Driving Through Downtown Jackson Hole, Wyoming, has Yellowstone National Park and Grand Teton National Park right in its backyard. I would love to go back and spend more time there. It’s the perfect place for outdoor enthusiasts.
We are driving through Jackson Hole nine hours after leaving Butte Montana this morning, which is three-four hours longer than it should normally take to drive the same distance, even including driving through two national parks. In hindsight, we should have made plans to stay in Jackson Hole.
Jackson Hole has plenty of friendly brown bears.
After finally getting through Jackson Hole we headed up through the Teton Pass.
We drove through Yellowstone National Park (more postings on that in later postings), and I spotted this tourist in the face of a bison. With my telephoto lens, I took this photo titled “Stupid People Do Stupid Things.”
Once entering the northern entrance to Yellowstone National Park, we followed vehicles on a twisting two-lane road (closed December-April). We first stopped to video waterfalls just to the road’s left. After a bit of research, I was able to identify the falls as Rustic Falls on Glen Creek.
Rustic Falls
Hot Springs
Devils Thumb
Mammoth Hot Springs with travertine terraces, which are formed from limestone. Thermal water rises through the limestone, carrying high amounts of dissolved limestone (calcium carbonate).
At the surface, carbon dioxide is released, and calcium carbonate is deposited, forming travertine, the chalky white mineral forming the rock of travertine terraces. The formations resemble a cave turned inside out. Colorful stripes are formed by thermophiles or heat-loving organisms.
Our next stop was Spokane, Washington, at the Hampton Inn near the airport, where Matt Bailey (son-in-law) met us. We randomly chose a place called Fast Eddie’s to go have a beer or two.
Somewhere in the Coeur d’Alene, Idaho area. The next stop is Butte, Montana.
Known for its legendary Enchantment Lakes, The Stuart Range is a mountain range in central Washington. The range lies within the eastern extent of the Cascade Range immediately southwest of Leavenworth.
Snoqualmie Falls is a 268-foot waterfall located east of Seattle on the Snoqualmie River between Snoqualmie and Fall City, Washington. It is one of Washington’s most popular scenic attractions and is known internationally for its appearance in the television series Twin Peaks.
For the Snoqualmie People, who have lived since time immemorial in the Snoqualmie Valley in western Washington, Snoqualmie Falls is central to their culture, beliefs, and spirituality. A traditional burial site, to the Snoqualmie, the falls are “the place where First Woman and First Man were created by Moon the Transformer” and “where prayers were carried up to the Creator by great mists that rise from the powerful flow.” The mists rising from the base of the waterfall are said to serve to connect Heaven and Earth. — Source: Wikipedia
The Salish Lodge and Spa
On October 31, 2019, the Snoqualmie Indian Tribe closed on purchasing Snoqualmie Falls, the Salish Lodge and Spa, the Salish Lodge & Gift Shop, and 45 acres of property north of and across State Route 202. The tribe purchased it for $125 million. — Source: Wikipedia
The City and Borough of Juneau, more commonly known simply as Juneau (/ˈdʒuːnoʊ/ JOO-noh; Tlingit: Dzánti K’ihéeni Athabaskan pronunciation: [ˈtsʌ́ntʰɪ̀ kʼɪ̀ˈhíːnɪ̀]), is the capital city of the U.S. state of Alaska. Located in the Gastineau Channel and the Alaskan panhandle, it is a consolidated city-borough and the second-largest city in the United States by area. — Source: Wikipedia,
Downtown Juneau is nestled at the base of Mount Juneau and across the channel from Douglas Island. As of the 2020 census, the City and Borough had a population of 32,255, making it the third-most populous city in Alaska after Anchorage and Fairbanks. Juneau experiences a daily influx of roughly 6,000 people visiting cruise ships between the months of May and September.
The Red Dog Saloon
Originating during the heyday of Juneau’s glorious mining era, this world-famous saloon has provided hospitality and fellowship to weary travelers and local patrons alike.
Some years ago, I was at a conference in Portland and contacted brother Tom who lived in Seattle, to meet me at the conference hotel. Tom drove down in his old VW with a Grateful Dead logo on the side window. We had planned to drive in his old VW along the Columbia River, then to Mt Hood. To drive the historic highway in his car, which didn’t have a clutch, therefore, requiring Tom to shift by jamming into each gear was more than I could take. So, I rented a car for our day excursion.
Because of my past experience with my brother, when planning the drive from Portland to Seattle included enough time for Joy and I to drive the Historic Columbia River Highway.
The Highway is a beautiful, twisting highway that Joy insists on driving since she says I drive too fast.
Joy driving gave me plenty of opportunities to take photos and videos.
This clip has a couple of sharp 90-degree turns.
Looking west along the Columbia River from The Vista House.
Looking east from the Vista House.
A Vista House Video Clip.
A video clip from inside the Vista House.
A Gallery of Some of the Falls Along Scenic the Historic Columbia River Highway.
Before leaving the scenic Columbia area, I got a couple images of the beautiful snow-covered Mt. Hood.
Our stay in Portland was at the Pineapple Rose Hotel, a funky choice in Portland boutique hotels located directly across from Tom McCall Waterfront Park on the beautiful Willamette River, which is a major tributary to the Columbia River.
Willamette River, Portland, Oregon
Fountain in the Tom McCall Waterfront Park
Pineapple Rose Hotel (Click On Any Image To See In A Slide Show Format.)
Our next overnight stop headed north will be Portland, but I could not pass through Eugene without stopping to see the University of Oregon and Hayward Field. Hayward Field has been the home of legends since its inception. Named for one of track and field’s most innovative early coaches, by the time the first grandstand was built in 1925, the University of Oregon had already produced two All-Americans and won a Pacific Coast Conference title. The current facility was completed in 2020, providing so much more for track & field athletes. My brother Tom and I grew up loving the sport of Track & Field. Before retiring, Tom taught high school English and coached the girl’s track team in Seattle.
It just so happened that on this day it was the first day of the Oregon State Track & Field Finals.
(Click on any image for a larger view in a slideshow format..)
On day three, we leave Nevada and head to California. So far the road conditions are good with a minimum of delays. We had never been to this part of California, so we were taking in the scenery when I spotted a beautiful snow-capped mountain through the trees. Soon we pulled over to get a better view, which happened several times as we headed north to Oregon.
Mt. Shasta — Images by kenne
Before leaving Northern California, we pulled into the Weed Rest Area — a part of me could not pass it up.
Our next overnight stop was the Hampton Inn in Medford, Oregon, where we had some wine food at the Inn.
