PHELPS LAKE HIKE

One of our favorite hikes is at the Laurance S. Rockefeller Preserve.  Earlier in the year, when we were building up or hiking stamina, we hiked to Phelps Lake and back to the visitors' center.  This time, we hiked all-the-way around the lake for a total of 7.4 miles.  The trail follows sagebrush meadows, wetlands, forest, and lake environments.  Several times we were in a thick forest of Douglas fir with the aroma of a Christmas tree lot found in December.

This is the view when we first reached the shore of Phelps Lake.  The reflections of the mountains in the lake provided opportunities for stunning photographs.

 While hiking around Phelps Lake, you get many vistas where you can view Death Canyon. 

The only wildlife we saw were a squirrel, chipmunk, grouse, and a bald eagle. The bald eagle was flying majestically over the lake trying to spear a fish with its talons.  Unfortunately, we were too far away to get a decent photo.

We went out to Huckleberry Point to view the many huckleberry bushes nearly fully in bloom.  When ripe, the huckleberries will look very similar to blueberries. 

Because most of the trail is shady, the spring wild flowers were still in bloom.  Flowers we saw for the first time this summer include:

Blue penstemon:

Wyoming or Indian Paint Brush--the official Wyoming state flower:

and Columbine--the official Colorado state flower:

There were several varieties of Columbine

 and finally, an all white Columbine.

We talked to a Park Ranger at the Visitors' Center after completing our hike.  According to him, the Columbine are not native to the area but are left over from the garden the Rockefeller family planted when they had a private residence on this beautiful land.  This would explain why we haven't seen these flowers on any of our other hikes this summer.

PARTY @ THE ROOF FOR VERTICAL HARVEST

One of our employer's goals is for employees to volunteer in the community of Jackson.  Ann and I volunteered for the Party at The Roof fundraiser for Vertical Harvest.  The town of Jackson has one parking garage, and this fundraiser was located on the roof of the garage.  Vertical Harvest is a project to build a three-story greenhouse on the tiny patch of land next to this parking garage.  The greenhouse will grow fruits and vegetables year-round while providing jobs for disabled individuals and educational opportunities for the community.

Chefs from seven area restaurants were paired with different area food producers to create small plates of their specialties.  The chef tents were set up around the perimeter of the garage's roof, and our job, as chef's assistants, was to keep them supplied with paper goods--small plates or bowls, napkins, forks and spoons.  The first picture below is from the Four Seasons Hotel in Teton Village.  Buffalo pastrami, cole slaw, and cheese on a small slider bun disappeared from the display almost as fast as the chef could put the delicacies on the shelves.

The Couloir Restaurant, dining at 9500 ft. in Teton Village (you ride a ski gondola 3,000 feet up to the restaurant), provided a very colorful salad comprised of greens, feta cheese, walnuts, and other trimmings with a raspberry vinaigrette dressing.  The colors were amazing.

Another selection included thinly sliced beef, greens, and horseradish sauce on a toasted baguette. 

Our favorite was ham, cheese, with sweet mustard lightly grilled on a slice of baguette.  The grilling warmed the ham and melted the cheese which helped it melt in your mouth.  These small sandwiches were only put out in groups of 3-5, and they disappeared quickly.

Below, monster pork loins are being displayed on a table for the Lotus Cafe.  The sliced pork was delicious.

Watching the people attending the party was very interesting - the local rich and socially connected of Jackson.  The crowd paid $30 for admission, which included 1 food ticket and 1 drink ticket.  Wine and beer were donated by local businesses.  

There was also a silent auction with various prizes including overnight stays at local resorts, dinners at local restaurants, and hiking and skiing gear.  The big ticket item in the silent auction was a yacht cruise for eight including captain & crew of 2 with a minimum bid of $30,000.  Really within our price range!  Needless,to say, we bid on more moderately priced items.

The cocktail tables were decorated with fresh vegetables to further support the theme of someday being able to get locally grown fresh vegetables year-round.

The evening was a lot of fun from both the people watching standpoint and  the unique location overlooking the town of Jackson.  You can see views of the town in most of the photos above.  We also got to sample all the delicacies as well as enjoy a few cold beers.

HIKE AROUND CHRISTIAN POND

On a recent day off, we spent the morning hiking 3.7 miles around Christian Pond.  Christian Pond was named after Charles A. "Tex" Christian, who managed one of the first lodges in the area.  The trail goes through a willow-filled basin before coming to a ridge overlooking the pond.  

We saw this mother duck with her 6 little ducklings in the pond.  The mother duck was teaching her ducklings to dive below the water for food, and it was fun to see the ducklings imitate their mother's action.

The meadows were covered with various types of wild flowers.  Here is a sampling of these "spring flowers" which we found during the last week in July.  First, some "Nuttall's violet" or purple daisies.

"Wild Buckwheat" are shown below. 

"Roundleaf Harebell" are a vibrant blue in color.  The name means little bell.

Lastly,"sagebrush buttercup", which have been blooming for several weeks now.  The flowers pictured below are in an area which is shaded most of the day.

The trail is mostly through areas of sagebrush with an assortment of pine trees for some shade.

We found this female grouse along the path.  The female grouse had a baby following close by but we were unable to get a "family photo".

We also got some different views of the mountains.

Mount Moran as seen from afar is pictured below.  Skillet Glacier is more distinct from this distance.

While it was good to go hiking, we completed this hike mostly in the scorching sun on a very dusty trail because we have had very little rain in the last month.  Even though it was late July, the flowers were very colorful despite the lack of rainfall.  It was probably the first - and last - time we will hike this trail.

BEAR FAMILY SAGA

Many of the adult bears in Grand Teton National Park are tagged by the National Park Service for tracking purposes. We have been following one bear "family" since last summer.

Female grizzly bear #399 is the most famous bear in Grand Teton National Park and is the only bear that has her own postcard.  She has had several sets of cubs during the 15 years she has lived around Colter Bay Village.  In January 2006, grizzly bear #399 had 3 cubs, one of the cub females was tagged as bear #610.  Again in the spring of 2011, #399 had 3 cubs and daughter #610 had her first set of offspring of 2 cubs.

Here is #399 with her 3 cubs following behind.  The large hump, which is actually muscle mass right behind the shoulder, is a quick way to identify #399 as a grizzly bear.

The  3 cubs are seen frolicking in a stream.

And, standing up to get a better view.

One of #399's cubs wants to climb a tree.

#610 with her 2 cubs following closely behind. The hump behind the shoulder is more noticeable here.

#610 with her 2 cubs coming towards the camera.

A close-up of #610.  Notice the ears are round and proportionally small, another characteristic of a grizzly bear.

Currently, one of #399's cubs was left behind and #610 is now taking care of this wayward cub as well as her own 2 cubs.  A possible reason for this switch from bear experts is that  #610 adopted one of #399's cubs after #399 had an altercation, possibly with a large male grizzly.  

We give photo credit to Bob Davis, who works with Ann at the Colter Bay Campground.  He follows the bear sightings several days a week and is adamant about protecting the bears in the wild.  The photos above were all taken before the recent cub switch.

Although we seen some bears this summer, we have not actually seen these grizzly mothers and cubs, just heard about their sightings from guests and coworkers.  With our remaining time here this summer, we hope to see either #399 or #610 with her cubs.  We came close last Friday night when we stopped along the road coming back from Jackson.  However, new National Park Service rules require you to stay with your vehicle if you pull off the road to watch wildlife.  From accounts of others parked near us, we think it was #399 and her two cubs, but they were too far from the road for us to get our own photos.  

BREAKFAST CRUISE

We celebrated Ann's birthday by taking a breakfast cruise on Jackson Lake.  Our company operates two touring boats, each with a capacity of about 45 passengers, for scenic cruises, breakfast cruises, and dinner cruises.  We left the marina at 7:30 a.m. and were docked at Elk Island in the middle of Jackson Lake by 8:30.  Paul is shown below getting warm by the campfire on Elk Island.

The meal is served buffet style with the cooks, first mates, and boat captains all sharing in the serving duties.  The cooks are taken to Elk Island before sun-up to prepare the meal on site. Scrambled eggs, hash browns, bacon, sausage, fried trout, and pancakes never tasted so good!  There was also a selection of freshly cut fruit, croissants baked earlier in the morning before the supply boat left for the island, coffee, tea, hot chocolate, and orange juice.  

Paul is about to partake in the feast with Mount Moran in the background.  You can still see plenty of snow, especially on Skillet Glacier, which is the patch of white just to the left of the center.  It is named Skillet because it is shaped like a skillet with a "handle" that leads towards the top of the mountain.

While we were finishing our meal, a resident mule deer named "Matilda", came visiting. Yes, it is named Elk Island because there is a large herd of elk, but there are also mule deer.  Lore has it that the wildlife swims out to the island to escape the bears on the mainland.  
At first, Matilda was hiding in the bushes.

Then, Matilda decided to come closer to the camera.

This photo was taken right before boarding the Teewinot to go back to the marina.  The boat is named after Mount Teewinot, which is the 6th highest peak in the Teton Range at 12,325 feet.  The large "depth charge" on the top of the boat is actually an inflatable life raft.

DINNER AT THE BAR J RANCH

We decided to visit the Bar J Chuckwagon Ranch for a traditional cowboy supper show experience.  Dick and Sheri, our friends from Wyoming, came along with us on a delightful summer evening.  The Bar J feeds over 750 guests in less than 25 minutes with a meal consisting of meat (steak, pork ribs, BBQ chicken breast, or BBQ beef), baked potato, cowboy beans, chunky applesauce, biscuit, spice cake, and beverage (coffee, lemonade, or ice water).  The meal is  authentic cowboy from the cattle drive days of the early west.  Remember, refrigeration was non-existent back in those days so fresh vegetables including salad fixings were not on the menu. 

If you look closely, you can still see plenty of snow on top of the mountains in the background, even in mid-July.   

This carved arch welcomed us to the eating area.  The singing bears on the roof reminded me of the "Country Bear Jamboree" at Disney.

We were offered biscuit appetizers, made in authentic dutch ovens and served with honey.  The cowboy below is taking some baked biscuits from the large baking dutch oven to a smaller dutch oven used to keep the finished biscuits warm.  Dutch oven baking is done with cast iron "ovens" that are put on a bed of coals with more coals put on top of the lid.  The lids to the left have a ring of coals around the lid.

We wandered the grounds and found this cattle skull among the antiques and other relics.

Paul is seen here sitting in an old-style swing made from wagon wheels.  It would have been "too touristy" to take a photo in front of the bear on the right. 

We then entered the dining hall where old boots and saddles, complete with dust from who knows when, adorn the rafters for decoration.  You can also see the edge of a Texas state flag hanging from the rafters on the right.

 

After the meal, we were entertained by singing cowboys who told the story of the old west with song and humor.  Many of the songs were sung without musical background, and the harmony was much appreciated by the sell-out crowd.  There was also some outstanding fiddling and banjo playing--not because we are judges of music but because the accomplishments and awards of the individual musicians were noted during the introductions.

During the winter, the Bar J Wranglers tour the western U.S. performing shows similar to the show we saw this evening.

IDAHO FALLS CHUKARS

We drove about 2 1/2 hours to Idaho Falls to "get away" from the touristy environment of Jackson Hole for a change of scenery.  We followed the Snake River for most of the drive to the Potato State.  We got our Walmart fix by purchasing many staple items, had a good meal at a nice restaurant (the lobster bisque was outstanding), and got to see a minor league baseball game too.  

We stayed overnight in a hotel, had a long hot shower using all the hot water we wanted.  In the RV, we take "military showers" getting our body wet, soaping-up, then rinsing off with the purpose of conserving hot water and also not putting too much water in our "gray tank" (sink and bath water with the "blank tank" being from the toilet). 


Paul is pictured with the Chukar mascot, who did a good job of engaging the fans during the game.  The crowd was about 2,200, which isn't bad for a surprisingly warm weekday night.  What is a Chukar you ask?  It is a species of bird introduced in the western U. S. for hunting purposes.     

The Idaho Falls Chukars are the Pioneer League (short season A level) team of the Kansas City Royals.  These players are mostly new draftees from the June baseball draft of high school and college players and have been playing together for a over 3 weeks.  The opposition was the Casper Ghosts, a Colorado Rockies team.  The baseball was more offensive oriented as both teams combined for a total of 7 errors.  

The Chukars have a hot tub picnic area located in right field with the hot tub just over the first base umpire's right shoulder in the picture below.  Not quite as deluxe an environment as Chase Field in Phoenix where the All-Star game was played earlier this week.  

The Chukar's won the game to even their record at 9-9 for the season.