June 3, 2013 Travel to Grand Teton National Park

After an uneventful night at Wal-Mart, we headed first to get fuel and off we went.  The scenery continues to WOW us.

Lots of snow fences - brrrrrr.

Windmills and Snow Fences = Cold and Windy:

The pictures do not show the immenseness of this part of the country.  Many areas remind me of Alaska.

As we went down this road, we saw what we thought was smoke on the right side:

Turns out it was a sheep stampede that went for about 2 miles - LOTS of sheep:

Don’t know what startled them but they were moving!

We went thru Kemmerer which is the birthplace of JC Penney.  This is the mother store that is still in business.  We did not stop because they were not open but will do so next time.

We are at 6000’ here - lots of farms and water:

We came around a corner and WOW! The mountains:

And a strange formation:

Getting closer:

Pronghorn all over:

Many LITTLE towns - :

These folks have incredible views:

The aspen leaves are just starting to leaf here:

More pronghorn:

Oh My!:

Slide area:

Lots of yellow flowers:

Coming into Jackson Hole:

Andy and I were here by car in 1997.  This is where we had our first balloon ride - in the Snake River Valley with the Tetons next to us. 

What beauty:

We settled in the Gros Ventre (pronounce Gro-vant) Campground.  Lots of space and very nice.  The Gros Ventre River is about 100’ behind us:

Here is a close up of all those yellow flowers on the hillsides:

Once we set up, we took a little drive:

With a stop at the visitor center for information and to see their movie and museum.

Love my moose :

I found this very interesting. 

Hope we don’t drop while we are here:

The Teton Range and the Jackson Hole Valley:

After dinner we took a little walk around the campground and what did we see.... a young bull moose (those who know me can just imagine how excited I was ).

What a PERFECT ending to another great day.

Stats for today:

Miles Traveled: 224 miles

Routes Traveled:

Wyoming: SR-150; SR-89; US-189B; I-80; US-189; US-26/89-191; Gros Ventre Road

June 2, 2013 Part Two - Visiting Friends in Evanston

A few weeks ago when we we decided to head north to the Grand Tetons and I was plotting our directions, I noticed the town of Evanston on our way.  HMMMMM, I think that is where Katy and Gary are for the summer.  So I emailed Katy and we were able to make things work out for today.

So once we got parked, I gave them a call and they came here.  We had a nice chat and off we went to tour Evanston.

Here we are: Gary, Katy, Diane, Andy

Evanston Courthouse - New and Old.  The new courthouse is on both sides of the old - very nicely done:

The clock memorial tower is to the right of the Court House.  It honors fallen peace officers and fallen firefighters.  One of the plaques is for Katy and Gary’s son who was killed in a fire in 2005 along with another young firefighter.

To the left of the Court House are memorials to the service men and women.

This is the last remaining Round House on the old Union Pacific line between Omaha and Sacramento.  It has 28 stalls and was built in 1912 to service steam locomotives running between Green River, Wyoming and Ogden, Utah.  The community is currently restoring this building.  Part of it is done and we were able to look thru the windows - WOW!

Other buildings in the Rail Yard.  From 1926 until 1971 items for the entire Union Pacific system were repaired or manufactured at the railyards here.  The locomotives were repaired only thru 1925.

The volunteer fire station and the memorial to their fallen comrades:

The original library building that is now a museum - this was an original Carnegie Library:

From the World Trade Center:

Like in many railroad towns, the Chinese played an important part.  Although there is nothing left of Evanston’s Chinatown, an archaeological dig is underway.  Some of the artifacts found are in the museum (but it was not open today - )

This Joss House is a reproduction of the Chinese temple that once stood near this spot.

The gardens:

This is part of the Bear River Project.  The area along the Bear River in Evanston was a “dumpy” place and over the last few years, it has been revitalized to include a park, picnic areas, walking trails, memorial gardens - it is just beautiful!

This is the Bear River.  It is the main tributary to the Great Salt Lake and is the longest stream in the western hemisphere that does not empty into an ocean.  It has a 500 mile path thru Wyoming, Utah, and Idaho and the watershed is entirely enclosed by mountains, which form a huge basin with no drainage outlets.

The Lincoln Highway passed thru here:

There is a state park nearby that has a buffalo herd and two elk.  Their were six adult and four baby buffalo - :

The Elk:

And the view from the airport was - AWESOME!  This is the Unita Mountain Range:

It is so nice to see small towns that are keeping their history - what a credit to Evanston’s people.

We did have lunch earlier in the day at a local brew- pub - YUMMY.   And along with all the touring we just kept chatting away and getting caught up with each other.

Thank you Katy and Gary for a WONDERFUL visit.  Travel safe and we will see you in the fall.

We are so blessed with the friends we have met along our travels - .

I will leave you with one last picture - we saw this mom and baby on our way down the hill from the airport.

Tomorrow we are heading north to the Grand Teton National Park so stay tuned and enjoy today.