Whispers
Online Magazine for Women
210 Circle Inn #82
Chubbuck, Idaho 83202
208 637 1803
| Jackson Hole, Wyoming,
a winter wonderland adventure
by Lynn McKamey Part 2/2
Ten of us (two families of five) returned to Jackson Hole this year
(December 1996) since the Teton Mountain area provides one of the most
enjoyable and scenic settings in the U.S. to spend our winter vacation.
Fifteen of us made the trip last year and I posted a report of our adventure
in PART ONE for those of you who want a complete
overview of the town, accommodations, restaurants, skiing, and winter activities.
This report will provide an update to that one.
Most of us were flying to Jackson from several South Texas cities and
one was coming from Chicago. While making airline reservations for
everyone, I noticed that American Airlines had dropped their daily flight
from Dallas via Salt Lake City, and retained only one direct flight from
Chicago. Fortunately, Delta airlines had quite a few flights from
Salt Lake to Jackson, and United provided connections via Denver.
Still, without AA from Dallas, our choices were narrowed and some of us
spent all day traveling or switching airlines to reach Jackson. Oh
well, as they say, some of the best destinations aren’t always easy to
reach!
As on our last trip, we stayed in huge, deluxe 3 bedroom, 2 ½
bath condominiums at the Jackson Hole Racquet Club Resort which is 8 miles
from town and only 4 miles from Teton Village at Jackson Hole Ski Area.
In case you are wondering... there is a reason we stay here (Last year,
I spent part of my time looking at various lodging in town and at the Village).
Most of the accommodations in Jackson are hotel rooms, and our family of
five prefers to stay in a condo plus we like views of the mountains instead
of city streets. Most of the accommodations at the Jackson ski mountain
are very expensive condos, many quite a walk from the ski runs or on a
shuttle bus run. The Jackson Hole Racquet Club has its own complimentary
shuttle, a full service grocery store and deli, liquor store, excellent
dinner restaurant called Stiegler’s, day care center, athletic club, and
is on the main bus route to town... in other words, everything anyone might
want for a convenient vacation and ski trip! The Club also has studios,
1 or 2 bedroom condos and lovely three bedroom houses available.
Those visiting Jackson usually rent a car and we did, however, since our
group of ten are known to scatter ten different ways on any one day, I
wanted to stay somewhere so that each and all had easy access to the ski
mountains and the town by car, bus, and/or shuttle.
If only my husband and I were visiting Jackson, we’d probably stay at
the romantic, upscale Rusty Parrot Lodge with whirlpool tubs and fireplaces
in some rooms, or if our children were still "tiny tots", we might stay
as close to the base of the mountain as possible. But these are expensive
choices!
Those wanting a economical vacation can stay downtown (without a rental
car) in one of the many budget motels and ride the very efficient, reliable
shuttle buses to the ski areas. But I think that the best moderate,
good value vacation for almost anyone is at the Racquet Club!
Our group of intermediate to expert skiers spent most days skiing or
snowboarding at Jackson Hole Mountain. A weather "dry high" settled
over the area during our visit and gave us absolutely breath-taking blue
skies and endless vistas, but no new snow! Fortunately, earlier weather
systems had dumped lots of white stuff at the top of the mountain, so the
skiing was good. A couple of days, we went to Grand Targee, a little
over an hours drive or express bus ride away, and found (as usual) more
snow than at Jackson. But our "big event" happened on the last day
of our vacation....
Snowmobiling! Jackson Hole offers LOTS of different trips...
to name a few, try an all day, 12 hour tour to Yellowstone Park to see
Old Faithful and experience the power and glory of one of Americas most
overwhelming National Parks.
A Gros Ventre (pronounced grow-vont) 8:00 to 4:00 trip is one of the
best for back trail scenery and wildlife viewing. The Granite Hot
Springs trip from 9:00 to 4:00 takes snowmobilers on 11 miles of groomed
trails to a 105 degree hot pool (don’t forget your bathing suit and towel!)
Or maybe do the 8 hour Togwotee trip which features spectacular mountain
scenery rather than wildlife. Most day trips include lunch.
Many half-day afternoon trips are available too for those who don’t want
to see daylight before noon.
Problem was... most of our group had done one or the other of the above,
so we were hunting for a NEW adventure, something different, just for the
10 of us with no crowds. Our "gang" also wanted off-trail back country
snow-riding, wildlife, AND great vistas... a big order! I called
Llama Louie, the area adventure "broker and knower" of ALL kinds of day
trips. As expected, Lou came up with the perfect snowmobile trip
for us - called the "Exclusive Trapper Cabin Cookout". This tour
is for a small group of 2 to 10 people (who are either family or friends)
and offers gorgeous out-back snowmobile rides to a very secluded, turn
of the century "trappers cabin" and features a grilled steak or chicken
lunch with all the trimmings. Sounded great to us! But, then,
you never know when you have a group of ten, ages 21 to 52!
While this trip offers pick-up and delivery between Jackson and the
"jumping off point", we decided to drive ourselves. We left the Racquet
Club at 8:45 and drove 30 miles (45 minutes) through gorgeous mountain
and valley scenery to the Elkhorn Texaco station and adjoining western
style bar in Bondurant, WY - southeast of Jackson. However, our bunch
of "warm blooded, native south Texans" watched the digital thermometers
in our Ford Explorers drop one degree for every mile we drove! It
was 10 F degrees when we left Jackson and dropped to -20 F when we arrived!
No problem, they outfitted us with warm boots, one piece snowmobile suits,
and helmets with visors... plus assured us that it would be warmer where
we were going.
Fully attired, we drove a few miles farther, parked, settled onto our
snowmobiles and started our venture into the wilderness!
We had booked eight snowmobiles - the two moms (my friend and I) rode
double with our hubbies and each "kid" had their own sleek machine.
Bill Webb, owner of the Trappers Cabin and Camp, streaked out ahead of
us to fire up wood stoves in the cabin, while his assistant, Mike Jaskolski,
led our merry little troupe of winter adventurers down incredible off-trail
paths, over log bridges, and up ridges with outstanding vistas. Within
an hour, we arrived at the historic, fully equipped cabin - something out
of a picture book! Mike took the group out for more snowmobiling,
while Bill stoked the wood burning stoves and cooked lunch. I stayed
behind with him, mainly to find out more about his turn-of-the-century
cabin and campgrounds!
Bill grew up in Colorado with a love of the great outdoors and back
country adventures. He left his home state to find "a place with
less people" and landed in Jackson almost 20 years ago. Bill eventually
discovered the remote trappers cabin and campgrounds, and in 1982 purchased
it with the idea of having a secluded, rustic summer camp for those who
want a REAL get away. Since that time, Bill has been hosting small
groups of families or friends traveling together in his "rustic bed and
breakfast" and has several packages - overnight cookouts and trail rides
on horses, 2 nights/3 days with fishing, hiking, horseback riding, panning
for gold, and opportunities for wildlife photography, 7 day pack trips,
or whatever the guests want to do for as long as they want! Unlike
many big "dude ranches", Bill’s operation offers small, personalized adventures,
tailored to whatever the guests want to do - stay at the cabin each night,
or strike out into the wilderness and camp for a few days.
Three years ago, after leading all day snowmobile trips to Yellowstone,
Bill decided to open his cabin in the winter as a base camp for special
snowmobile trips or cross-country skiing. He offers the customized
day trip that we took, plus half-day "Powder Puff Specials" from 1:00 to
5:00, and "Mountain Holidays" for overnight tours which accommodate up
to six people in the Trappers Cabin with all meals included. The
camp is surrounded by the Bridger-Teton National Forest and is one of the
most scenic destinations imaginable!
When everyone returned from the "noon" snowmobile ride, we had a delicious
lunch. I don’t know what Bill uses to season those tender char-broiled
steaks and chicken, but if he’d bottle it, he’d make a fortune!
After lunch, our group visited with each other around the wood stoves
for awhile and all too soon, headed back to "civilization". Along
the way, Mike found a big meadow so everyone could snowmobile and play
in deep fluffy snow. After returning to the parking area, we dropped
off our gear, had a drink and played pool at the Elkhorn Bar, then reluctantly
drove back to town. Everyone agreed that this was one of the best
snowmobile adventures we’ve had in Jackson Hole!
RESTAURANTS: During our vacation, we had dinner at Stieglers
which serves wonderful continental/austrian food with impeccable service
- my choice for the finest dining in Jackson. Vista Grande Mexican
Restaurant was excellent, as was the Acadian Cajun restaurant, now located
in Jackson across from Miller Park and next to the Blue Lion. Jedediah’s
House of Sourdough near the town square still offered hardy breakfasts
and lunches.
SHOPPING: Downtown Jackson near the Square has an interesting
assortment of stores, including some excellent art galleries. Our
two favorites are the Trailside Americana Fine Art Gallery and Images of
Nature which features Tom Mangelson’s astounding, award winning wildlife
photographs, greeting cards, and calendars. I found a neat little
store called the Bitterroot Trading Company at 170 Broadway which has all
kinds of Indian jewelry and novel western trinkets. Some of the shops
have moved away from the square, so wander down the side streets to see
them all. You’ll find everything from bagel-delis to boutiques.
GETTING AROUND: Jackson has a very reliable bus system
which links the town of Jackson to Teton Village at the base of the
ski mountain. The rate is $2 one way and $1 for trips around town.
RENTAL CARS: Jackson doesn’t plow their roads, so I highly
recommend that you rent a four-wheel drive vehicle. If you ski, be
sure and tell them you’d like a ski rack with the car. Be sure to
make your reservations FAR in advance of your trip - four-wheel drives
are limited.
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
The town of Jackson has a wide range of accommodations from basic hotel
rooms to elegant inns. Teton Village at the base of the ski mountain
has all kinds of condominiums and several hotels. For complete information,
call
Jackson Hole Central Reservations
at (800) 443-6931 or check with your travel agent.
Jackson Hole Racquet Club Resort at (800) 443-8616 or (307) 733-3990
Accommodations include Studios, and 1 to 4 bedroom condominiums,
ranging from $149 to $369.00 per night - lower rates are available
during off-seasons
Llama Louie’s Day Trips at (307) 733-1617 or 733-3101
Lou handles all kinds of tours - snowmobiling, sleigh rides,
heli-skiing, ski trips to Grand Targee, snow cat skiing, and
almost anything else you can think of. He also does summer
day trips and tours of all sorts.
Green River Outfitters at (307) 733-1044 or 367-2416
Bill Webb’s "Trapper’s Cabin" snowmobile tours and summer camp.
For complete travel reservations, contact your favorite travel
agent or
call Olson Travel (800) 525-8090 or (512) 643-4555 or FAX (512) 643-6975
Copyright © 1995-1999 Lynn McKamey (ScubaMom) Reprinted with
permission.
You can visit Lynn at http://www.scubamom.com/travels/
You can email Lynn at scubamom@scubamom.com
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