Casa Budde West | ||
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Typical Visit | ||
- Teton Valley Idaho - | ||
Day One | ||
Arrive at Jackson Hole Airport (JAC) | ||
You will want to have a window seat for your flight into Jackson so that you can marvel at the views. I strongly suggest that you time your arrival somewhere around lunch time. There is only one gate and I will meet you at that gate. Look for the old guy with the white beard... the extremely handsome one. |
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Lunch at Dornan's | ||
If you took my advice and planned
your arrival around lunch time, from
the airport, we will drive north a
few miles to visit
Dornan's for lunch. If you did
not heed my advice, you will kick
yourself in the butt for not doing
so. |
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Antelope Flats & Mormon Row | ||
Antelope Flats Road is land that
is inhabited by either
antelope or
bison (buffalo) but not usually
both. Unfortunately, at times it is
inhabited by neither species as they
have gone elsewhere to dine. There
is also an old Mormon homestead that
one can also view. The Mormons
settled this large valley. This
homestead is an example of one of
their farms. |
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Schwabacher Landing | ||
We will return to the Park loop
road from Antelope Flats and make a
right turn and head north
approximately four miles to the road
that descends to Schwabacher
Landing. |
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Snake River Overlook | ||
We will return to the Park loop road from Swabacher Landing where we will head north once again. Our next stop is the Snake River Overlook scenic turnout. This overlook is another of those oft photographed locations. It was popularized by photographer Ansel Adams. |
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Cunningham Cabin | ||
Leaving the Snake River Overlook, we will continue our drive north where we will stop is Cunningham Cabin. This is another example of Mormon life. Not overly interesting so we will probably skip this. |
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Oxbow Bend | ||
As the Park loop road turns westward, we will go through the entrance gate into Grand Teton National Park. A bit down the road from the entrance, we will come to Oxbow Bend. This is a very scenic spot which has been featured in many photos. Be on the lookout for moose in the waters of the Snake River on the left. |
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Jackson Lake Lodge | ||
A bit further west, we will come
to a junction in the road. The left
turn, which we will follow a bit
later, heads south and is the
so-called Inner Park Road. For now
we will continue to the north and on
to
Jackson Lake Lodge. The lodge is
just about two miles north and is
definitely worth seeing. |
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Jackson Lake Dam | ||
From Jackson Lake Lodge, we will
drive south and return to the
junction we passed just a bit ago.
This time we will make a right hand
turn. About two miles after this
turn we will drive across Jackson
Lake dam. Now the view out the
passenger's side of the car will be
favored. |
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Signal Mountain Lodge | ||
Signal Mountain Lodge is located
at the south end of Jackson Lake. It
is located 2-3 miles south of
Jackson Lake dam. This lodge is
right on the lake (unlike Jackson
Lake Lodge which is quite far from
the lake). This vantage point also
puts the lodge closer to the
mountains. Mount Moran is the
dominant mountain in the views from
this still northern portion of the
park. |
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Remaining Park Drive | ||
The next section of the Park loop
road offers some magnificent views
of the individual mountains as well
as the whole Teton group. The
farther south we drive the more the
views become dominated by the Grand
rather than Mount Moran. |
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Jackson | ||
After exiting Grand Teton National Park (we will come back to spend more time there), we come back to the entrance to Dornan's, hence the term Loop Road, where we will make a right hand turn and head south towards the town of Jackson. We will just drive through Jackson and then head west and drive the 35 miles to Driggs and Casa Budde West. Fear not. We will return at sometime during your visit to check out Jackson and do some shopping and dining. |
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Driggs | ||
Once we arrive at Casa Budde West, we will take a quick tour, pick out bedrooms and unload the car. I usually suggest that you take an inventory of what I have on hand and make out a grocery list for whatever you want that I do not already have on hand. |
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The Royal Wolf | ||
We usually go to The Royal Wolf for dinner the first night. The Wolf, as it is known, is a bar/restaurant in town. Dress is casual. Food is good and portions are quite large. They are known for their great selection of micro brews. After dinner, we will take the grocery list and shop at Brulim's... the local grocery store. |
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Last Activity of the Day | ||
Crash!!! |
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Day Two | ||
Breakfast | ||
We can either eat breakfast in or go out some place in town for breakfast. We either prepare a lunch for the day's hike at Casa Budde West or pick up something at Brulim's. I usually take their great fried chicken on hikes. |
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Hike | ||
The first hike of the visit is
always the
South Fork of Teton Canyon. The
trailhead for this hike is located
about eight miles from Casa Budde
West. This hike is pretty flat and
very beautiful. This serves two
purposes: the flat hike lets you get
adjusted to the altitude (6,200 plus
feet) without being too much of a
strain and it introduces you to some
very nice scenery. |
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Cocktail Hour | ||
Our two favorite sayings are: "It's 5 o'clock somewhere" and "To another shitty day in paradise" |
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We return to Casa Budde West
from our day's hiking adventure for
showers and cocktails on the
deck (or inside if it is too
cool). In addition to solving the
world's problems, we also discuss
what we would like to do the next
day and most importantly where we
are going to eat. By the way, the
house specialty is the Tanqueray &
Tonic! |
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Dinner | ||
We will either go out for dinner or prepare something at home. Group decision. |
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Subsequent Days/span> | ||
Other days are similar to Day 2. They vary based on daytime activity and dining plans. |
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Daytime Activity Options | ||
Hiking options are listed
hereSometimes if we are too tired to
hike, we will plan a "down day"
where we will go sight seeing (Swan
Valley,
Grand Targhee,
Teton Valley,
Bridger-Teton National Forest,
etc.) take a glider ride, go white
water rafting or spend the day
visiting Jackson & have dinner. |
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Dining | ||
There are a few nice dining
options on the Driggs side of the
mountains... Warbird's Cafe
at the Driggs airport, Teton Springs
in Victor, and Forage in Driggs. Dress
is still casual. Click
here to get a full listing of
dining options on both sides of the
mountains. |
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Other Activities | ||
For those
who enjoy music, there are many
opportunities to hear some great
music. Grand Targhee hosts a
music festival and a
bluegrass festival each summer.
In Victor,
Music on Main presents a
free concert (great for families
as well as adults) each Thursday
evening. The Jackson
Hole Ski Resort boasts the
Mangy Moose and also plays host
to various classical artists at the
Grand
Teton Music Festival throughout
the summer. In Jackson, the Snow
King Ski Resort often hosts artists.
There is also a new performing arts
center in the town of Jackson. |
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