Journey to Season’s End: 8/1 - 9/30

Since we had been at Snake River Park since the first of May, August found us in working at a comfortable stride. After all, this was our third season as KOA Work Kampers and we should have a grip on things though each manager, from park to park, is different. We continued with regular days off and regular hours of working. We had two days working the late shift, one day on the middle shift, and two days doing the early shift. Our schedule was balanced with the other five couples in that we operated in a rotational manner. That meant we had the evening security detail one or two nights and the others took their turns the other nights.

We could generally see a moose in the marshes around Jackson or Teton Village.

Of course, we continued to meet a variety of people. We noticed that earlier in the season many of our visitors came from Holland, Belgium, or Germany. In the middle of the summer many came from England and France. By September it seems that visitors from Asian countries and western Canada were more prevalent. Of course, we always had visitors from a wide variety of states in the USA. Many campers actually flew into Jackson Hole or Salt Lake City and rented motorhomes before coming to the campground. Some flew into the area, purchased tents and other items, and stayed in the tent areas along Horse Creek or Snake River. Still, others just got here and rented one of the many camping cabins for a few days.

The big thing for all of us at the campground was getting through the solar eclipse. We had been booked since before May. Martha and the others in the office seemed to spend half their time answering the phone and then telling people that we had no space. For some reason, people were always surprised that others had planned so far in advance. And, not only was the campground booked but every hotel and motel in town was booked for the event. As mentioned in the previous post, Grand Teton National Park and the Jackson Hole area was in the path of the total eclipse. The town of Jackson planned for 100 thousand for that weekend. Though there wasn’t an accurate count of those who came, Grand Teton National Park had about 20% more visitors than normal. The Park, of course, was prepared with extra portable toilets as well as additional police from other areas of Wyoming.

View of some of the cabins just before the totality of the eclipse.

Note the color of the sky.

During the totality phase the lights around the campground came on.

Not the color of the sky; things had a gray tone to them and

the temperature dropped. Since we had no crickets, we couldn’t

hear them though other areas of the country certainly did.

Of the many trips we made on our days off, on two occasions we drove to Jenny Lake in GTNP. The first “concession” in the Park at Jenny Lake was the boat ride across the lake to Inspiration Point. Once at the Point, there are trails up the canyon from which waterfalls are the main feature. As a friend pointed out, who visited the area for his first time, everywhere you point a camera there is a beautiful photo to be taken.

Just one of the many cascading falls looking up the canyon from Inspiration Point.

Many people like to fish the rivers and lakes in western Wyoming. There are cutthroat trout and other fish to be caught later in the summer. It was not unusual to see two or three people in a drift boat fishing the Snake River by the campground. A drift boat is designed for doing just that, drifting on the river where the water is fast and the elevation change is anticipated. The boats are pointed at either end and have a deeper draft in the center. That’s so it is possible to negotiate the subtle rapids that may be on the path. By the way, you have to have a plan for being let off from one spot and picked up at another since all traffic on a falling river goes one direction.

A drift boat with three fishermen floats past the point where

Horse Creek meets the Snake River. Children who visited the campground

moved some of the rock to build a dam at the edge of the creek and

then erected a monument as a crowning point of their achievement.

Near the end of our stay we decided to make our trip to Yellowstone to see some of our favorite areas. That involved a drive of a little over an hour to reach the south entrance of Yellowstone. We took the eastern roads to Mammoth Hot Springs. We returned via the same route all in a matter of a little less than ten hours. It was what a first-time visitor would call a “whirlwind” trip. Since we had been to Yellowstone before, we didn’t need to stop for every thing.

 

From the South Entrance, we traveled through West Thumb Junction, Fishing Bridge,

Canyon Village, and Tower-Roosevelt to Mammoth Hot Springs where

one can always see elk around the historic buildings of the fort and resort hotels.

While going over the mountain toward Tower-Roosevelt we

encountered snow and this buffalo bull along the roadside.

On the grounds of the historic fort at Mammoth Hot Springs it is

always possible to see elk wandering free on the always green landscape.

Snow in the upper elevations, about 8,000 feet and above, signals

the beginning of fall in Jackson Hole. This is a view of the ranch on the

southern edge of Jackson. The rows of tall, yellow grass mark

the water channels that wind throughout the fields. The green is the

growth that shows through after the cutting of hay.

Imagine the surprise when we awoke late in September to be

greeted by snow on the care and the roofing of the cabins. This was

an indication that it was getting time to leave southwest Wyoming.

Our last day in the Jackson Hole area was a Sunday. Therefore, it was

appropriate that we take a photo of the church we attended

each Sunday, Presbyterian Church of Jackson Hole.

On Interstate 25 north of Idaho Falls one can view the Grand Tetons

with the foothills of the western slopes. There are no foothills

on the eastern portions in Wyoming.