We arrived in the Jackson area early in the afternoon on Wednesday, August 7th. We got set up in the campground and drove the very congested and road construction five miles to check out the town. It was SO crowded! Finding a parking space in the historic section was a true test of patience. Oh, and it was 87ยบ and I don't do heat well or high elevation. This was going to be our ONE and ONLY excursion in Jackson. We explored the historic (4 blocks as my brother said) part of town by doing a geocaching Adventure Lab.
A wildlife sighting! We stopped as this deer walked from a lawn on one side of the street to the lawn on the other side.
I thought the stagecoach driver was going to ask me to pay for the photo I took! I did see she had some takers for a ride later in our walkabout.
The mandatory photo beneath the elk antler arch at one of the four corners of Jackson Square. The first arch appeared in the 1960s. The arches were so popular that three more were added, one at each corner. The original 4 arches have all been replaced.
Making an elk antler arch is a labor-intensive process. Workers weave antlers—each of which weighs from 5 to 10 pounds—together around the steel frame. Antlers go up one at a time. By the time an arch is done, it’s a mosaic of 10,000 to 12,000 pounds of antlers. Some of them are screwed down to add extra support and prevent vandalism.
About 1,000 to 2000 pounds of the antlers in each arch came from the Jackson Hole Boy Scouts, who pick them up on the National Elk Refuge each year. The rest were bought from antler dealers in the Mountain West. The new arches should be good until 2040 or so.
a colorful electrical box
I felt cooler just looking at it!
Statues of Beaver Dick Leigh, a famous mountain man, trapper and government guide, his Shoshone wife, Jenny Leigh and their child were sculpted by Georgia Bunn. Jenny Lake and Leigh Lake in Grand Teton National Park were named after Beaver Dick's wife.
She also sculpted the bronze statue titled Slim.
moose sighting!
The Jackson Hole Playhouse was originally a livery stable built in 1916. It is known to be the oldest building in Jackson. It became the Model T Ford dealership in 1920. It has also been a bowling alley, mercantile and local post office. In 1948 Vera Cheney brought a player piano from New York City to Jackson Hole and transformed the mercantile into a theater. The building has had some interesting name changes, too: Diamond Lil, Dirty Jack's, Pink Panther and finally Jackson Hole Playhouse.
The final stop on the Adventure Lab brought us to the Wort Hotel, which brought us to this location...
I was thirsty and tired and thirsty.
swinging doors between the bar side and restaurant side
some of the un-circulated 1921 Morgan silver dollars in the bar top
the bar's history
In 1917, Charles Wort bought four lots in downtown Jackson, Wyoming. For seven years, the land was used as a horse corral adjacent to a livery stable. (The Playhouse) From 1932 to 1940, the Wort family operated what is now Signal Mountain Lodge in Grand Teton National Park. Through the sale of this facility, the family financed construction of their dream; a luxury hotel in downtown Jackson, WY. Original construction costs were approximately $90,000, and the hotel officially opened in the late summer of 1941. Mr. Wort paid $25 for each of the four lots.
I had to take a photo!
perfect street name for a geocacher!
another wildlife sighting on the way to the campground
And now for the celebrity sighting...
The local gentleman sitting next to me at the bar at the Silver Dollar mentioned Calico, a very good Italian restaurant close to the campground. He shared it is family owned and is very popular with the locals. Italian sounded good to us, so we stopped on our way back to the campground for dinner. We were seated on the veranda and enjoying a cocktail when Hubby said, "I think that is Jimmy Kimmel." No, I said. The man, three other adults and 3 kids under the age of 10 walked by and were also seated on the veranda. Hubby kept looking over his shoulder and saying, "I'm sure that's Jimmy Kimmel!" And I kept saying NO. Our waiter confirmed it was indeed Jimmy Kimmel who was supposed to be seated in his section, but wasn't. He also told us he had a house in the area. So when Jimmy walked by to check on the kids playing on the side lawn, Hubby blurted out, "Jimmy!" who stopped turned around and said , "Hi!" Hubby reached out his hand to shake Jimmy's hand and spilled his red beer, which ran through the slotted wooden table onto my shoe and purse setting on the empty chair next to me. Jimmy apologized (we assured him it wasn't his fault!) and moved onto the kids. When he walked back to his table, he stopped again, and apologized and thanked Hubby for his service as Hubby was wearing his Desert Storm Veteran cap. The waiter cleaned up the beer spill, we ate our dinner and both said, we should have asked him if we could take a photo, because who would believe we saw and met Jimmy Kimmel! I admit I discouraged Hubby from bothering him again. After all, Jimmy was having dinner with his wife and two kids and friends. Leave them alone. But, after we all had eaten (and Hubby had a replacement beverage), Hubby did walk over to their table and asked if he would mind if we took a photo of the two of them. Jimmy was so gracious and walked back to our table where I took two photos! He shared how he was on vacation for the month of August. He had Jimmy Fallon as a fishing guest last week and Stephen Colbert was coming next week for some fishing. He said the three late night TV hosts were quite close friends. He then asked where we were from and said he had a very good friend in South Dakota. (We did not ask who it was!) We thanked him and each shook his hand and left the restaurant with our two boxes of leftovers. When we got to the camper, Hubby realized we had not paid our bill. He quickly drove the .2 miles to find the waiter and settle the bill, with a large tip. What a night!
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