Friday, July 3, 2020

Chapter 37...Is it Jackson Hole or Jackson???...

...Leaving the somber sights of the Battle of Little Big Horn around noon, we drove south for about 260 miles to Riverton, Wyoming.  Here we stayed in a Walmart lot for the evening.  Leslie replenished our dwindling supplies of puppy food as well as provisions for we humans.  


...Notice the curious absence of bullet holes.  Can it be that the Cowboys in Wyoming have declared a lasting peace with highway signage??


...When we departed Custer's last stand, the Beast's fuel gauge looked like this...


...Not mentioned earlier, but in order to get to Riverton, Wyoming from a north east direction, one must use Wyoming Route 14 and cross the Big Horn Mountain Range.  Never heard of this mountain??  Neither had your narrator/Captain.  

Here's what the mountain looked like in the distance...


...no big deal, right??...

Factoid: The Beast has a 600 horsepower heart.  Its muscles measure in at 1950 foot pounds of torque.  

Factoid:  The above attributes cause the Beast to consume fuel at the rate of about 5.2 miles per gallon  at our "normal" 65-70 MPH cruising speeds.  ( on essentially level ground)

Factoid: As the ground heaves up into mountain peaks, the beast will use far more energy to arrive at the summit than would be required for a similar distance on level ground.

Factoid:  The highest peak here (Cloud Peak) is over 13,000 high!

Unfortunate Factoid:  There are exactly zero places to acquire diesel fuel once one leaves Dayton, Wyoming heading west across the mountains.


...a bar in Dayton, WY.  (Pretty sure they don't serve diesel cocktails there...)

Situation:  Here we have a Beast with a fuel gauge showing that we can travel about 350 miles safely.  BUT, that assumes LEVEL GROUND.  How many miles can the beast travel if it must climb 13,000 feet into the sky???  Following are some of the views we enjoyed while wondering if the Beast would use all of its reserves...


...this grade is much, much steeper than the picture indicates.  Some semi trucks were barely doing 12 MPH here...


...in one of the valleys...notice the population...


...IF you know you have ample fuel, this is a great drive...


...on the other hand, if your fuel range is uncertain, the enjoyment is reduced a tad...


...imagine gliding down these grades with no engine...


...this is call Shell Falls...

...Pretty sights, eh?  Now imagine running out of fuel in any if the above scenes...  And they wonder why I drink...


...Well, we made it to a small village called Worland on the west side of the mountains and saw the beautiful sight of DIESEL FUEL PUMPS.  As it turned out, the Beast had enough fuel to go another 100 miles.  Whew!!!!

...this excitement over, we trundled on to Riverton, as mentioned earlier...







...your Captain pulled over to take a picture of this incredible, but previously unknown mountain...


...there's actually an adult moose in the picture.  Can you spot him???


...finally on level ground, Leslie walks the boys at a place called DIRTY ANNIES.  

...After a great night's rest, we departed early from our luxurious accommodations at the Riverton, WY Walmart parking lot.  Destination...Jackson Hole, WY.

...Note: We think of Jackson Hole as a ski resort.  It is mid-August.  There ain't no skiing going on now. Logically, we make no reservations for the Beast since the RV Parks MUST be largely vacant at this time.  En route, the Commodorable looks up a great looking RV Park right in the heart of Jackson Hole.  It is called The Virginian.  Looks fantastic.  We'll go there.  Can't call now, as the is no cell service signal to be found anywhere. 

...The route to Jackson takes us right through the heart of the Wind River Canyon Indian Reservation.


...hmmm...is we or ain't we gonna fit in there???


...Wind River reservoir...


...leaving the reservation...so to speak...


...nearing Jackson Hole...the beginning of the Grand Tetons in the distance...

...Somewhat later we arrive at an RV Park called the GRAND TETONS RV PARK AND LUXURY RESORT...


...Now is it just me, or does THIS not seem like a LUXURY establishment??  Notice how the place is packed with proverbial Happy Campers???  (You can bet that the management here has a strict no refund policy...Even Clark Griswald wouldn't make his family stay here...)

...Well, since we knew about the Virginian, we proceeded there...

...Only to be told by a very nice proprietor that he only allows motor coaches of 40 feet in length or less.  The reason...simply that anything over 40 feet cannot make the turns necessary to move about in the park.  Our problem with this policy is threefold...

...first the Beast is 45 feet in length...

...second, the Beast has the family Jeepster in tow.  Our COMBINED LENGTH  in about 65 feet

...and most critically, we have already gotten into the park!!!

...After a series of positively heroic maneuvers, your trusty Captain extricates the Beast and Jeep from this premises and proceeds to the recommended next best place, the Gros Ventre National Park about 15 miles away.  

...Checking in at the Gros Ventre was a snap.  National Parks give us Senior Citizens ( read: "old farts") a very nice discount, recognizing that we have so little time left...


...the Grand Tetons ( French for Great Boobies) as seen from Gros Ventre...

Factoid: The name Gros Ventre is French for "Big Belly"...no kidding.  (What is it with the French and naming places after prominent body parts??). Don't get me started on Baton Rouge!!!

...Jackson Hole is magnificent!!!...


...the Post Office...


...I swear the cowboy in the above sign is wearing a long SKIRT!  Did Caitlin Jenner pose for this???


...the Tetons...


...Leslie at the town square.  Those are real elk horns...


...again, you thought I made that stuff up...shame on you for doubting...


...looking for a tequila dispensary in Jackson...


...notice the ski runs in the background...


...you can actually get MOOSEBURGERS here.  We opted for a steak.

...but first, we had tequila at the world famous Million a Dollar Cowboy Saloon...


...another view of the Tetons...


...great aerial shot of Jackson Hole... 


...does it get any better than this???  

...Well, Dear Reader, all good things must end (who the hell made that rule...) and so we must say goodbye to Jackson Hole after four days here and move on to our next destination...Salt Lake City, Utah.











































No comments:

Post a Comment

Please let the Captain know your thoughts...