Jackson, Wyoming

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We left Salt Lake City Sunday morning and headed north towards Jackson, WY. We took I-80 out-of-town and started east until we touched the southwest corner of Wyoming. We stopped for groceries there and then continued north along the Wyoming/Utah and eventually Wyoming/Idaho state lines. We crossed in and out of Wyoming several times until we finally arrived in Jackson.

The drive was supposed to be only a four or five-hour drive, but it took us several hours longer than that to complete. Mainly because we just kept stopping. We saw lots of different vistas and lots of wildlife too. The countryside would change completely with just the passing of a few miles. Sometimes it was desert dry and then just a little while later it was lush with open water and grasses. As the day progressed and as our destination approached trees began to appear. We started following the course of the Snake River into Jackson and crossed it even more times than the various state lines. Pictured with this post is a pair of Prong Horned Deer and an American Avocet.

In Jackson we parked downtown and then started to walk around. It was about three then, so the tourist trade was in full swing. We did some window shopping and then we hiked over to Grand Teton Park’s visitors center and spoke to a very nice woman from the Jackson Chamber of Commerce. She gave us more ideas of things to do than we could handle in the time that we have here. We had an early dinner at a Mexican restaurant, the Merry Piglets and then left town.

You see we are not staying in Jackson, but thirty miles away in Driggs, ID. Lodging is quite a bit cheaper in Idaho. There is one catch though, you have to cross through the Teton Pass (~8400’). It was not too tough a drive, but it is summer time. The signs we passed indicate that it would be a tough commute to make in the winter and this is a commute that many people who work in Jackson choose to make.

The valley floors around this part of the country are generally as flat as the mountains that surround them are not. These flat valley floors and their ample bike lanes make cycling a popular mode of transportation, at least around town. We saw plenty of cyclists heading towards the Teton Pass when we left Jackson. There are bike lanes to the base of the pass and at least on the Jackson side of the pass it appeared that there was a continuous, separate bike path that rose to the top of the pass. Even so many riders chose to hop off their bikes at the base of the pass and instead put out their thumbs. Frankly, I could not blame them.

1 thought on “Jackson, Wyoming”

  1. Many years ago, on one of our dinosaur trips, we stayed in Jackson. Same price issues, but we managed to snag a Motel 6 room. We did not book ahead, had planned to camp. But it was pouring at the time. When we first checked they told us to, “come back at 6 and see if anything was available.” We left briefly, and then the kids and I sat down in their lobby while Carl went shopping. About 5 PM they gave us a room. During the time we were sitting there, many people stopped in looking for less expensive lodgings. I am sure if we were not camped there we would not have been the lucky ones. [Note: We still stay at Motel 6’s on occassion. And yes, we know they are the butt of many jokes.]

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