Day 15 was a long haul day covering 540 miles in 7 hours traveling from Moab in Utah up to Jackson in Wyoming, The journey was uneventful and the roads great as usual and the only stops we made were for restrooms and lunch. The scenery changed quite quickly from the desert and red stone monoliths of Northern Utah to the almost Alps feel of southern Wyoming with its wide fast flowing rivers and steep tree covered peaks. As we came over one of the summits we were greeted with our first view of the Tetons and the green valleys below.
We managed to find a hotel for the evening in the town of Jackson which is around 40 miles south of the Grand Tetons National Park - not one of the best hotels but it was nice just to have somewhere to get a shower and wind down after the drive. We spent some time in the hot-tub at the hotel and got chatting to a couple of teachers from South Dakota although I think I put my foot in it when we got on to the topic of religious wars and their validity or not - enough said. I have been reading Sophie's World by Jostien Gaarder which is a book I have started several time but not managed to finish - one of the bits I keep getting to and then have to go away and think about is the history of religion from a philosophical point of view. The book lays out a religious timeline and certainly challenges the stuff I was taught in a methodist Sunday School in the North of England. Anyway this has given me new insights which I just happened to bring into the conversation with the teachers who turned out to be devote Christians from some obscure church started by a Harvard Professor - anyway it didn't turn out good!
As we were staying in the centre of Jackson we wandered out to find some food. The town itself is quite a vibrant place and I figured there would be somewhere good to eat. As we turned a corner a couple asked us if we were locals and if we knew where the micro-brewery called Snake River Brewery was - of course we said no but were looking for the same thing (it sounded good anyway). We ended up asking another passing couple who did know where it was and we ended up having a great evening with the first couple who were originally from Southern California but had recently moved to Kansas.
After dinner we said goodnight to our new found friends, Jo and Karen, and went for a walk around Jackson to take a couple of photos - one of Lorna under an arch made of deer antlers and the second of a shop selling holistic pet food - I am not sure
what constitutes holistic pet food as I haven't seen the same advertised for humans!
Tomorrow sees us take the short drive up to Colter Village Bay where we are staying for the next 5 nights - George joins us on Sunday after flying in from visiting friends in Vancouver.
I am not sure whether there will be Internet access in the national parks so it may be a few days before I post again - I will of course carry on posting on my machine and then download when I can get an Internet connection.
Hello my name is Alex from Italy. I read this very interesting post and i would like to ask you some information. This summer i will organize the same journey from Moab to Jackson with a Ford Escape (62l max capability of fuel). Do you reach Jackon with only a full of fuel or you stop another time to refuel? Does exist any ditributors on the way to Jackson or not? Thank you very much for your contribution.
Alex
Posted by: Alessandro (Alex) | May 03, 2011 at 11:28 AM