot at the very back end and walked up to the visitor’s center, which was really just a trailer.  The folks confirmed details about the ferry and pointed me to a path that would take me to the dock.  A short walk led me to the banks of the lake and once again, the view was spectacular.  I, however, did not have time to marvel and so rushed to make sure I made it on to the next ferry.  I purchased a return ticket – the other option was a long hike back around the lake.

The view from "Inspiration Point"

There were a few folks besides me on the ferry and while I sat along the edge to enjoy the view, it came at a minor inconvenience of getting sprayed by the cold water.  But it wasn’t long before I arrived on the other side and started on a hike up to the “Hidden Falls”.  Despite the elevation, it wasn’t a very strenuous climb and I thoroughly enjoyed it.  It took about 25 minutes to get to the falls, which despite being a modest 200 feet, were in a pristine setting.  The trail continued up to “Inspiration Point” and now things were getting a bit steep, not to mention, a bit narrow on the path.  Going all the way was over would have taken a long time, though I decided to go as far as I could over the next 10 to 15 minutes.  And boy, was I glad that I did.  I reached a spot called “Lower Inspiration Point”, which gave a fantastic view of ‘Lake Jenny’ and the park.  I could see why someone would call it an “Inspiration Point”.

The narrow path down

I went back down the narrow path and past the falls, down to the dock to await the ferry.  Once again, I got sprayed and again, I did not mind, though it was chilly.  I saw a few people setting up picnic overlooking the lake and why not.  I got back to my car and drove to the next trail that I wanted to visit, ‘Taggart Lake’.  This was an easy 3-mile round trip walk that would take approximately 2 hours.  I set off on a flat track alongside a fence and navigating through a lot of animal droppings.  The mountain peaks were keeping me company on one side, till I entered a dense forest and while I realized that there was a lake at the end of it, I wasn’t sure if I wanted to do this anymore.  There was another attraction that sounded more appealing and it would take me some time to get there.  So, I turned back and walked to my car and after a brief stop at the visitor’s center, left ‘Grand Teton National Park’ to proceed towards “Jackson Hole Aerial Tram and Gondola Rides”.

On the "Aerial Tram"

I had to get back on my favorite “Route 191” and go back into town and past it to get to ‘Teton Village’ where the ride was located.  Even though the two places looked close to each other on the map, because of the topography and routes, it took over 30 minutes for me to get there.  ‘Teton Village’ is a small community at the base of ‘Jackson Hole Mountain Resort’ and which comprised of lodging, restaurants and shopping areas.  It took me some time to find a parking spot, meaning this place was full, though you couldn’t tell it from the deserted road.  I had bought my ticket online – to save a few bucks – and after collecting my “wristband”, I headed to the boarding area.

The Valley

The last time I had been on an “Aerial Tram” was at ‘Mount Alyeska’ in Alaska.  The gentleman at the visitor’s center yesterday had told me to stand at the front of the tram to get a great view.  While not quite full to the capacity of 100, there were a lot of people in there and so I wasn’t at the front, though I could see the vistas around me.  The gentleman operating the tram was also giving us a commentary on the history of the place and everything around us.  He mentioned that there was a café at the top that served “the world’s best waffles” and the reason that they were the best was because they were the only waffles that you could get at this elevation!

The "best waffle in the world"

As soon as we reached the top, while everyone else went over to take pictures, I made a beeline for ‘Corbet’s Café’ to get my waffle.  I sure have my priorities straight!  There were 4 kids who look annoyed that someone was disturbing their idle time and grumpily took my order of “Italian Waffle with Nutella”.  It came out hot and dripping with the gooey “Nutella” and the best part was sitting outside and enjoying it at 10,450 feet, against the backdrop of the Jackson Hole Valley.  Yeah, it was the “world’s best waffle”. After that, I walked around and looked at the incredible 360-degree view around me, from the valley on one side to the mountains on the other.  The best part was the snow-capped peak of the tall ‘Grand Teton’ towering majestically against the skyline.

The peak of 'Grand Teton'

I took some pictures and after soaking in the sights for one last time, headed back to catch the next tram down.  This time, I did make it right up to the front, meaning I had an unobstructed view of the valley as we went down.  The commentary was on as the guide showed us some of the rocky cliffs, which would be covered with snow in a few months and some crazy daredevils would be jumping off it.  For now, I just couldn’t see how anyone could even attempt such a task.  It was a nice ride down and I could see the city of Jackson in the distance as well as the airport where I had landed just yesterday.  Once again, the only airport located inside a “National Park”.  Halfway down there was a hotel which was accessible by riding much smaller “Gondolas”, departing from an adjacent area.  Talk about a dinner date!

Last look from the top

After we were down, I walked about a few of the stores, but there wasn’t much to capture my interest.  So, I got in the car and drove to ‘Snow King Resort’, which was located at the base of the mountain towering over downtown Jackson and our famous “Route 191”.  The reason for my visit was their restaurant called ‘Haydens Post’, which was supposedly known for their cocktails.  The interior looked like a giant hall with wooden panels and tall ceilings.  It wasn’t that crowded, and I got a “Huckleberry Jalapeño Margarita’, which was red and adequate.  There wasn’t much I had planned to do next, so I returned to my room for some rest and watched some shows while enjoying my “negative water”.

Dinner time

I left the hotel around 7 pm and made my way to ‘The Rose’, now that I knew its opening time.  Today I chose a drink called “The Last Ryder” and enjoyed the relaxation that a good cocktail lounge offers.  There were a couple more folks at the bar, though it was still quite empty.  I did not mind that at all and took my time with the drink before moving on to my next spot called ‘FIGS’.  It was located inside ‘Hotel Jackson’ and was a “Lebanese Restaurant”, known for their cocktails.  Since there weren’t many options, I decided to stop by, and I was glad that I did.  Not only was my cocktail – called “Bitter End” – good, I enjoyed talking with the bartender, Seamus, discussing our mutual cocktail experiences around the country.  Every single trip I run into folks like this.  Dinner tonight was at another top restaurant in Jackson, called ‘The Kitchen’, which was a part of some restaurant group that pretty much ran the top places in Jackson.  It was a more relaxed layout than last night, and they made some really good food.  It had been another solid choice and after dinner, I once again traveled through the dark streets back to my room for the night.  Tomorrow, I would be going to the premier “National Park” in the nation – ‘Yellowstone’.

To Be Concluded…

A sight to behold!