Grand Teton National Park

---

We were hoping for some decent weather today and I couldn't have asked for better weather for taking photos of what's known as Mormons Row. The clouds made for a very interesting sky both over Mormon's Row and the Tetons. This was our first real look at the mountains on this trip. Actually it was our first real look...period.
Last visit, they were cloud covered and we saw only the very tips peeping out the top.
We stopped at a few of the scenic pull outs and took some photos and then headed to the famous Mormon's Row. It has been photographed hundreds of thousands of times I'm sure, but I wanted to take some of my own photos. My photos would be similar to those of the thousands who came before, but they would be mine and my memories. There are two barns at Mormon's Row. When I looked on the internet earlier this week, there were photos of the two and each was labeled as the "John Moulton Barn" so I don't know which one is correct. It didn't really matter to me. They were both lovely so I took photos of each of them.
Mormon Row is found along Antelope Flats Road and is the vintage establishments of early settlers. Four families settled here in 1889. The open fields, which are home to herds of grazing bison in the summer, provide awesome views of the Teton Range.
The old farm buildings known as Mormon Row have withstood the elements for more than a century. The farmland here was homesteaded by predominantly Mormon settlers in the early 1900s, but was later purchased by Rockefellers Snake River Land Company and transferred to the Park Service. Although the famed Oregon Trail remained south and didnt technically pass through Jackson Hole, many emigrants who were traveling west made trips to the area in search of the Promised Land. Most of the first settlers of the area were from what is now Utah.
From Mormon's Row we headed down into the town of Jackson. Jackson is a major gateway for millions of tourists visiting Grand Teton National Park, Yellowstone National Park, and the National Elk Refuge. Jackson is also in close proximity to several ski resorts. Directly southeast of town, there is a small but challenging area known as Snow King, Jackson's original ski hill. It has steep vertical slopes and is night-lit. More famous is the Jackson Hole ski resort, 12 miles northwest. Opened in 1966, it is has abundant steep terrain and has one of the highest vertical drops on the continent, at 4139 feet. The Inn at Jackson Hole is where we are staying while visiting the Tetons.
Jackson is host to a number of world-class arts organizations, including the Congressionally-designated National Museum of Wildlife Art, the Grand Teton Music Festival, and the Center for the Arts. Tourist attractions include the world's largest ball of barbed wire, and large arches of shed elk antlers at the four entrances to the town square. We didn't see the ball of barbed wire (it wasn't high on my list of things to see) but we did see the elk antler arches. We had lunch at the Cadillac Grill across the road from the park.
After lunch we drove around Jackson to see what the town had to offer. It's a really lovely place. The building are all immaculately maintained and many are done in a western style architecture. It's evidently the playground of the rich and famous in the winter. It was absolutely gorgeous.
Between Jackson and our hotel is the National Elk Refuge. It was created in 1912 to protect habitat and provide sanctuary for the largest elk (also known as the wapiti) herd on Earth. The refuge borders the town of Jackson on the northeast while Bridger-Teton National Forest is to the east and Grand Teton National Park borders the refuge to the north. It is home to an average of 7,500 elk each winter. The refuge is managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, an agency of the U.S. Department of the Interior.
Elk migrate from as far away as southern Yellowstone National Park and historically migrated south of the present location of the refuge into southwestern Wyoming during the fall, wintering on grassy plains that were usually snow free most of the winter. During the spring, the herd would follow the retreating snows back into the Yellowstone National Park region. The original size of the elk herd has been estimated to have been in excess of 25,000. The expansion of the town of Jackson blocked off the migration route by the end of the 19th century and the elk herd was severely reduced in size due to the hostile climate and lack of food supply.
A movement to protect and enlarge the remaining herd was commenced in the early 1900s, resulting in the creation of the refuge. The elk herd is kept alive during the hard winters of Jackson Hole through feeding and culling of the herd, a lottery based hunting permit program, which is highly regulated. I was disgusted to hear that hunting was permitted but I suppose it's necessary. The elk have antlers which are shed each year and the Boy Scouts of America have been collecting the antlers under permit since the 1950s and selling them at auction under agreement that 80% of the proceeds are returned to the refuge to feed, research and manage the herd to assure its survival. Ten to eleven thousand pounds of antlers are auctioned each year. Now you would think that out of those 7,500 elk we might have seen just one but today, they were all hiding in the forests I guess because we didn't see any at all.
By late afternoon the clouds began to roll in and any mountain viewing or photography was over. It started to rain and we heard thunder in the distance so headed back to the hotel. Frank had found a little winding country road that was a shortcut to the hotel. It's about 15 miles long but a picturesque drive. The leaves are about to turn. Hint's of yellow are beginning to emerge and I can imagine during full autumn time it would be fabulous. We arrived at the hotel sometime around 5pm and settled in for the evening.

---

Comments

[zuzuzu72]

simply stunning