Day 9 and 10 - Glacier to Yellowstone

Day 9 was a really interesting day. Our journey from Glacier to Helena - the Montana State Capital - was one of contrasts and interesting people. Returning to Helena via the route we arrived on would have been the easiest option but we decided on an alternative route to take in more of Montana. So we headed east from West Glacier on Highway 2, which tracks the most southern point of the park, dipping into it from time to time. It was another chilly, misty morning but we had no doubt that it would change. The peaks of Glacier were visible on our left most of the time along the highway as we passed ranch after ranch and fields of horses and cattle in a very parched environment.

The first notable town we came to was called Browning; home to the native Blackfeet Indian population - The Blackfeet Nation, sometimes known as The Lords of the Great Plains. Their reservation boasts 1.5 million acres. This is where we would take highway 89 south towards Helena. But first we stopped for water at a gas station in town. This town was not the usual clean, new and wholesome kind of place we have repeatedly referred to in the past - every building was dilapidated to some degree, ancient cars and trucks, scratched and bashed in, littered the dusty streets either side of the highway. Wild looking dogs roamed the highway, congregating outside various buildings. We saw one of Browning's inhabitants walking down the sidewalk surrounded by five dogs, each one looking unkempt and hungry - a pack on the hunt.

Reluctantly I left the relative safety of the car and walked into the gas station to get water. Heads turned and about eight pairs of eyes stared at the stranger in the doorway. It was two seconds that felt like two minutes! I had the terrible urge to turn around and walk out again but forced my feet forward - trying my best to look nonchalant - in the general direction of nothing in particular. I found the water and, when sure I wasn't doing anything out of the ordinary, quickly joined the small payment queue, which was taking a long time to move. I wasn't going to complain and provoke a shootout so I waited, only to be told by some Good Samaritan that I was in fact in the queue for the toilets! So much for looking cool!

Outside again, I almost expected to see the car surrounded by circling Indians on horseback, but instead a mangy looking dog approached. It would have been a cute little thing only for the fact that its fur was falling out and its eyes glinted pearly white in the sun. It looked listless and emaciated. It simply watched as I passed by, unable or unwilling to even beg for food in the face of its obvious hunger. I noticed that the lower two-thirds of its tail was completely free of fur; a pink blotchy stump, which looked swollen and painful. I had the urge to give it something to eat but thought better of it. Instead, we drove on to get out of the town as quickly as possible. On the way out there was a sign extolling the virtues of this town's insisted upon self governance - I couldn't help thinking that The Lords of the Great Plains were not doing a particularly good job! But later I reflected that it had precious little to do with me; a traveller passing through - the next morning, in a conversation over breakfast with people who knew Montana I gleaned something of the hardship these people have suffered, having had their land usurped by others. I'm sure my impressions would mean very little to them.

And so onward towards Helena. The countryside was now familiar; its green (where it had been irrigated) and gold rolling hills filled with crops of wheat and Barley. Little puffs of dust, kicked up by farmers' trucks, eddied in the far distance before blowing away in the breeze.

We passed a number of small settlements along the way, one of which was little more than a collection of warehouses and sheds with the odd deli thrown in for good measure. There seemed to be no houses but there were a number of static caravans, which can only be assumed are home to the town's tiny population. There was, of course, a timber church with spire painted mostly white and in perfect condition; a testament to where the town's allegiance lies. The only other landmark of real note was a 30 foot plastic dinosaur, which stood incongruously at the edge of the town as we exited.

As the day wore on we were beginning to feel hungry and were relieved to come across the town of Choteau, which had a number of delis, cafes and bars along its manicured main street.

We stopped at the visitor centre for the toilets on the way into town. Rachel went in ahead. After locking the car I followed, opened the door and was greeted by a very small, frail and stooping old lady dressed in a sweatshirt, pale blue slacks and trainers. Her face beamed a smile. Saying hello, I asked her how she was. She jigged from side to side, her hips swaying as if dancing and her hands moved as if she were rolling a large football between them. "I'm as fit and fancy as you like", she said giggling, as I made a beeline for the loo! I waited for Rachel go back into the centre before venturing out again - safety in numbers, I thought. By now the lady was behind the counter at one end of the room alongside an elderly man in jeans and a white, short sleeved shirt. Rachel was already chatting to them and asking for advice about where to eat when I joined her. No-one else was around. What started out as feeling a little weird turned out to be the highlight of our day as we were treated to the very interesting life story of Bob and Jeanette Hirsh. Jeanette, had now sat down on a chair behind Bob, while he told us of life in Montana. I had noticed a poster in the washroom warning that the centre does not remain open at night due to vandalism and asked Bob about it. He couldn't believe it was true. He told us of a young boy in the village who rested his bike against a tree beside the main street in October and came back for it in March and it was still there. He was perfectly serious. Knowing we were from the UK he talked about how his great grandfather, who was from the Birmingham area in the UK, was charged with tending to Queen Victoria's horses when he was a young man and had the opportunity to travel by ship to America with the horses on the way to Canada. When he arrived and got off the ship he promptly gave the horses to some strangers and was never heard of again by his employer. He wanted a new life and took it, ending up in Montana, where he eventually gained US citizenship. These were Bob's origins and he was eager to talk about them, clearly delighted that we were interested. We gave him the respect he deserved and let the story unfold for as long as he wanted it to. He told us he and his wife had been married for 66 years, as he pointed over his shoulder with his thumb in the direction of Jeanette who was looking very sleepy by now but as he continued his story Jeanette got up and wandered out of the front door into the parking lot. Bob looked quite concerned and asked us if we could see which way she went. "She had a stroke", he said and his words caught in his throat and tears welled in his eyes, "she's losing her mind". It was clear how much he loved Jeanette;  you could see it. We felt deeply moved by this old man's show of vulnerability in the presence of complete strangers and we've thought about these two lovely people ever since. They were both almost 90 years old. Jeanette returned to her chair a few minutes later and Bob continued his story of when he was in the US Navy during the second world war speed testing a new submarine. He later taught Science and Math at college. Soon Jeanette was up again and poking Bob in his side asking about something we didn't understand. It was time to go. We shook their hands and wished them well, taking their advice about where to eat lunch. We had travelled thousands of miles to bump into these lovely people. We only wish we had taken a photo of them to remember them by.

We reached Helena at around 3:30pm and found our new B&B easily, as it was situated right next to the cathedral. It turned out to be the most lovely B&B we had ever seen:

We were greeted by Nick, the owner and shown into the hallway and then the office. If anyone reading this has ever seen the Hollywood Tower Hotel (Tower of Terror) in Disney World, you'll know what it was like - minus the cobwebs, of course. The walls were oak panelled and held old black and white photographs - eerie faces peering out and watching our every move. I particularly noticed a porcelain doll, which stood about two feet high; long black hair and wearing a red dress. 'She' was turned to face the wall with her hand over her eyes - like the child had been scolded and sent away in shame. I felt a chill run down my spine. We were shown to our room - the Morning Room - up a long narrow flight of stairs. As we reached the top a woman came from another room. Her hair was red, untidy and had a severe fringe, curled under along her forehead. She wore jeans and a red T-shirt. Later we admitted to each other that we couldn't help thinking how sinister she looked. She said "hello" in her very slow, deliberate drawl. It turned out that this was Nick's sister,  Lianne; the woman Rachel spoke to when booking the B&B. She seemed to find it difficult to make eye contact, which was a little unnerving. Nick asked if we would join them for wine and canapés on the veranda at 5:30pm. We said we would.

But first we walked into the city centre to look around. We were struck by just how quiet it was; there were very few people on the streets and many shops were closed. It reminded me of the film - The Truman Show - the bit where Truman realises that his town is not a real town but is instead a film set, where everyone is watching him but he doesn't know why. It turned out that the whole population, it seemed, was in The Windbag - an old brothel turned trendy pub and restaurant. When we entered the place it was a relief to see so many people drinking and chatting. We asked a local if it was always this quiet. It was!

Wine and Canapés turned out to be a very pleasant affair. Lianne was the hostess and three other women joined us. They were old friends spending the night before one of their daughter's wedding the next day. We talked for about an hour and listened to the cathedral bells chiming right next door to us. It felt like a very peaceful neighbourhood. It turned out that there were four churches of different flavours within a 2 minute walk of the house; it was literally surrounded by them. The Catholic Cathedral, built around 1912,  was the most impressive. Lianne likened it to St Peter's in Rome - it was nothing like St Peter's in Rome!

In the evening we walked into town, taking Lianne's advice, in search of the 'best steak in town'. We found it - not quite the best steak but certainly the highest price!

Day 10 dawned and we headed downstairs for breakfast. The dining room was such a beautiful room and the large table was set for just the right number of people to sit and eat together. The people we had met the night before over canapés were already there. We ate breakfast of crispy bacon, pancakes (with honey) and a fruit cocktail and coffee; made with pride by Nick. A painting of Queen Elizabeth took pride of place on the wall. Lianne told us that it was given to Nick in payment for his services as a defence attorney many years ago by a man who could not pay in cash! The room and the house was full of expensive antiques and, again, the walls were covered with old photographs from the early 1900s.

Then Lianne asked us if we had seen anything strange in the house. We said "no, why?". Hadn't we seen a woman in white wandering the house and in particular standing at the foot of the bed in room number 3? I knew I had recognised Lianne as Morticia from The Addams Family and the house was actually haunted! I had the horrible feeling that Nick and Lianne were not real either. Lianne then went on to tell us tails of strange happenings in the house over many years (the house was over 100 years old); lights switching on and off, furniture moving from room to room, apparitions and more. It turned out that the three women at the table with us were in room 3 and were staying another night. I wished them good luck with that one! Now, to me an Rachel, this was all just a bit of fun (as we don't believe in anything supernatural) but to Morticia....er I mean Lianne.... this was all perfectly real and the 'spirits' she had witnessed were also real. Of course there must have been a perfectly rational explanation for what she saw; either she was just mistaken or she's mad - I  have my suspicions but I won't go into them here!

The dining room:

We started out for Yellowstone at about 10:30am and the nicest town we met was the town of Ennis.

We stopped here for lunch at the Ennis Café with its famous strawberry pie:

Rachel couldn't resist it and this pie was the highlight of her day!

We arrived in Yellowstone at about 4pm and this evening we relaxed on our new balcony with a BBQ of sausages overlooking the mountains within the national park, where we will visit tomorrow for our first full day in Yellowstone - we can't wait.

 

Day 8 - The Highline Trail

We had learned from our previous mistake and, this time, decided on our destination and started early to beat the traffic. We drove straight to Logan Pass, didn't stop en-route for photos and took one of the few remaining parking places. The Highline Trail, sometimes known as the Garden Wall was recommended to us by Dana; the lady we met on Tuesday. It starts just outside of the Logan Pass visitor centre.

Two minutes into the walk we were confronted by a very scary warning sign telling us that there were Grizzly Bears and Mountain Lions in the area and that our 'safety cannot be guaranteed'! It continued with a whole load of rules to maximise survival chances:

After reading it I estimated our chances of survival at about 15%! But we had got up early and driven a long way so we were doing the walk - with or without bear spray!

This walk was approx 8 to 10 miles one way so we decided on a point of return (assuming we survived that long) and intended to stick to it. The height of the walk became evident a few minutes into it, when we had to negotiate a narrow (at times) path along the cliff edge with a sheer drop to the road below on one side and the overhanging cliff face on the other.

Later, the path settled into a meandering trail through forest and baron stone wilderness but always with breath-taking views down the valley, where we could see the snaking Going To The Sun Road far below. The enormous waterfalls, which would be full and thundering after the snow melt were now almost completely dry revealing their route in stone steps down to the valley floor. We continued, clapping (telling the bears we were there) our way around every corner and chatting to people along the way and picking Huckleberries from the bushes - the ones with reddening leaves we were told.

A short steep climb and we reached our point of return (the Butte) after about 2 hours and stopped to rest and take some photos.

Caption Competition: What is Rachel saying or thinking in this picture? Answers on a post card!

But we had made it:

We were joined by a very friendly furry creature, which we believe to be a Columbian Ground Squirrel.

We have seen many of these during our visit. They are used to the many humans they encounter every day and come within inches and even climb onto your lap if they think you have food for them. But feeding the animals is forbidden in the park.

So we headed back completing the walk in approx 4 hours with only a light salad lunch to look forward to. We later rectified that with a New York Strip Steak at a tiny shack in Hungry Horse.

Oh yes, I forgot to mention the storm. On the way back from Logan Pass it was beautiful sunshine and when we reached Lake McDonald we commented on how calm the water was - like a mirror; beautiful. We could see the clouds changing, becoming a little darker with impending rain, but this is normal in the afternoon. However, within the space of no more than 5 minutes it went from calm to gale force winds, lashing rain with really bad thunder and lightening. Tree branches were flung across the road, some of them about 3 or 4 inches in diameter. The lake was in turmoil (as was Rachel, as she was driving at this time) and by the time we got home all the electricity was off as it was for miles around. But as quickly as the storm arrived it moved on and normal sun service was resumed. Amazing!

We have to leave for Yellowstone tomorrow. We've had a great time here in Glacier and will take many happy memories with us. Yellowstone will be the last leg of our trip.

Day 7 - Whitefish

The weather this morning was overcast and chilly and rain was forecast so we decided to take things a little easier today, as our time in the States has been pretty full on up until now. So we drove to a little town called Whitefish, about 30 miles away, outside of the national park on the edge of Whitefish Lake. The rain started as soon as we set off and got worse the further we went. However, upon reaching the outskirts of Whitefish the rain stopped, the clouds parted and the sun beat down once more.

Whitefish is a mountain town with a beach feel. The architecture speaks of the Old West but the quaint boutiques and cafes wouldn't be out of place at any coastal beach resort. It's a pleasing combination and we strolled the streets for an hour or so soaking in the atmosphere.

In one shop,  which sold a lot of leather; boots, belts, waistcoats, shirts, jewellery etc, Rachel was looking for a pair of cowboy boots - that is until she saw the price! Leather boots for $1000 is pricey by any standards! There were belts for over $250. A  young man and woman, who were also shopping, came over to chat upon hearing Rachel's very audible gasp of incredulity! We all left together!

At lunch we were chatting to the waitress, who told us that Whitefish and its neighbour, Kalispell are exempt from applying sales tax to a bill, but instead has a 'resort' tax - only approx 2%, which makes eating out relatively cheap here. Again, the food was of a really high standard here, like everywhere else we have been up until now.

I know I've probably mentioned this before, in this blog or in others, but we were struck again by how immaculately clean this town was, like all the places we have been on this trip. Everything is very well maintained, road signs look very new, the paint on the roads is always fresh and new. Most striking of all is that we have seen not a single piece of litter anywhere since our arrival and certainly no dog poo! Isn't that remarkable? And yet again, as happened on our last holiday in the States, a door was held open for us by a small boy and when I thanked him he relied "you're welcome". I shouldn't be surprised at this, but I am. But when you see signs in cafes, boats and bars saying 'No smoking, ammunition or firearms please', it brings home just how ambiguous American society is. Maybe that's part of its 'charm' and why we love it so much.

And so to the beach. A short drive beyond town brought us to the edge of Whitefish Lake and the 'beach'. It always surprises me to see ducks on a beach, just like when we were in Lake Tahoe a few years ago. As usual, parking was free and right near the beach. This was another pristine environment with top quality toilet facilities - again free of charge. We sat and soaked in the sun for a few hours and swam in the cool lake surrounded by the ever present mountains. Even the few gulls we encountered were well behaved!

Beach houses lined the shore, each with their own private jetty. People came and went with their trucks, towing their boats down to the water's edge - no restrictions, no fuss; perfect!

Before leaving the beach we walked along its edge and sat taking in the view:

After a short trip back into downtown Whitefish for Huckleberry ice cream we headed home feeling relaxed after a day at the beach.

We'll always remember this place.

Day 6 - Going To The Sun Road

Our plan today was to complete the 100 mile (approx) return trip along the 'Going To The Sun Road' from West Glacier to St Mary; a journey that spans the width of the national park. This would allow us to get a feel for the place and enable us to plan our activities while we are here. It was another beautiful clear and cool morning when we entered the park, paying our $25 fee for the 7 day pass. We had decided on a walk from the half way point of Logan Pass but a ranger at the visitor centre warned us that we would have to hurry if we were to park at Logan Pass, as the car park is usually full well before lunch time. So we set off immediately. But it was impossible to avoid stopping again and again to look at the stunning views on display. Meanwhile the volume of traffic was building up and with a 25 mph to 35 mph speed limit in force the journey took on epic proportions. At nearly every 'turnout' we had to compete for parking spaces just to take a few photos before moving on. It began to feel like one long traffic jam, and with road works thrown in for good measure I, for one, began to feel a little frustrated. The lesson we have learned here is to pick your destination and set off as early as possible if you want to avoid these delays.

The 'Going To The Sun Road' is the main attraction in the park and it rises inexorably until it reaches the half way point of Logan Pass and its visitor centre. From there onwards it's all downhill.  The further you go the better the scenery gets. Probably the most impressive views come at or around The Loop; a switchback in the road, which all books and magazines warn will be stomach churning at best and anxiety inducing at worst. When we reached The Loop we wondered what all the fuss was about as we stopped to gaze upon Heaven's Peak. However, within minutes of resuming our journey my knuckles were white with gripping the steering wheel so tightly! Here's Heaven's Peak:

During the winter this road is completely cut off but snow ploughs have to battle to remove the many feet of snow so that the road can be opened again for the next summer season. I think the next photo shows something of the splendour of the place:

I have to admit that it was a relief to reach St Mary's Lake at the far side of the park, after two hours driving. We noticed a sign advertising boating trips on the lake and we jumped at the opportunity to escape the traffic if nothing else. This turned out to be the best decision we made as the trip along the lake was tranquil and awe inspiring.

We saw rock formations that were billions of years old and glaciers that are still carving out the valleys. At the half way point of our trip, as we stopped for a short walk we saw another moose wallowing in the shallows and cooling off in the heat of the day. I thought of pinching myself just to make sure I wasn't dreaming. 

Here's the view from where we sat waiting to board the boat again for the return trip:

Returning to the start point we sat at the edge of the lake and ate our packed lunch of salad and Tuna and appreciated this towering cathedral of ancient rock.

On returning to Logan Pass we topped up our water supplies and headed out on a walk to Hidden Lake.

By now it was very warm; almost 90 degrees and the altitude made the initial ascent hard going. But it was worth the effort.

We had read that mountain goats are very friendly and placid, which turned out to be a relief as we encountered a number of them along the way, one of which was stood in the middle of the path without any inclination to move.

We got chatting to a woman from Seattle on the way back and exchanged stories of our adventures in the US and UK. We exchanged email addresses and promised to pop in if we are ever in Seattle. She actually grew up in Montana and knew the region well and suggested a 16 mile walk along Garden Wall. We nodded politely, knowing full well that a 16 mile walk was not going to happen!

It felt like a long drive back as we were really tired by this point. We  had planned a BBQ for the evening but it was already late. We arrived home and headed straight out into the garden and fired up the grill; we ate perfectly cooked (although I say so myself) chicken in garlic and paprika, with salad and a little too much wine. But the wine was a gold medal winner so what was I to do?

During our BBQ we chatted to our host and suddenly, out of the trees came a doe (...a deer,  a female deer..) with its fawn. They slowly made their way onto the lawn area and the doe started picking apples from the trees while the fawn fed from its mother. They were only a few feet away and were quite contented and unafraid.

It was a lovely end to another wonderful day.

 

Day 5 - Butte to West Glacier

After a breakfast of eggs, sausage, waffles and fruit (God Bless America) we jumped back onto Interstate 15 and headed north. It was another beautiful, sunny morning and the air had that cool, fresh smell you get from the grass after the early morning sprinklers have been on. If you've been to the US you'll know what I mean. The scenery today was much more diverse than yesterdays fields of gold; mountains, forests, rivers and interesting little towns punctuated our route. Helena, the capital, was a sprawling, modern city with very expensive looking houses and its streets were clean and pristine as we've come to expect. We left the Interstate here and joined Highway 141 at the edge of the Helena National Forest. Towns like Helmville and Ovando drifted by and scenes from The Wicker Man entered our minds! The populations of some of the towns we passed must have remained in double figures but there seemed to be a disproportionate number of churches. Onto Highway 83 and the lower reaches of the Rocky Mountains provided the most dramatic scenery; it was a privilege to experience it. Some of the smaller lakes reminded us of Windermere in the UK's Lake District;  the main difference being the real sense of being at a high altitude and a stark remoteness. Petrol  stations are very few and far between here and we filled our tank whenever we got the chance. We realised we were ill prepared if the car broke down as we had very little water or food. We won't make that mistake again.

Upon reaching an area known as Flathead, with its fantastic blue lake (Flathead Lake) we knew we were not far from our destination. Log cabins with their own jetties onto the lake were dotted about the lake side; an idyllic location by any standards and we made a mental note for a potential future holiday.

We reached a town called Hungry Horse at around 2:30pm and called our host for directions. We arrived 15 minutes later and was met by a very friendly man who showed us around our accommodation. Our first thought was 'is this really all for us?'. We are now staying in an extremely large log cabin - unbelievably solid and very beautiful. It's right on the edge of Glacier National  Park. It is set in its own grounds with a lovely patio and veranda and a view of the mountains  within the park itself. Every so often we can hear the sound of a train at a nearby level crossing; it makes the sound of the train in Casey Jones - the children's Western series from the 50's. It gives a real sense of authenticity to the place. The bed seems to be made of tree trunks bolted together and stands about 3 feet from the ground. Rachel will need a ladder to climb in! Here are a few photos of the cabin:

We ate out at a local restaurant called the Glacier Grill, which our host recommended.  It was one of those places you walk into and, because it is simple with no frills of any kind, expect the food to be poor. But we have been to the States enough times now to know that the opposite is in fact usually true. These are people with nothing to prove;  they cook great, fresh food with a smile. It's what you come to expect here. The Glacier Grill did not disappoint. Rachel ate the most wonderful steak sandwich and I had salad. I bought a beer and when I  was almost finished the waitress offered me a refill and took my almost empty glass away. Minutes later she returned with a full glass of beer. When we got the bill we realised that this was a free refill. I've never seen free beer refills before in my life - only in America?

On the way back to the cabin we visited a local market to stock up on essentials but had noticed a small shed (that's the only way I can describe it) at the side of the road selling fruit.

Rachel was adamant that she wanted to buy Huckleberries,  which are advertised all over these parts. They are like little blueberries and taste sweet and remind me of perfume. I'm reminded of Huckleberry Finn and Huckleberry Hound - I guess you have to be a certain age to know what I'm talking about. Anyway, we visited the shed and there was an old cowboy sat in front of it when we arrived and he greeted us with a "howdy". He gave us samples of his fruit to taste before we bought any and we settled on Huckleberries and cherries. We enjoyed them on the patio later on.

It is much cooler here at night than in Teton but we sat outside while the sun went down over the mountains. A nice end to a lovely day.

Tomorrow we begin to explore Glacier National Park.

Day 4 - Teton to Butte

This will be a very short blog today as it was really a day for travelling between locations – namely Teton to Glacier National Park. The trip is approx 450 miles so an overnight stay somewhere in the middle was required. We chose Butte in Montana, 250 miles away.

But we didn’t leave straight away. We wanted to take the cable car to the top of Rendezvous Mountain at 10,450 feet. So after vacating our lodge we wandered across the resort to purchase tickets. There was no queue and we were straight onto the ‘tram’.

The quick journey to the top gave some amazing views over the whole of the valley and beyond and it was surprisingly warm when we reached the summit. There were warning signs everywhere stating that if you wandered off the ‘official’ routes then you were on your own and the cost of any rescue would be yours! Most of the official walks took you down into the resort and we saw many people walking in the other direction – up from the valley floor to the summit! We spent about an hour at the top before taking the tram back down, the easy way, for lunch.

After lunch we drove to Butte through the state of Idaho and into Montana – three states in one day, which took us five hours. For the first hour and a half of being in Idaho we saw nothing but miles and miles of agricultural land in all directions; a patchwork layer of deep green and gold. None of the fields seemed to be divided by walls or fences of any kind but just changed colour abruptly as we drove by. The further north we went the more wild the landscape became and we settled into its beautiful monotony.

At last we reached Butte in Montana; the largest town or city we had seen in the whole of our journey. We will spend the night here before continuing on north towards the Canadian border and Glacier National Park tomorrow.
 

 

 

Day 3 - Grand Teton NP - A Wild Day

You know that old saying “you wait ages for one moose and then two come along at once”? Well, more of that later. This was a day of activity (mostly) and some great wildlife encounters along the way. We were supposed to start the day really early for a high level sunrise walk to see the mountains in their full glory but the weather stopped that; rain and really heavy cloud, which comes almost to ground level here, which is already over 6000 feet. Anyway, the mountains were completely obscured. So we had a relaxing breakfast and the rain eased and we reached Dornan’s at about 8:30am for the first of our activities – cycling.

There’s an interesting history about Dornan’s, which I won’t bore you with here. Suffice to say that it’s a family affair going back to the late 19^th century; they now own lots of shops, restaurants and activity/hire establishments – it’s an obvious choice when you come here. We hired a couple of hybrids and set off in search of Mormon Row; a Mormon settlement dating back to the 1890’s. But first we had to find Antelope Flats Road, which meant cycling along the edge of the highway for a mile or so, but this turned out to be very easy as the roads are generally wide and have wide verges perfect for cycling. Antelope Flats Road is a long narrow (by American standards) road, which led us out across the flat landscape containing a collection of scenic ranches and barns all set against a backdrop of rolling hills on one side and the towering Tetons on the other. It wasn’t long before we found Mormon Row; a dirt track off to the right, which continued as far as the eye could see. We chose to continue straight and return via Mormon Row to see it with the Tetons behind, although this would significantly increase the length of the route.

Soon we were rewarded with our first wildlife encounter of the day – Bison. It’s a peculiar feeling seeing these creatures in the flesh and knowing that they are completely wild. The herd was off to the right about half a mile away, easily seen through our binoculars:

 

 

We had been warned by locals not to approach these creatures (as if we would!) and that if they crossed the road to be patient and just wait for them to pass. They are generally placid and uncaring but if you anger them you are likely to end up in hospital or worse –they tend to try to trample you with their front legs and won’t give up easily. So with that cheery thought we moved on.

We came to a very small town called Kelly sporting only a deli and a Post Office (a barn). Apparently, this town was to be the main town in these parts - as big as Jackson Hole – but was almost completely destroyed in 1927 when a natural dam burst and the Gros Ventre River washed the town away.

Cycling here is a real pleasure; there are very few cars and the roads go on forever through a vast wilderness of pasture, rivers and mountains. There’s a wonderful feeling of space and the air is noticeably fresh with the smell of pine.

 

 

We reached the other end of Mormon Row on the return journey and headed out across Bison country once again. It’s a stony dirt track more suited to a 4x4 than a bike so it was uncomfortable riding. But we were rewarded by the old abandoned Mormon settlements dotted about along the road. It felt like a ghost town; the fences, barns and homes standing in a glorious state of dilapidation, just as they were left all those years ago. We stopped for a rest.

 

 

We had seen photographs of one particular barn-like structure in magazines before we came here and we found it. It has become a bit of an icon in these parts over the years and appears as if a stiff wind would bring it down. We spent a long time soaking in the intense atmosphere in this almost silent place. We will always remember this moment.

 

 

By lunchtime the storm clouds were rolling in across the mountains. This seems to happen most days here and we increased our pace to arrive back at Dornan’s by one o’clock in the afternoon; a little saddle sore but contented, having had a great time.

We went into Jackson Hole, the main town here, for lunch; enormous salads as only the Americans know how to make. What a great place! Everything here is in pristine condition and it has the feel of a Wild West town from the movies. A lot of very rich people live in Jackson, which is reflected in the prices in the shops. We loved the shops selling everything a cowboy or cowgirl might need while out on the ranch!

We headed for the Million Dollar Cowboy Bar. Wow, what an amazing place! It just hits you in the face when you walk in – country music, dark, carved woodwork and the bars; one on each side of the large room were huge timber affairs where you can sit in a real saddle to drink. Rachel mounted one with all the elegance she could muster (and failed), her laughter filling the whole place, turning a number of heads in our direction. She opted for the full on mount rather than the dainty side saddle as you might expect! “Give me a beer and make it quick cowboy” she shrieked and caught it as it slid down from the other end of the bar. Actually, I made that bit up – she only wanted coffee! I ordered a Bud and left a big tip to keep our pride intact.

 

 

We spent a few hours in Jackson and were reluctant to leave but we had to get to the meeting place for our next adventure – rafting down the Snake River.

Ansel Adams immortalized the Snake River as a ‘luminous ribbon’ retreating from sharp snow-bound peaks. He was right – the evening light glowed blue against the hazy mountains and the river flowed quickly but gently towards Jackson. There were about twelve of us in the bus as we dragged the large inflatable raft to the launch point higher up the river. Once in the water we floated the ten miles back down river at approx 5mph.

This is where we saw most of the wildlife today. Beavers walked the banks and played in the water. We saw a whole family at one point. And to our amazement a Bald Eagle flew directly towards us and over our heads before soaring up into the trees. Ospreys, Herons and other birds lined the route and then we saw our first moose – a bull – rummaging around at the side of the river; its impressive antlers poking up above the long grass. I nearly fell out of the boat trying to use the binoculars and camera at the same time, while Rachel screamed instructions in my general direction! And in moments it was gone.

On the drive back home we chatted about the moose, feeling very pleased with ourselves, when off to our right, just a few feet away stood another couple of moose – a cow and its offspring feeding at the roadside. We couldn’t believe our luck and jumped out of the car to take photos. It was getting quite dark so the photos are not great but it was a great experience. Then they slowly wandered off into the trees. It was a wonderful end to an exciting day and after pizza and drinks at the Mangy Moose we fell into bed exhausted.

Tomorrow we head north towards Glacier National Park near the Canada border.

 

Day 2 - Grand Teton National Park

Today we were up and about really early due to still being on UK time. We had breakfast in The Mangy Moose, which was a lot nicer than it sounds and sits within a big Swiss-style lodge.

The whole of Teton Village is basically a Swiss-style skiing resort; complete with cable car and ski lifts up to the peaks. It must be an amazing sight in winter. There are shops selling skiing gear, bike hire shops and whitewater rafting companies, surrounded by countless hotels and restaurants; all in keeping with an apline lifestyle.

But today was hot and the skiing theme seemed a little incongruous. In fact, our lodge does not even have air-con; it has heaters and a wood burning stove instead! But with the large windows open onto the balcony the light breeze keeps us cool.

After breakfast we threw our walking boots into the trunk and headed out into the national park to look around - a long stretch of forest and scrub along the valley with the ever watchful Teton range looking on. Within 10 minutes we had a really nice surprise; a young black bear was feeding alongside the narrow track and a few people had begun to gather to take photos. A park ranger arrived, looking agitated; was he worried about us or the bear? We'll never know. But the bear was happily munching away on some bushes seemingly unconcerned about our presence - we were within twenty-five feet of it.

It was only later, when we had stopped to walk a 6 mile trail to Taggart Lake, that we realised that if a bear was sitting just there at the side of the road, another bear could be sitting nearby along our trail - we had no way of knowing. The many signs we saw, warning of bears in the area didn't help us to feel any better. The signs were telling us to avoid bear attack by not walking alone, ensuring that we make noise (to let the bears know we are coming - sounded like madness to me!) and never running away if we were confronted by one. That last one would be easier said than done in my opinion. Nevertheless, we clung to the knowledge that bears, apparently, like to keep themselves to themselves. Making noise was no problem, of course - I had Rachel with me! But to be absolutely sure we clapped our hands loudly every 5 minutes or so. We met other couples doing similar things: some had hiking poles, which they clicked together occasionally. Others actually wore bells on their back packs, which jingled as they walked. I couldn't help thinking that, if I were a bear, I would come to find out what all the commotion was about! We decided that, tomorrow, we'll buy some bear spray which bears hate having sprayed in their faces at close quarters. But I also had a secret backup plan: unbeknownst to Rachel I had slipped a few rounds of bread into her back pack smeared with Gales Honey. Mmm, bears love it and so would create an effective diversion should we have a close encounter, allowing me to get away pretty easily. As they say of marriage - 'for better or for worse' - well I can't think of anything worse than that. So thanks Rach!

You'll be glad to know that we didn't see any bears, so I'll never know if my plan would have worked, but we did see butterflies and catterpillers, which we could have seen in the back garden at home and not spent an absolute fortune on this holiday! But we live in hope - tomorrow's another day. We did, however, see some lovely views and met some very nice people along the way. We had lunch in the Jackson Hole Lodge, which had a lovely retro diner and chatted to another couple about fishing and moose:

The whole trip was approx 70 miles and we stopped off at various points along the way to take in the views:

Tomorrow - cycling and rafting.
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