Jackson Hole...God's Country

I never cease to be awed by the raw beauty of the area around Jackson Hole, especially the Tetons. These photos were taken during a brief stop-over enroute to Cowley, Wyoming for the Pioneer Day celebration on July 26, 2008. Our route to Cowley via Jackson was through Idaho Falls, Idaho, East and up over the mountains, dropping into Jackson from the West. This is beautiful drive this time of year, though one must use care crossing the mountains because the road is very steep and winding and it is easy to over-heat your brakes coming down (we did..kind of scary!).

This is the iconic photograph of the Snake River, with the Tetons in the background, made famous by legendary photographer Ansel Adams. This was taken from the Snake River overlook. Since Ansel is now dead, it is impossible to say for certain that this was the exact location from which he took his photo, but most experts agree that it was, at least, very near to this location. The trees in the foreground have grown so much that they now obscure part of the Snake River that was visible in the Ansel Adams photo, which was done in black and white.

The Tetons from the Snake River overlook near the northern edge of Teton National Park.

Indian Paintbrush, the Wyoming State flower was blooming in abundance, even in the barrow pits along the roads.

Small wild flowers were in bloom everwhere, even in the driest places.

Looking Northwest from the east side of Jenny Lake. A trail leads down some 20 or 30 feet to the waters edge. A young girl made her way to the tree overhanging the water and gives a sense of scale to the lake.

No matter where you are in Jackson Hole the Tetons dominate the scenery. This is heading south along the Jenny Lake road between Yellowstone National Park and Jackson .

Rustic mountain brook. This was probably ice just a few hours ago on one of the mountains nearby.

This is where Shon and I would live if we could afford it! This old log cabin can be seen in context in the photograph just below this one.

NO LONGER NEEDED

Next door to several subdivisions of large and expensive homes sits this empty field and a large abandoned barn which is sucumbing to age and neglect. I'm sure the owner of both the barn and the property have lost interest in farming and are just waiting for the right offer from an enterprising subdivider. Then it's off to Southern Utah, Arizona or California where the winters are milder and the living is good! I guess you can't stand in the way of progress (?), but I hate to see all the farms and orchards getting paved over.

As my son and I passed through Idaho on the way to Yellowstone Park, we discovered that the wild flowers in the area of the old Mac's Inn were at their zenith. There were, in many locations, hundreds of acres of wild daisies blooming, among which were an occasional yellow of blue flower. Unfortunately, the mosquitos were as thick as the flowers!

Most Park visitors end up at Artists Point for a view of the upper Yellowstone Falls, but too few, I think, observe the delicate colors of the canyon itself which are just across and to the north of the observation area.