Small Town
Do you have a favorite place to be? Maybe it’s that coffee shop where they make your latte just right. Maybe it’s a book store or a greenhouse. For us, some of our best travel memories have happened in Wyoming. In this post, we give you some pointers for how to get the best out of our favorite Wyoming town!
Featured photos: https://photos.app.goo.gl/m2gm1znfy4F7Sr889
October 1st, 2024 - Yellowstone/Teton Day 4
The log walls were silent. Removed of rambunctious crowds, the 121 year-old building contained only the echoing footsteps of guests above. In the dining room, sleepy murmurs accompanied the clink of forks against porcelain. Warmth pooled out of the massive stone fireplace. The firewood popped and crackled. That was it.
I loved the quiet. The Old Faithful Inn is always a spectacular sight, but in the stillness of an early morning, one can appreciate the homey structure as it is. No crowds or chaos distracted from the marvelous log architecture. I suspected this privileged view was mostly reserved for guests of the Inn. Before long, the tourists would be flooding in.
I was grateful we had spent the money to stay at the Inn. To be sure, sleeping at the foot of Old Faithful is a costly experience. I felt that it was worth it. We were standing in the lobby of a (very large) log cabin that had been built in 1904. The logs that embraced us had witnessed centuries. They had witnessed humanity in all its forms. This grand space held echoes of love, music, and memory. Now it held echoes of us as well.
Beyond the unique history of the space, I loved the way it was constructed. In Old House portion of the Inn, small rooms remain largely as they were in the early 1900s. Shared restrooms intersperse the rooms in regular intervals. This is often a deterrent for many visitors. When we checked in to our Old House room, we were drawn immediately to the restrooms. What sort of intimate space would we be sharing with other guests?
As I stood examining the intricately-tiled floor of a shared restroom, another woman walked in. Like me, she stopped and took in the whole room.
“Oh!” she exclaimed. “This isn’t that bad at all!” She nodded at the partitioned toilets and private shower stalls. “I wanted to kill my husband when he told me we’d be sharing a bathroom with other people,” she confided. “But this is actually pretty nice! I think I’ll forgive him for this one.”
I couldn’t help but laugh. We had chosen the Old House room on purpose. We wanted the historical experience of the century-old Inn. But, I can certainly understand being upset if a shared restroom was unexpected!
Later, as I had wandered around the Inn, I stumbled across a few rooms that were labelled differently than the restrooms. Curious, I pushed open the door. It opened into a small hallway with a numbered door on either side. Behind each numbered door stood an elegant clawfoot bathtub. Vintage hexagonal tiles covered the floor. In simplest words, it was a bath room. A room to take a bath in. And I was delighted. Eagerly, I had made plans to utilize the bath room that evening. It turned out to be everything I hoped it would be. A bath in a clawfoot tub always feels elegant. That night, I felt like a queen!
This entire dissertation could be compressed into a single sentence: If you ever have the chance to stay at the Old Faithful Inn, do it!
(If you do, however, be sure that you book your rooms early. They are gobbled up by tourists almost as soon as they come available. The Inn recommends booking 9-12 months in advance. It’s a very popular place!)
Reluctantly, we peeled ourselves away from the warm Inn fireplace that morning. I was especially disappointed to leave. Even where I sat, I could feel the frigid drafts sneaking in the outside door. Why would I want to leave the crackling fire to go out into that foggy chill? Yet when have our trips ever involved luxury? Yanking my poor sister away from the hearth, we shivered our way out to the car.
A bison stood sleepily next to the road. He, too, seemed to be contemplating why he was outside on such a chilly morning. Behind him, columns of geyser steam painted white streaks against the dark pines. And thus the day began.
The compass pointed south for our journey. We were leaving behind the Yellowstone caldera, our Montana friend, and the countless herds of bison. Forests of lodgepole pines wrapped around our road. We passed lakes and rivers that sparkled in the early morning sun. With anticipation, I scanned the horizon until my favorite mountain range appeared: the Tetons.
Grand Teton National Park has wholly stolen my heart. We haven’t traveled to all of the national parks yet, but out of the 41 that we’ve seen, Grand Teton tops my list. The steep ridges of the Tetons compete dramatically with the elegant Snake River valley. Wide stretches of sagegrass prairie feed moose, elk, bison, pronghorn, and bears. Mysterious clouds swoop low over the mountains in patterns that must baffle meteorologists. When I find myself nestled in the valley of Jackson Hole, my joy is complete.
That being said, it’s a blessing that my dear sister and husband are patient. We stopped at nearly every outlook on our drive through Grand Teton. I uttered repetitive exclamations about the beauty of the golden aspens and blue mountains. When we discovered a herd of horses grazing in a meadow, my elated conversation became spasmodic. Truly, I am blessed to have such a fortitudinous family. I think my photographer’s glee would have driven others to madness.
As sort of a joke, I had set our GPS to land us at Remembrance Park in Wilson, Wyoming. Along a small pondside trail, a large wooden statue of a troll had been erected some years ago. I discovered this by accident when I had been planning this trip. None of us are really into statues. Or trolls. But when I found images of the strange statue online, I immediately added it to the itinerary. Upon rounding the bend and coming across the statue, I burst into laughter. Ru and Tyler found it mildly baffling. That was a fair response, I reasoned. I hadn’t given them any warning of what we’d encounter at the park. I imagine most people would be surprised to see a giant wooden troll sitting near a pond in Wyoming!
We spent the remainder of our day being tourists in Jackson. Parallel to my passion for Grand Teton, I am partial to Jackson as well. To me, it is the perfect epitome of a tchotchke cowboy town. Cowboy hats, leather coats, and boots adorn every visitor. Wooden boardwalks wrap around shops selling authentic Native American jewelry, corny T-shirts, extremely expensive art, huckleberry jam, and custom felt hats. Window displays overflow with color and marvelous things that won’t fit in suitcases. The tantalizing smell of coffee drifts out of a cute coffee shop named Cowboy Coffee Co. Across the road, the town square is decorated with arches made out of elk antlers. Everyone takes a photo under the elk antler arches. You’re in Jackson. You simply have to.
Tyler and I have visited Jackson four times now. With that momentum likely to continue, we’ve developed a bit of a routine for our town strolls. To close out this blog post, I will list, in no particular order, some of my favorite elements of our Jackson routine. Make it into a bingo card or use it as a template for your own Jackson visit. Either way, you ought to visit Jackson at least once! It is a wonderful small town!
The Wort Hotel is a very expensive, very beautiful hotel just off Town Square. For some reason, they allow strangers to wander inside to look at the art. Masterful paintings adorn every wall. The suites have heavy wooden doors decorated with remarkable wood carvings. If you are very charming, a staff member might even give you a tour of one of their suites. The insides are just as beautiful as the exterior. At Christmastime, poinsettias climb the hotel’s elegant staircase and a 20-ft live tree sparkles with ornaments.
Beaver Creek Hats & Leather smells like fresh leather and money. When you walk inside, you are immediately compelled to say “Wow.” When you look at any price tag, you say it a second time. Their hats, boots, and jackets are the prettiest leatherwork I’ve ever seen. As a leatherworker, Ru especially liked this shop. I am content to admire the merchandise here.
Browse ‘n’ Buy is a thrift store with prices that better align with my sensibilities. When you browse the racks, you might find a Pendleton wool flannel shirt for a fraction of the regular price. You might also find the owner’s dog on the bottom shelf of a bookshelf. You just never know.
While you are thrifting, keep an eye out for the Tesla Cybertruck that frequents Jackson. We’ve seen it on nearly every visit. It resembles a chrome refrigerator and must belong to one of the wealthy inhabitants of the town. I just want to know how the driver always manages to find a good parking spot.
Mursell’s Sweet Shop has the prettiest display of candy we’ve ever seen.
Next to Mursell’s, MADE is a sweet little gift shop with lots of nice items! It’s a very girly store, right down to the perfumed air that wafts out of its welcoming doors.
Out of the innumerable art galleries in Jackson, Mountain Trails Gallery is our favorite. They sport a collection of brass statues out front that pose countless opportunities for photo-ops. The well-endowed bison is particularly entertaining, especially when a small child runs up and says “Mommy, what’s that?” (true story)
The Million Dollar Cowboy Bar is a wedding photo hotspot. If you stick around long enough, you’re almost guaranteed to see a cute couple getting their photo in front of the neon sign at twilight!
When you’re crossing West Broadway to get to Shirt Off My Back or the Jackson Trading Company, pay close attention to the crossing signal. It sounds like an annoying bird. Tyler has affectionately named it Tweety.
As a bonus, when you cross the street, be sure to look west towards Yeah Buddy Pizza. There’s a webcam on top of the restaurant. If you’re clever about it, you can even wave to yourself!
In the winter, you can rent ice skates and go skating in the Town Square. All of the surrounding trees are decorated with Christmas lights. It’s very festive!
Some of our favorite webcams:
Grand Teton: https://www.seejh.com/webcams/grand-teton/dornans
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