We arrived in Jackson, Wyoming on the 12th of May, 2015. It was cool, cloudy and a bit windy as we pulled into town diligently following our driving instructions to avoid the summer road construction as we made our way to the parking/home area for the volunteers of the National Elk Refuge. We made it with little to no problem but did notice that the streets were narrow, and even before prime season - very busy, with the town itself being rather condensed.
Above is the view of Jackson from the first hill of the first mountain bike ride I took after we arrived – I could say I was sucking wind but in retrospect I think the view actually took my breath away. But even with a view like this the best was yet to come!
Shortly after arriving in town we were treated to the annual Boy Scout Antler Auction. This is quite the event for the National Elk Refuge in cooperation with the local boy scouts. The boy scouts, the Refuge staff, and volunteers go out every spring with trailers, ATVs, and off road vehicles to collect the sheds (antlers of the Elk) to sell to whoever wants them. The Elk shed their antlers every spring (it doesn’t hurt) after the rut and just before they migrate back up to the upper level of the mountains. Each year they grow back bigger and better than the year before – the most prized and valuable being the shed antlers from the old bulls - the price goes up if by chance they have both antlers (or a matched set) from that old bull. Each antler, from some of these big bulls, can weigh up to 20 lbs. So you can imagine when someone bids $60+ per pound for a matched set of antlers what these things are worth (to some people anyway). Most went for much less though with the average (of over 10,000 pounds worth) going for somewhere between $16 and $17 a pound. All the proceeds go to the National Elk Refuge and the Boy Scouts.
In addition to the Boy Scouts and the National Elk Refuge, there were many private sellers that have collected the sheds of Elk and Moose from the public lands to sell. We were totally amazed, as we walked the aisles, with all the antler sheds, skulls and pieces and parts that were for sale.
We soon found that we were only a few miles south of the Grand Teton National Park. This is a stop that we found as we were driving around. The South Entrance to Grand Teton National Park is one of the favorite stops for all forms of tourists from all over the world. There has been a number of times since we have been here that I’ve seen lines of tourists taking pictures with the sign and with the background of the mountains.
Below is one of the examples of our current backyard. It is looking north from our location at the Refuge. It is known as Miller Butte with the Miller House in the foreground. This is one of the original homesteads on the Refuge and is now a historical site where Linda does interpretive interaction with visitors.
Here is one of the Pronghorns that we ran into while we were visiting an area in the Grand Teton Park. The background is rather spectacular don’t you think? Most people seem to think that this is a Pronghorn Antelope – that is not quite correct. They are not antelope and the correct name is just Pronghorn - with the scientific name being much longer and a bit difficult to pronounce. They are fast little buggers though, being the fastest land mammal in North America and can reach speeds of 50 – 60 miles per hour and sustained long distance runs of 30 miles per hour. But they aren’t jumpers - they prefer to crawl under a fence rather than leap over it.
Below is a collection of animals that we have had the opportunity to observe since arriving. You can see the Big Horn Sheep (Rams) – Pronghorn (Buck) - Herd of Bison – Black Tailed or Mule Deer (Does) – Black Bear (no, it is not a brown bear or grizzly) – Sandhill Crane with colts – Trumpeter Swans – Duck (I don’t know what kind) – Big Horn Sheep (Ram with quite the horn curl) – Moose (yearling) – Big Horn Sheep (ewe). These kind of encounters along with the incredible mountain scenery as a backdrop make the Jackson Hole area quite the attraction.
We visited the historic Mormon Row area of the Grand Teton National Park and as you can see the views were quite something. The barn is a well photographed item! 
Another view of the historic Mormon Row area.
One day we went to the visitor center at the Grand Teton National Park and hiked the trails around the center. As we walked the damp trials we noticed rather large bear tracks that seemed very recent, complete with claw marks. We have acquired bear spray repellent since then! It’s something like super charged mace. I hope we never have to use it.
This is the southern entrance visitor center for the Grand Teton National Park – you should see it from the inside!
Couldn’t resist taking this picture, quite the specimen – the mountains that is!
Linda flew back to Maryland to attend our grandchildren's high school graduation for Bjorn and Jocelyn. Bjorn and Jocelyn (our son’s two kids) graduated in fine fashion as a proud and beaming Dad, Grandma, Aunt Angie, Uncle David, Cousin Zoe, and a host of friends and relatives watched.
As you can see there are a few mountains in the area.
The above collage is a group of pictures that we took - as I rode the trails along the base of the Tetons through the lower half of the Grand Teton National Park – and from Linda’s hike on the Cascade Canyon Trail in the Tetons.
We’ve had the opportunity to take a number of bike rides since we’ve been here, both paved paths and mountain biking trails. It does give you a bit of a different perspective when there are things around that have the potential to turn you into a lunch.
“Life is like riding a bicycle. In order to keep your balance, you must keep moving.”
Albert Einstein
(In some cases around here you need to move really fast!)
We took a ride on the Tram from Teton Village to the top of Rendezvous Mountain which is part of the Teton Range. The trip and views that go with it are quite good and once you’re at the top you can visit the little waffle/tourist trap shop or go for a number of hikes along the ridges of the Tetons.
There was still quite a bit of snow up there (at over 10,000 feet in elevation) and a bit on the cool side. Linda still likes to do her mountain goat thing and went climbing around all the edges to see what was out there as well as getting a few rather spectacular pictures.
The Wisdom of Oreo
My pride members are really silly sometimes. A good example is this part of the country we came to called the National Elk Refuge. They got all excited about the possibility of seeing all the thousands of Elk and other animals. They didn’t seem to realize that Elk go to their summer (high elevation) feeding grounds during the summer and don’t hang around here. They only come here in the late fall when the grass is high and winter when a whole group of other humans feed them on a regular basis. Even though the herds are not here right now my pride members are still happy as they have me to watch and serve – they really couldn’t have a finer specimen of the animal kingdom anyway!
Oreo
As usual we leave you with a beautiful sunset from the area and our current home with a promise that I will delve into the Refuge and Jackson, Wyoming in depth with future editions.
Home is where we park it!
Lee & Linda
