Day Seven: A Float Down the Snake River and onto the Dude Ranch

One of the specific memories I have from my childhood trip to the Grand Teton and Yellowstone area was a rafting trip down the Snake River through the Grand Teton National Park.  I remember a few things: the natural beauty of the Teton mountain range towering over the valley and the river below, seeing a large bull moose grazing very close to the river as we floated by, and a large curling rapid near the end of the float -- something that seemed very large, powerful and dangerous at the time, but was probably not anywhere near as ominous as I remember it from age 11.

I figured I would book a family float trip down the same stretch of river with Barker-Ewing Outfitters, one of a few outfitters sanctioned to provide commercial trips on the river through the national park.  I had booked this trip months in advance, and when we arrived and checked into the Pony Express Motel in Jackson the night before, they informed me that the outfitters was only a few doors down.  I was happy since that would maximize our rest time -- we again ate late that night and our floating trip was booked for 8:00 am.  

So I was surprised after loading the car and driving the 300 yards down the road to the outfitters that they didn't have us on the list.  After a few minutes they asked "Are you on a float trip or a whitewater trip"?  I told them a float trip and they informed us we were in the wrong place.  We were 20 minutes away from our meeting point which was in Moose Junction, not Jackson where we were standing.  Not to worry, they said, it was lucky we were early and if we left now, we would be right on time for the float trip.  Anyway, herded the kids back into the van and off we went to the right rendezvous point.  

Floating the Snake River through Grand Teton National Park

At this point I began to marvel at the NASA engineering that put a man on the moon.  A minor mistake like this is really nothing on earth, but on a mission of more consequence would have men careening off into the depths of space never to be seen again.  I had taken what I believed to be all reasonable precautions to ensure that we were at the right place at the right time and yet it had gone awry.  The consequences weren't terrible, even if we missed the trip, but what's that saying about "the best laid plans"....?

We ended up meeting up with our group at the right place and essentially the right time.  We met in the parking lot of "old" Visitors's Center (which did not look very old or run down or even ill suited for its purpose), which is across from the "new" Visitors' Center which looks like a $25MM plus building.  

A Bull Moose on the river

We had a peaceful float down the river and saw a few bald eagles and a young bull moose grazing in the river.   We learned a lot about geology from our knowledgeable and experienced guide and how the course of the river though the valley was formed and ever-changing. 

The two older kids seemed to like the trip.  Campbell however, was bored, and as is typical Campbell could not keep from expressing her boredom.  She took a nap in the sun when it warmed up and then started on "When is this going to be over?".  So I guess if I had to recommend ages, I would say 8 years and up seem to be a good age to hold their attention.  

After the trip, Twiggy remarked about the people who  chose to do this for a living.  There is some comparison to "ski bums" who love skiing or snowboarding and spend winters working at resorts so they can ski.  But I think there is something more to this guy.

He was older than most ski bums, he was clearly educated and professional.  He was not young -- probably in the second half of his 40's.  He originally hailed from Bronxville, close to where we live.  He had a brother who was a banker and lived almost an opposite life, toiling professionally in the greater urban New York area.  Our guide clearly loved the outdoors, particularly the river and life on the river.  He expressed disappointment that his brother's family, who traveled extensively all over the world, never chose to spend more time visiting and enjoying the natural beauty of Wyoming that he clearly enjoyed and hoped others would enjoy as well.  

First impressions: Our lodging was on the far end of town away from the town square.  I wish we had more time to explore the town of Jackson (even though it carries that "Jackson price premium" on everything) as it seems like a cool place to poke around, particularly around the town square which has entrances that are covered by large arches of shed elk antlers.  We did see these types of arches in a few other places in Wyoming; however, the largest we saw were around the Jackson town square.  Also, I wish we had been able to spend more time exploring rather than simply transiting Grand Teton National Park and its awe inspiring beauty.  

Grand Teton National Park was established in 1929.  In the 1930's John D. Rockefeller, Jr. started buying up ranch land in the Jackson Hole which he wanted to add to the existing national park.  Some ranchers sold, others decided not to sell and some decided to donate or sell only upon their death.   The guide told stories of the unexpected heartiness of those ranchers that deeded their properties upon their death and the concentration of nonagenarians and centurions around the town of Moose.  Apparently an older, hardy widow was remanded by the government for hunting as she had always done and she had to remind them of whose land it was.  

Dornan's is one ranching family that decided not to sell.  They have a prime location near Moose Junction and have built a nice little business of concessions including a general store, an outdoor gear shop, and a small restaurant where you can eat outdoors, under an awning, or even in a teepee.  So we stopped there and had a reasonably priced breakfast in the shadows of the Tetons before continuing our trip onto the Lazy L&B Dude Ranch.