This Adventure Called Retirement

We departed La Grande OR under clear blue skies. About 25 minutes south we passed a sign on the road that stated “45th Parallel – halfway between the Equator and North Pole”. This is the first time I’ve seen a sign like this though I know I have crossed that parallel several times in my travels. I suppose the DOT ran out of other interesting points of interest and still had budget for signs.

La Grande is situated in a high mountain valley, surrounded by mountains on all four sides. The most impressive were of course the snow-capped rockies to the east – the direction we were headed. Although we could see them, they were still far off as we travelled through fertile valleys through Eastern Oregon and Idaho. Most of the foothills were devoid of trees.

Before reaching Idaho we shifted into Mountain time and lost one hour. The landscape became much drier except near the creeks and rivers.

For our picnic lunch we decided to check out a historical site called the Three Island Crossing State Park along the Snake River in Idaho. This is the site where Pioneer settlers in wagon trains on the Oregon trail were faced with a decision to either risk crossing the Snake River from the south bank to the north bank where there was plentiful water and grass for livestock or remain on the south side of the river with dry, dusty conditions and little grass. When the Snake River was low, the crossing was fairly easy. But if attempted when the river was swollen from rain a wagon could tip and wash away carrying the pioneers belongings and sometimes losing their life. From 1841 to 1848 about 300,000 settlers made the Three Island Crossing in oxen-pulled wagons.

The state park is on the north side of the river, but we found that there is an overlook on the south bank bluff that gives a great view of the Three Island Crossing. However, to reach the overlook we had to drive dirt roads very similar to the ones used by the settlers.

The visitor center in the tiny town of Glenns Ferry provided more history and had an actual prairie schooner wagon on site. In 1869 Gus Glenn established a ferry service two miles upstream which made the crossing much safer for travellers. The Town was named for Gus.

After lunch we pushed on toward the Rockies and Wyoming. The terrain shifted from cattle ranges to rugged foothills as we approached the Rockies. At Swan Valley we took Pine Creek Road across the Targhee National Forest to the town of Victor, then Route 22 through Teton Pass to Jackson WY. Both of these passes were filled with snow though the roads were clear and dry. Unfortunately the skies became cloudy raising concerns for our trip through the Grand Teton National Park tomorrow.

We reached Jackson in time for dinner and walked to the Blue Lion Restaurant just down from our Hotel. This was a fabulous selection. I ordered the Elk Tenderloin and Mary had the roasted duck.

Both of these selections were fabulous and our meal was accompanied by a live guitarist cowboy playing softly nearby. After we finished our meal, I tipped the cowboy and he immediately engaged us in conversation and stories (as cowboys are known to do). His name is Marco and he plays for tips almost every night at the Blue Lion. He essentially retired and decided he wanted to be a cowboy, so he taught himself to play guitar and moved to Jackson since he had family in Cody WY. He has met many celebrities in the Blue Lion and said one night he saw Reba McIntyre come in incognito. He began playing one of her songs and she loved it so much she got up and sang the song much to the surprise of the other patrons who had not recognized her. Marco insisted that Mary hold his guitar for the picture because that is what Reba did after she sang. If you go to the Blue Lion, tell Marco we said hello.