The rain has caused havoc with highway travel and we finally get to Jackson Hole after a major diversion due to a mud slide.
Jackson Hole is a western town indeed with a history of cowboys and gunslingers (Butch Cassidy passed through these parts). We stop in at the Wort Hotel for a bite to eat. The Wort family is well known as the family that started this town. Pa Wort arrived in the late 1890’s to homestead and in the 1900’s wanted to establish a town centre that included a restaurant, hotel, and community centre. While the hotel didn’t get finished in his lifetime, his sons completed it in the 1940’s. It was destroyed by fire and re-built. Dark wood lines the walls and the bar is solid wood as well. Pictures of stars from movies filmed in Jackson line the walls (the movie Shane was shot here).We dine in the hotel’s restaurant and order a Wort Blue Cheese Burger with Bacon, hand cut fries and signature coleslaw. It’s a big burger at 8 oz. and we decide to, share the meal (that was a good idea). This was a good choice – moist, thick burger, topped with blue cheese, thick cut bacon, tomato and lettuce. Jon wanted a burger and was not disappointed by the one we had here.
It’s time to leave and start our way through Teton National Park and then Yellowstone, stopping at Old Faithful, to see this well-known geyser. We arrive just before 7 and we’re in luck as the next eruption of the geyser is at 7:05 pm. We watch, wait and there she blows! Over 130 feet high and 204 F. The eruption lasts for about 5 minutes. Eruptions are approx. 93 minutes apart.
We walk over to the Old Faithful Lodge to check it out this historic building. These are original log structures built around WW1. I convince Jon that we should check out the overnight rates and we do. They are very reasonable and we take a budget cabin for $67 dollars, which overlooks a river, a ‘baby’ geyser and wildlife (bison). We walk back to the Old Faithful geyser viewing station and watch it erupt with the sun setting behind it. It is a beautiful sight. We then strolled to another lodge on the sight, called Old Faithful Inn. This was the first building on the property back in 1904. It is original log wood construction with four floors. We stop in for a night cap and enjoy our beverages from the mezzanine, overlooking the lobby and in the background live piano music. With stops like this one, it’s not hard to say that life is pretty darn good.
