Cold Mountains, Sliding Trees and a Lot of Hot Water - Part 1

Rafters on the Snake River

Jackson is a town in Jackson Hole valley; both are incredibly scenic. Although we visited in the middle of the summer, the nights in this area are a bit cool. Walking around the town was a study in international affairs in that we met travelers from all over the world and all were trying to see the sights, get something to eat and/or do some shopping. Jackson is the closest entrance to the National Elk Refuge, Grand Teton National Park, and Yellowstone National Park. This area is almost as crowded in the winter because Jackson is also near to several ski resorts. If you’re into art, there are galleries in town as well as the National Museum of Wildlife Art, the Grand Teton Music Festival, and the Center for the Arts. The landmarks in town that tourists flock to are the large arches of shed elk antlers at the four entrances to the town square; these were put in place in 1953 and were restored in 2015. The only group allowed to collect antlers is the Boy Scouts. They go out onto the Elk Refuge, pick up the antlers, donate some to the city, and sell the rest to artists and folks interested in using them in folk remedies. Jackson Hole was visited at least 11,000 years, when the first hunter-gatherer Paleo-Indians began migrating into the region looking for food and supplies. It was originally populated by the Shoshoni, Crow, Blackfeet, Bannock, and Gros Ventre who used this lush valley as a place to hunt, fish and camp. Trappers and explorers traveled through the area in the early 1800s, and in the late 1800s William Henry Jackson was so taken with the scenery that he photographed Teton Mountains and Yellowstone. The first permanent white settlers began arriving in the 1880s; the Town of Jackson was established in 1894 and some of the early buildings can still be found in the Town Square area. In 1920 Jackson made history by electing the first all-woman city council. U.S. Government expeditions to the region started in the mid-19th century as a result of Yellowstone exploration. Although photographs taken by William Jackson and the sketches by Tom Moran were used as evidence to convince Congress to protect

Elk Refuge near Jackson, Wyoming

Yellowstone National Park, it wasn’t until 1929 that Grand Teton National Park was created. In the 1930s, conservationists led by John D. Rockefeller, Jr. started buying land in Jackson Hole which could be added to the existing national park. However, public opinion and Congressional efforts were against these efforts. The conservationists prevailed and Jackson Hole National Monument was established in 1943. In 1950 the monument was abolished but 30,000 acres of the monument land was added to Grand Teton National Park.