Long-Legged Sally

Day 30 - June 4th

We all got our Belvitas and started our day taking a drive on the back road, Moose-Wilson Road, to get to the national park. We saw 2 sandhill cranes in the distance. There was some kind of tree growth on a lot of the trees throughout this section. It apparently is moss, twigs, lichens, and fungi all clumped together in these massive growths that look like beehives at first glance. We also saw another beaver dam, a beautiful creek, and 2 osprey aircrafts fly overhead.

As we continued to drive to the Visitor Center, we spied 3 deer, grazing right along the road, hidden in the bushes and trees. They stayed camouflaged behind the bushes for quite a long time until they finally trotted off into the forest.

Just as we were approaching the Visitor Center, we saw lots of cars pulled over and rangers monitoring. We found a place to park and got out quickly to see what everyone was looking at. There was a mother moose (cow) with her 2 babies (calves). We followed her (from a distance, of course) into some trees in a meadow. There we watched the calves nurse will the cow grazed. Finally, the cow got tired and cut off the feeding train by laying down. These were the first moose we had seen and it was pretty exciting! We continued to the Visitor Center and picked up a few more things. 

Before we traveled on, we went to the nearby Murie House. We met a wonderful man there named Dan who was the docent for the house. We went into the historic house and sat down in front of the fireplace. Dan told us the story of Olaus and Margaret "Mardy" Murie, naturalists who had made a difference over the years. They had done lots of research in Alaska and had been called to Grand Tetons to help solve the problem of why the elk were dying. They built this house and some smaller cabins on this property. After Olaus died, Mardy continued advocating for nature until she was 101 years old. She was the recipient of many awards, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom for her conservation work.
Mardy became very good friends with John Denver who wrote a song for her called Arctic Dance which reflected the memories of Mardy and Olaus as they danced anywhere with or without music, hearing the music of nature in their head. As we were listening to Dan tell about the Muries, another lady came in and Dan asked if she would like to join us. She did and later explained that she had been one of Mardy's caregivers in some of her later years so she added to the stories Dan told. We toured the house, wishing the fireplace was on because of the chilly temperature inside the house. Dan was so knowledgeable and passionate about what he was doing. He told us that he moved here into one of the cabins after he retired as a musician/performer. It was obvious he was very comfortable talking with people in a calm, soothing voice. Dan told us to keep a look out for the moose that hangs around the property there. He said she comes regularly. He had nicknamed her Long-Legged Sally. It was easy to see by the way he grinned and talked that Dan considered Long-Legged Sally his friend.

As we got ready to leave, Dan asked if he could take a picture on the front porch of all 4 of us. The front porch had been the meeting place for The Wilderness Society with many highly regarded conservationists having sat there. He asked if we wanted to hold one of the elk antlers he had on display. As he handed it to us, we all about dropped it. We had no idea it was as heavy as it was. Then he explained how the elk had to carry the weight of 2 of these antlers up on their head, yet they could still move fast and jump high. We were really amazed. Dan took our picture, reminded us to look for Long-Legged Sally, and sent us on our way with a new group of people waiting to hear about the Muries. We left with our heads full of stories and hearts full of admiration for the people like the Muries who fought for nature and conservation.We traveled back on the scenic drive without seeing Long-Legged Sally, each having our own vision of what she might have looked like. 

We drove to Jenny Lake and stopped to take photos. Yesterday's stop was further up the lake so the view was different. We had planned to eat at the Jenny Lake Lodge, but found out from the ranger it was a coat and tie restaurant. That won't work for these travelers! We drove by it anyway and found a deer grazing within 5 feet of the car. We could have reached out and touched it. It wasn't frightened by the car at all. It continued to eat and let us take many pictures.

We continued on and stopped at the Cathedral Overlook. The section of mountain peaks grouped together at this location is referred to as the Cathedrals. We also could see the Teton Fault line down the side of the mountains from this same site.

Still hungry, we drove to the nearby Signal Mountain Lodge. We saw a momma moose running frantically in the field, acting like she was looking for something. We don't know what she was looking for but she definitely acted upset. 

At Signal Mountain Lodge, we ate lunch overlooking the lake and the mountains. The food was delicious and the view was magnificent. We saw lots of boats on the lake.

After lunch, we drove up to the Signal Mountain Summit where we could look out over the valley. We had some great views of Snake River and the other side of Jackson Hole. There had been a bad wind storm hit the park prior to our arrival. We saw trees down throughout the park, looking like they had been snapped. On the drive up to the summit, we saw signs of clean up efforts. We also saw another deer in the woods. There was quite a storm brewing in the distance.

We stopped at the Jackson Lake Dam and Reservoir. We didn't stay long because it started to sprinkle and we could see the storm coming in.

As we continued on the east side of the scenic drive, we saw 3 pronghorns in the field where we had seen the coyote yesterday. They were quite the distance so photos had to be enlarged to identify whether they were deer or pronghorn. Then we saw the same herd of bison in the same area outside of Jackson. It was still thrilling to see these large creatures, grazing so peacefully, yet knowing they can attack in the blink of an eye.

National Historic Site #25 - National Elk Refuge
We went to the Visitor Center right outside Jackson to find out more about the National Elk Refuge. We learned that there weren't any elk there now because they only come from the hills during the winter when their food is scarce. We looked at the exhibit and shopped a little more.

In Jackson, we took a stagecoach ride around town. It was fun, but not very scenic. We felt bad for the horses because it was very hot and they weren't given water between the four tours we saw. Richard and Sharon had brought Teddy (their grandson, Chase's, teddybear) on their trip so they could take pictures with Teddy to send back to Chase. Teddy did take the stagecoach ride with us.

It was starting to get dark and we knew we needed dinner, but none of us were hungry yet. We decided to order pizza at Pinky G's Pizzeria and take it back to our room. 





As we got back to Teton Village, we realized we hadn't taken a few pictures of the Snake River Lodge. With leaving in the morning, it was our last chance before dark.

Finally, we ate around the dining room table, sharing our pizzas and salad. Yum! Then we relaxed by the fire as we unwound from the day. It had been another great day and lots of new experiences. Off to Yellowstone in the morning. What would we see there?