Grand Teton Day 2, July 19, 2010

As soon as we had arrived at Teton the other day and looked at a map of the park, both Ray and I knew immediately that there was one area of the park that we would definitely visit. It was the Laurance S. Rockefeller preserve in the southern part of the park. The site was originally known as the JY Ranch, a dude ranch. Starting in 1927, John D. Rockefeller, Jr. purchased much of the land in Jackson Hole for the creation of Jackson Hole National Monument and the expansion of Grand Teton National Park. But he retained the 3,100 acre JY Ranch as a family retreat. Over the years the family gave most of the ranch to the national park. Laurance S. Rockefeller donated the final parcel in 2001. The donation came with special preservation and maintenance restrictions, with the vision that the preserve remain a place where visitors can experience a spiritual and emotional connection to the beauty of the lake and the Teton Range. (The estimated value of the site reclamation and restoration, including the value of the property is $160,000,000.)

This parcel is situated down a narrow scenic road from the aptly named town of Moose. As we drove down this road, we came to an area where many cars were parked along both sides of the road. Uh, oh. Animal sighting for sure. We stopped as well when I noted that there were moose in a shallow creek up ahead.In fact, there were 3 moose--a cow and 2 calves, one older than the other. The younger calf may have been born this past spring. Some people who had also stopped to view the moose lived in the area, and were familiar with these 3. Apparently the mother wanted to chase off the older calf to an independent life. When the older calf approached the younger, the mother charged the older, trying to chase it away. Wild Kingdom here before us! Marlin Perkins would have loved it!

We then moved on to the preserve. (Further down the road, there were more moose by the side of the road.) In contrast to some other parts of Teton, the LSR preserve is comparatively lightly visited by our experience. We first stopped in the Visitor Center, a treat all by itself. The building has received top honors for its "green" architecture, Having been built with mostly recycled materials, and with an eye to maximizing natural resources. While the building itself is beautiful, the displays inside were in perfect harmony with the spirit of LSR himself. Not a lot of words and puffery, but simple displays that honor and exalt nature. In the main hall, there were 4 LCD panels in a darkened room on which video vignettes of nature sounds and sights were displayed. A large internally lit "mosaic" picture of mountains reflected in a lake was made of thousands of smaller nature pictures. Absolutely stunning. A wonderful reading room completed the center. We tore ourselves away from this wonderful place to explore the outside.

The trails were peaceful, heavy with the scent of pine, the sound of rushing streams, and lined with columbine and lupine, a treat for the eyes, ears and nose. every so often, we would come upon a snow-capped mountain view. Can you tell that we loved this place?

After walking about 4 miles of trails, and a brief stop back at the Visitor Center, we went back to the Teton Visitor Center for suggestions for a smaller hike to complete the day. The ranger there suggested that we drive up to Two Ocean Lake, where a trail led into meadows where the wildflowers were at peak. A 35 minute drive that took us up a bumpy dirt road led us there. The trail started in woods and opened up to an expansive meadow carpeted with pink larkspur and balsamroot. All along the trail that followed were wildflowers. But where there are flowers, there are bugs to pollinate them. LOTS of bugs. Mosquitoes, flies, bees, wasps...The meadows were gorgeous as we looked down to the lake below, but--sweet nature or not-- we turned around to go back to the car.

Reality set in as we realized that our clean underwear supply was dwindling, so we went to find a laundromat in Jackson. Although I had a large supply of quarters on hand, the one we went to had a unique system we had never seen. You insert $1, $5, $10 or $20 bills into a machine, and select the amount of wash/dry credit you want. The machine spits out a "credit card " which you insert into the washer or dryer. Each wash or dry transaction debits the card.

Wash done, we decided to have pizza for dinner.

What a great day!