Guess what Flat Stanley was for Halloween? A pumpkin! After trick or treating around the Town Square and then cottonwood park everybody was exhausted!
In this photo we have: Grant (scary guy), Hannah (Nancy Drew), Millie (Elphaba, the green girl who becomes the Wicked Witch of the West), Anna(I have no idea!!), Annabel (Pippi Longstocking),Flat Stanley (pumpkin), Lily (Hannah Montana) and Halli (Geisha Girl), what a crew!! What a day!!
We are trying to come up with some funny headlines for today's post. "Flat Stanley has a run-in with the law" -- Annabel says that isn't so funny! Rody said, how about: "Flat Stanley meets Trooper Carter" -- I said "That is boring!" So, I'll stick with Snow, Teton Pass and the Wyoming Highway Patrol!
We stopped at the "Top of the Pass" on the way to Idaho Falls. We had a big snow storm the day before so there was quite a bit of snow on the top. Officer Carter was in the parking lot at the top making sure people were safely driving in the snow. He knew all about theFlat Stanley project and was happy to take a break and have his photo taken!
Teton Pass is actually Highway 22. This road runs between Jackson Hole, Wyoming and Victor, Idaho. The "Top of the Pass" (meaning the road itself, the mountains around the road are even higher!) is at 8431 feet. When winter comes, the pass can be an interesting place to drive! It is very steep up to the top and very steep down to the bottom. The Wyoming Highway Department actually discharges bombs in the mountains to "control" the snow. That means they take bombs, blast them on the slopes next to the road. If the snow is unstable then it will avalanche down the slope and across the road. The snow plows will come clean it up and people can drive safely through. This is much better than having the avalanche happen when the cars are on the road.
Look at those snow banks, pretty big for October! You should see them in February!!
This is a famous sign that all visitors see coming into Jackson Hole from the Idaho side.
Flat Stanley had to get a good view of the cowboy! Rody didn't have his snow boots on.... RUN!!
I found a good article in the Pinedale newspaper that shows what Teton Pass looks like after an avalanche. pinedaleonline.com
This is what my iMAC looked like before the tech guy came to fix it. Actually, I took this image off the Apple website. I like the picture of the space ship (is it the Starship Enterprise?)!!
Flat Stanley got the opportunity to work on an iMAC!! Crazy huh! How many of you have ever seen the inside of a computer? Well, the iMAC is a unique computer. See all that "stuff" below the monitor? That is just about everything that makes a computer run. We just bought this computer last month and ALREADY something was wrong with it. If I lived in a big city, I could drive it down to the nearest Apple store. Well, I don't live in a big city, so a person certified to work on Apple computers had to drive to Jackson Hole. This man was gracious enough to let Flat Stanley help out!
I thought I'd throw in a picture of an "old" computer from the the late 1950's. Pretty funny looking eh? Oh and did you know that the first "real" computer was invented in the late 1800's? Did you know that the "father" of the computer is Charles Babbage? He invented a calculating machine in 1823. Ada Lovelace was the first computer programmer. How about that!?
When October rolls around, you try to fit in those last hikes of the season. You never know when the next big snow storm hits, and the snow doesn't melt! With that in mind, we decided to head to Taggart lake and Bradley lake. It is a really fun place to go in Grand Teton National Park.
The hike to Taggart lake is 1.6 miles. We stopped, had a quick snack and headed on to Bradley Lake which is another 1.6 miles. We stopped here for another quick snack before we headed back to the car. From Bradley lake back to the car is 2.4 miles. How far have we walked in total?
We were all ready for a good nights sleep that evening. We saw chipmunks and ground squirrels but no big animals. We saw some animal signs though.. elk poop and moose tracks in the snow!
Once again, Flat Stanley gets a ride, when will he ever walk on his own?
We thought this one was kind of funny, since the horses are eating right behind us!
Flat Stanley got stuck in a rock. I'd say he is in a bit of a pickle!
On the way into town (or out of town whichever direction you happen to be driving) there is a great place to stop that will teach you about the wildlife of Jackson Hole. It is more than just a visitor center. You get your firewood, fishing and hunting licenses as well as a a close up view of some animals you may see in Jackson or the surrounding area. We dropped by after our hike up Snow King. Can you see that L.A. Flat Stanley met Michigan Flat Stanley again!? Crazy. Can you pick out the Coyote, Elk, Trumpeter Swan and Bear?
This coyote is hopping on a small mouse and these guys are sure in the way! L.A. Flat Stanley and Michigan Flat Stanley wanted a close up view of the mouse, what they got was a close up view of the coyote!
Isn't this trumpeter swan beautiful? They are really HUGE birds. Here is some information from the Wyoming Wetlands Society website about trumpeter swans:
The elegant, snowy white Trumpeter Swan is the subject of intense study and concern. Largest of all North American waterfowl, the birds weigh between 20 and 30 pounds, with a wingspan of up to eight feet. Remaining near open water to feed on aquatic plants, trumpeters consume as much as 20 pounds of wet vegetation each day.
The only time this bear would be so dangerous is if she was protecting her babies. You guys better watch out! Does the ranger know you climbed over the display to get a closer look?
Do you think L.A. Flat Stanley and Michigan Flat Stanley are looking at a black bear or a grizzly bear?
No visit is complete without a trip up Snow King. This is the "town hill". How many places have a ski area right downtown? (maybe a few..) Lots and lots of people hike Snow King. Besides the beautiful views you get a great workout. The first picture was taken from Google Earth. I thought the birds eye view was pretty cool. The other picture was taken last spring while the snow was melting.
You can also see Flat Stanley after a strenuous hike (well not for him, he rode in the backpack, what can I say). The town of Jackson is off in the distance. The mountains in the background are the Tetons. The snow has fallen since the beginning of October.
Yeah, we made it! The chairlift runs in the summer and winter. Today is "off season" so the lifts are closed. Off season around Jackson means that all the tourists have gone home and the town is quiet again. This gave us a good opportunity to take a break before we went back down.
More adventures are in store for Flat Stanley today, but you will have to wait to see what they will be!
Flat Stanley is hiding in the pumpkins trying to take a nap! Caught you!!
He helped unload over 10,000 pounds of pumpkins. The 32nd annual Rendezvous PTA pumpkin sale took place yesterday on the Town Square (yes that place again!!).
After 1 week of rain, we kept our fingers crossed and had an amazingly sunny day. The place was packed and all the pumpkins sold out!
Flat Stanley was so helpful. He worked with Mrs. Edington (the music teacher) and Mrs. Roehrkasse (the principal) unloading pumpkins off the truck.
The only thing Flat Stanley couldn't do was convince Annabel to share her candy apple. He was VERY SAD!!
Today we are off on a couple of very exciting adventures.. we will keep you posted!!
What are the chances of having a chance encounter with ANOTHER Flat Stanley? Vincent Hughes, of the Gladstone Elementary School in Gladstone, MI sent his aunt Shari Flat Stanley. Shari and I met for dinner at the Rendezvous Bistro. We each brought Flat Stanley as our dates!
The waiter brought some water, the boys had a look at the menu and ordered some dinner! Flat Stanley from Michigan had a Bistro burger. Flat Stanley from California had pasta noodles with butter.
YUM!
Dinner was so much fun!
P.S. Flat Stanley had an excellent adventure in Thermopolis. Annabel will be writing a bit about the trip and sharing some photos soon.
Well, the photos are in! What a great adventure Annabel and Flat Stanley had. As I mentioned, they accompanied Mari and crew on a long weekend adventure!
How much fun is it when you read a sign that says "Please Touch!"
This is a Mega Mouth. I can't read the fine print so I'm only guessing that this means "BIG MOUTH"!!
This is a pretty small critter. I can't even imagine what this was like so many millions of years ago! I may have this wrong, I need to do more research but I think this dinosaur pictured is a one of a kind find in the WORLD.
The crew hit the last day of a wax museum.. I guess the didn't have very many visitors. I wonder where all these wax statues will go?
Well, Flat Stanley may be on his way to Thermopolis Wyoming. You may ask, where is Thermopolis Wyoming? This is a very good questions! Thermopolis is 210 miles from Jackson. The drive takes 5 hours. It is very beautiful, traveling over a mountain pass (Togwotee), through ranch country, through an Indian Reservation (the Wind River) and onto Thermopolis.
Annabel was invited to go with her friend Marika because we have no school on Monday.
This town is famous for its hot springs and petroglyphs! Yes.. can you imagine being able to see rock art created long before we were born!
We thought Flat Stanley would love accompanying Annabel and Mari on their trip. Did I mention that there is a dinosaur museum too?
Last night, Flat Stanley read a book with us and went to bed early.. Annabel has picked Pippi in the South Seas as her school reading book. Can you believe this book was written in 1948 and kids are still reading it today? I think it is because Pippi is such a funny character.
We brought Flat Stanley down to the Town Square. This is a very famous part of Jackson Hole. Almost everybody drives through the Town Square at least once! People from all over the world talk about the Town Square in Jackson Hole. There are 4 things on the Town Square that make it very famous. Millions (yes millions) of people have their photos taken with these "things". Flat Stanley got very close to investigate what they are made out of.
Does this photo give you a clue?
More Clues:
They are part of a large animal found around the Jackson area
They fall off every Spring, and grow back bigger each year
Only male animals have these
They are on the head!
Have you guessed yet?
This is a picture of an Elk Antler Arch... It is huge and there are hundreds of elk antlers that make up this arch.
There is one arch on each corner of the square. That is a whole lot of elk antlers!!
Elk are a big part of Jackson Hole. Most of these antlers were collected on the National Elk Refuge. This is located just outside of town.
Even though it is October, you can see it is pretty cold! We bundled up for our walk and I can say we were glad that Flat Stanley was wearing a hat!
We are so excited to have Flat Stanley visit Jackson Hole! It is so much fun to give people a tour of our beautiful valley. I am not sure Flat Stanley was quite prepared for the weather though! When I arrived at the post office to "meet him" the sky was white with SNOW! (and the ground, and the trees, and the mountains...)
This will only add to the adventure! We will all meet this evening and make a plan. We have a few things already lined up, but you will have to wait to find out what they may be!!
I don't think Flat Stanley knew what Jackson Hole was like, or where it even is. I can explain that Jackson is in the Northwest corner of Wyoming. We are right near the Idaho border. We are a few miles from Grand Teton National Park and about 60 miles from Yellowstone National Park.
Millions (yes millions) of people come through Jackson Hole each year. Flat Stanley should have a great time experiencing this area.
This is what my iMAC looked like before the tech guy came to fix it. Actually, I took this image off the Apple website. I like the picture of the space ship (is it the Starship Enterprise?)!!
On the way into town (or out of town whichever direction you happen to be driving) there is a great place to stop that will teach you about the wildlife of Jackson Hole. It is more than just a visitor center. You get your firewood, fishing and hunting licenses as well as a a close up view of some animals you may see in Jackson or the surrounding area. We dropped by after our hike up Snow King. Can you see that L.A. Flat Stanley met Michigan Flat Stanley again!? Crazy. Can you pick out the Coyote, Elk, Trumpeter Swan and Bear?
Yeah, we made it! The chairlift runs in the summer and winter. Today is "off season" so the lifts are closed. Off season around Jackson means that all the tourists have gone home and the town is quiet again. This gave us a good opportunity to take a break before we went back down.
After 1 week of rain, we kept our fingers crossed and had an amazingly sunny day. The place was packed and all the pumpkins sold out!
The crew hit the last day of a wax museum.. I guess the didn't have very many visitors. I wonder where all these wax statues will go?
