Happy Trails to you

Roy Rogers always signed off with the song Happy Trails to you, Until we meet again. That’s a western song, right? It’s my last full day in Jackson. Happy Trails to me. My Wyoming adventure is coming to a close. I stayed by the condo most of the day doing laundry and packing. I like to take things a little easy the day before a long plane trip. My flight had been changed from 10:30 am to 6:30 am so I’d be heading to the airport in the wee hours of the morning.

One Last Wildlife Search

As the afternoon rolled around I decided to drive up to Dornan’s. It seemed appropriate to finish where I started. I went to Dornan’s for lunch when I first arrived so I thought I’d do a little souvenir shopping there to wrap up the trip. They were having a big end of the season sale. Of course it was also a chance to take a last look around for wildlife. It was getting cold and there were occasional snow flurries when I headed out.

Mule Deer at Moose Junction

One animal that had been rather scarce were the mule deer. I’d only seen 2 my whole trip. There had been more bears than deer. On a whim I turned down Moose -Wilson Road when I arrived at Moose Junction. I’d no sooner made the turn than I spotted a deer right near the road. I drove past and pulled over. I got my camera and started to walk back to where I’d seen the doe. I really didn’t expect her to still be there but she was. She didn’t seem to be that afraid of me, wary maybe but she didn’t go running off. She even seemed interested in the sound of the shutter as I snapped some photos. She has two rambunctious youngsters with her that only showed themselves long enough to check me out then disappeared back into the brush.

It’s Cold Out There

I stayed there by the side of the road as long as I could before the cold wind got to me. Leaving the deer behind I checked the bog overlook- no moose and the shrub where the little bear had been but that was empty too. As I drove back to Dornan’s I noticed the deer had gone. At least I had one last wildlife encounter.

Where do I start with Wyoming?

Wyoming is such an amazing place! At least the Jackson Hole area. I don’t even know where to start. Maybe we should start at the beginning, when I landed in Jackson Hole. The Jackson Hole airport is small but beautifully appointed. There is western art everywhere. I collected my luggage at baggage claim and made a bee line for the rent- a- car desk. Since this trip is on a budget I had reserved an economy car instead of an SUV. I would have been an easy up-sell if the agent had tried. I wasn’t sure a little economy car was appropriate for the mountains. They gave me a Toyota and a GPS device.

First order of business- LUNCH!

Tepee

The car rental clerk told me if I wanted to have a nice but quick lunch to head to Moose. Its just 5 miles away. I had to take a left out of the airport and look for the tepee. I wasn’t sure what he meant by that but I figured I’d soon find out. The road I was on was well maintained and sure enough there was a sign for Moose. I didn’t think it had been 5 miles and I didn’t see a tepee so I drove on by. Big OOPS. A couple of miles more and I turned around and came back. That’s when I spotted the tepee. You have to actually turn in toward Moose. That’s when you see the sign for Dornan’s.

Restaurant, Groceries and Wine

I think Dornan’s is Moose. Maybe I exaggerate a little. The little group of shops that make up Dornan’s does have a restaurant. It also has a grocery store ( small), fuel pumps, a liquor and wine shop among other things. I availed myself of the restaurant. The main fare is Italian so I indulged in a hot meatball sub. Pretty tasty. Service was casual but nice. The restaurant is small but very busy. And the views are magnificent! If we didn’t have 70-75 mile an hour winds I’d have eaten outside on the deck.

Time to find the Resort

With a decent meal under my belt it was time to locate my resort. The rent-a-car clerk said many of the roads were closed so the GPS wouldn’t help. ( Funny, how he didn’t mind renting me one) I had directions and after he read them he said they should work so off I went. I’m kind of glad for the early flight now. I’ll have daylight to get lost in instead 0f the dark.