Sunday, June 20, 2021

Before leaving Idaho Falls this morning, we stopped at the Japanese Friendship Garden on the River Walk. It was a lovely interlude before driving to Jackson, Wyoming.

About 20 years ago, I visited Jackson, Wyoming, hoping to see the Grand Tetons. I could only stay one night, and the mountains were fogged in the next morning. It was such a disappointment, so I knew I had to return some day.

Grand Teton National Park includes several major peaks of the Teton range within its 300,000 plus acres. Humans have occupied this region at least 11,000 years. White explorers arrived in the 1800s, looking for beaver. Now they come to ski, hunt and hike. The Town of Jackson, at the south end of the park, with only 10,000 residents, can attract as many as 40,000 visitors per day in the summer. This year, after a year of minimal travel due to COVID, the town was even busier than usual.

The Menors Ferry Historic District, just north of Jackson, was once home to a ferryboat across the Snake River that operated from 1894 to 1927, when a bridge was built south of the ferry. The ferry was a platform set on two pontoons, with a cable system across the river.

The weather was perfect for visiting the park today. We stopped several times to take photos. Lunch was at the Jackson Lake Lodge, where we could look out their large windows toward Jackson Lake.

It would be easy to stay here for several days, there is so much to explore, but we are on a tight schedule, so on to Yellowstone tomorrow.