First Walk Around Jackson

Our plan for the day yesterday was to rediscover downtown Jackson. It has been about 1.5 years since we did the walk around the most popular area of Jackson. It still looks pretty much the same but there have been some changes in the businesses. However, the "landmark" businesses are still there and thriving.

We took several photos during the day, starting with this of the walk from the parking area into the center of the Town Square:

Of course, the main attraction in the Town Square are the antler arches that are on each corner:

We enjoyed walking through all the stores that we missed over the last year and a half, including the Outfitter shops where we have taken several photos in the past. This one is a familiar one:

Another famous landmark is one where we opted to have some lunch - the Million Dollar Cowboy Bar:

Among other things, the Bar is famous for their saddle bar stools:

We split an expensive burger platter and each had a beer before heading out again.

The last photo is of the stage coach which has carried tourists through the downtown area for years:

We had a great time reminiscing while doing the walk through town. It was a perfect day, weather-wise and we finished the outing by stopping at our PO Box to pick up our mail. Josie did some laundry after we returned to our RV and had her first experience at our laundry facility. The only negative to that effort was that we have to drive to the laundry which is about a half mile away.


Today is our final day off this week and we are just now discussing some options for the day...

First Trip to Idaho Falls

It was a perfect day for a long drive - clear skies and warming temperatures. We had ordered a Blackstone grill for pickup from Walmart and Josie wanted to get a haircut while there. The drive over the Teton Pass brought back lots of memories and these photos show how much snow still exists in the higher elevations.

Starting with the familiar "Howdy Strangers, Over Yonder is Jackson Hole" sign at the summit, overlooking Jackson:

and these shots at the summit:

It was nice to see the familiar surroundings along the drive. We arrived in Ammon and the Walmart (at the edge of Idaho Falls) at around 11:30 AM. The grill was ready and Josie got her haircut. There were some items that we needed to get from Sam's Club while in town, so we got those and had a quick lunch before heading back to Jackson.

One of the joys we get from this trip is a stop at the ice cream store that is located in Swan Valley, about halfway between Idaho Falls and Jackson. Fortunately, the store opened for the season a couple weeks ago so we enjoyed a cone on the way home. I should have gotten a photo of the huge waffle cone (triple dip, coconut almond) that cost $5! Next time.

It was a great start to our three days of relaxation. This shot - of the "Sleeping Indian"  was taken as we arrived home:

and this one, as nighttime arrived:

I had to include this shot that Josie took a couple nights ago that is a fantastic sunset (notice the plane):

Today we plan to walk around town for the first time and to fill our propane tanks. Perhaps a drive to our post office will also be included...

Finally, Clear Skies

Ok, this morning is the first time since we arrived over 2 weeks ago that we have this to look at from our RV site:

We knew we would get to this point late yesterday when we took these shots:

 All of the clouds are gone! Just in time for our three days off.

We had hoped to be able to leave work early yesterday to get an early start for our off days but just as we were getting ready to leave at 4 PM, we received a delivery of inventory and Josie and I had to stay to make sure all the items were checked in and stocked on the floor. So, we ended up not leaving until 45 minutes before our scheduled end time which was 6 PM.

The plan for our first day - today - is to clean the truck from all the mud, fill the propane tanks and take a drive to Idaho Falls to pick up the Blackstone grill we ordered from Walmart and to pick up some additional clothes (uniforms) for work. One thing is for sure - we plan to catch up on rest during the next few days...

Winding Down First Full Week

We are happy to see this day arrive. It will be the last day of our first full week and ends at 6 PM tonight. Our start time is 10 AM so it will be kind of a long day.

It rained almost the entire day yesterday and, once again, our truck looks like it went through every mud hole in Wyoming. There is no sense in cleaning it until we get some good weather. It appears that that will begin happening today. The forecast is for improving weather with full sunshine slated for tomorrow and Thursday. Amen! Even the locals are frustrated with the extended period of horrible weather. We are being very patient and look forward to enjoying the area the way it should be.

Our plans for our three days off include a trip to Idaho Falls where I will pick up a Blackstone grill at the Camping World store. Also, there are some items that we will pick up at the Sam's Club and possibly Walmart. None of those stores have a closer location to us. Besides, we enjoy that drive occasionally. That leaves two days to do some fun local stuff. That is, after we do some  necessary local chores like laundry and filling our propane tanks.

We are ready for the Jackson summer...

Back in the Clouds

We knew it was going to happen. The one nice day we had yesterday was just a fluke. It is raining again, off and on, and the cool weather arrived with the rain. All we can assume is that we are going to have one spectacular summer once all this stuff is over.

Today is our third of four straight days of work. We (at least for me) are not use to the long and busy days of work. Especially in the higher elevation we have here - 6300 ft. Having missed last season, it is taking us longer to acclimate to the elevation change. Once we get some extended, nice weather and get used to the schedule and elevation change, it will be a wonderful season. So far, the folks we work with are very capable, even though the jury is out for some of their personalities. At least there is no shortage of help at this point.

We will work late again today (7:15 PM) before having another late day tomorrow - 6 PM. We spoke with our manager yesterday about scheduling our last day of work before each break to end early, and the first day back from days off to begin later to give us extra time. He agreed that he would try to accommodate that request and also agreed that it made sense to do that. We'll see how it works out...

First Clear View

This morning represents the first really clear view of the Tetons from our RV site that we have had this season:

The forecast, though, is for more rain and cloudy weather ahead for the next week. We hope to get some summer weather soon.

We worked the late shift yesterday - 12 noon to 7:15 PM - and with our early start this morning at 8 AM, it makes for a short turnaround. There are three more work days (including today) before we get a nice break of three days off.

I took some interesting shots of the Visitor Center yesterday. These are the first of the new season for us:

Then, there are these photos of four geese families taken just outside our rear door and at the edge of the Elk Refuge. It is unusual to get all four families so close together:

It is fun watching these families as they hang out around the Visitor Center. The visitors sure get a kick out of them and take lots of photos.

That will do it until tomorrow...

Mountains Almost in View

Our first day off provided us some time to catch up on sleep and to run a couple errands. We went to the PO Box to see if, by some miracle, my hearing aid was there - it wasn't. But we did receive the announcements for the twins' graduation which is exciting. With them going on to college, Patty and Mark are "empty nesters" for the first time. It will become a real challenge for them to keep up with the four boys, all going in different directions.

We did some grocery shopping and washed the truck - again. With all the rain we've had, it is one big mudhole traveling on our long dirt road. The good news is that we broke 50 degrees for the first time and we can "almost" see the peaks of the Tetons:

We are back to work today with 4 straight days on the schedule. Today also begins the summer hours for the Visitor Center - 8 am to 7 pm...

One Week Review

So far, in our first week here in Jackson, we still have not seen the mountains without clouds covering the peaks. The high temperature has been 49 and the forecast is for more of the same. It is the main topic of conversation this year as winter just will not let go.

We have worked three days in the first week and the conclusion for us is that it will be slightly different in the Visitor Center as far as procedures go, but is basically the same as what we have experienced in the past. We are off today but work four days in a row starting tomorrow.

I am still struggling to get my (repaired) hearing aid delivered. As you recall, it stopped working a few days before we left AZ and was sent back to the factory for repairs. The net of this problem is that they have received the repaired hearing aid, reprogrammed it, and sent it to me yesterday. Rather than send it FedEx, I had them send it via overnight mail to my PO Box. I thought there would be a good chance that the package would bounce around the Visitor Center for a couple days before it actually got into my hands. With the PO Box, it will get to me immediately - that is, if it were being delivered today, which it won't. There is no overnight delivery via US Mail at the Moose Post Office. So, I will not get it until at least Monday anyway. It has been a struggle trying to hear everything this week but is bound to improve soon.

We had a staff welcome party last night at a new restaurant in town - the Stillwest Brewery. Here are a couple shots that I took last night:

This is a shot of our view from the terrace where we sat under heaters and still nearly froze:

Our new manager is the individual (with yellow hat) sitting next to Josie in the first shot above. It was a great time and we expect to have more gatherings like that during the year...

Information Overload

The entire day yesterday was spent in the training session. While working the normal cashiering duties and helping visitors with information, we were introduced to several new procedures and some new functions that have been added since our last experience at the Visitor Center. There is nothing we can't handle and we feel confident that it will be a smooth experience and a fun one. So far, the staff we have met and have been working with appear to be a very good fit for the job. The only negative so far has been the weather. The forecast has been the same since we arrived - cold, cloudy rain and some snow. It is suppose to continue through the weekend.

This weekend is Memorial Day weekend which means we convert to the summer schedule. Instead of the Center being open from 9 to 5, we will begin new hours from 8 to 7. It really doesn't change our schedule except that the crew will be working different shifts during the day. Same as last time. We are looking forward to our day off on Friday and we have our schedule for next week which has us working 4 days.

Onward and upward...

New Season Begins

The first half day of our new season started with an orientation held at the Visitor Center where we started working four years ago. There were about 20 folks attending and represented the first group to begin the new season. There will be another orientation in June when all of the other employees will attend. We met at the GTA (Grand Teton Association) offices and warehouse following the session and did a walkthrough of the warehouse followed by some sandwiches and snacks.

The afternoon was our first time back in the Visitor Center where we were taken through all of the procedures we learned two seasons ago. It all came back quickly and we were performing all the duties as before within a short time. Some of the procedures are new, but for the most part, we didn't miss a beat from when we left in 2017. We also met more of the folks we worked with in 2017 and it was like a class reunion. There will be more of that today when we see more of the coworkers from the last time.

We also ran across some more wildlife during the day. These little guys were outside the Visitor Center:

And more of the sheep that are hanging out near our site:

Today - Day #2 - is classified as another training day and we will perform other duties that we should pick-up with very little practice. So far, with the exception of the lousy weather, it has been a fun time back at the familiar surroundings...

Surprising Weather

So far, we have gone the entire three plus days that we have been here without seeing the peaks of any of the mountains. Imagine what the tourists are going through who have paid good money to see these mountains and can hardly even see the bases of them. To make it worse, the forecast is for another week of the same thing. The high temperature in the time we have been here is 49. The lows are hanging around freezing. We went to our PO Box yesterday to see if my "repaired" hearing aid had arrived and we drove through lots and lots of mud created by this weather. My hearing aid has not yet arrived.

Just to show how difficult it will be to maintain a clean vehicle in this "soup", I have included the shots below of our truck following the trip to Moose and our PO Box and the shot after we hosed the truck down and wiped the mud clear as best we could:

Today, we begin work with an orientation to be held at the Visitor Center in Moose and then we go to our own Visitor Center in Jackson to complete our first day on the job. Our truck will undoubtedly look like the first shot once again.

Welcome to Siberia

Check out these photos taken outside just a few minutes ago:

The pictures shown earlier of our site at least revealed some of the view of the mountains we have. This morning, you wouldn't know there are any mountains at all. In fact, we have not seen the top half of the mountains since we arrived. Oh, and it is 34 degrees outside. I don't believe we have gotten out of the 40's at all since we pulled in on Friday. It comes with the territory and probably still beats 100+ in AZ.

We took a nice drive through the Grand Teton National Park yesterday. Our first stop was at the Schwabacher Landing and we took these two shots:

It is still too early in the season to get the best shots.

We then drove to Jenny Lake and as we were leaving the Visitor Center there, we captured this fox walking away from us:

That was as close as we could get.

Then, we got our first look at some bison:

We then took a lunch break at Dornan's restaurant near the Park entrance which is where, as mentioned in several posts in the past, where Harrison Ford hangs out during the summer months. He wasn't there yesterday, but we had a nice time people watching and enjoying the sights:

It was on the way home from Dornan's that we saw a spectacular sight - a huge herd of elk heading for the hills:

There were at least 100 elk in that bunch. 

Overall, it was a terrific day. One more day left before starting work tomorrow with an orientation in the AM and working at the Visitor Center in the afternoon...

Getting Settled In

The first news from yesterday is that our propane problem is fixed. As it turns out, we really had no problem at all. I was very fortunate to catch a mobile RV tech in the area while doing online research and he showed up within 15 minutes of our phone contact. His company is DR RV and he really acted like a doctor. He tested everything on the propane system and said the fault was probably caused by some exhaust or other gas that was in the sensor. There was no damage to the line from our experience in the high winds area. That was good news.

Josie and I drove to our post office in Moose to check on our PO Box - it was filled. We are all set with that for the summer. We drove around some familiar roads in the area and saw these animals for our first sightings of the season:

First are these elk on the hillside:

Followed by this baby moose:

And all of these sheep that are hanging out along the road to our RV site:

We also saw some of the early effects of the snow runoff as the streams are all running high:

There is still a lot of snow - even in the lower elevations.

We were very overwhelmed later in the day as there was an impromptu "welcome" gathering of all of the volunteers at the laundry facility located where we previously stayed near the Miller House in the Elk Refuge. Every person that was there ran up to us and hugged us and indicated how happy they were when they heard we were returning. It was an unexpected and emotional welcome that took us by surprise. It's nice to see all our friends again.

This morning, we plan to take a drive to another favorite location of ours - Schwabacher Landing. It is one of the popular moose hangouts and maybe we will get lucky and spot one...