By Patti Nickell, Tribune News Service
JACKSON, Wyoming — “Do waffles really taste different at 10,450 feet above sea level?”
I pondered that existential question as the aerial tram inched its way out of the station at the base of the Teton Village Ski Area for the 12-minute ascent to Corbet’s Cabin at the summit of Rendezvous Mountain in the Grand Teton Range.
The mountaintop cabin with its scattering of tables inside and on the outdoor deck is open from mid-May to mid-October, drawing locals and tourists alike who come for the four varieties of mouth-watering waffles.
Once inside – there’s usually a waffle line stretching across the mountaintop — I had a hard time deciding whether it would be the Gateway (peanut butter and bacon); Italian (strawberries and Nutella); Englishman (lemon glaze, powdered sugar and whipped cream), or the one I finally settled on – the Trad (for traditional, brown sugar and butter).
Wolfing it down and debating going back for seconds, I understood what all the fuss was about. And, yes, I can vouch for the fact that at this altitude waffles do taste different.
For the next couple of months, Jackson Hole will host skiers at the top of their game (60% of the trails are classified as expert slopes).
Winter may bring epic snowfalls and the skiers who follow them, but according to tourism officials, the most popular times to visit are summer and fall.
My own visit came during a glorious pine-scented, sun-dappled week in September, leading me to see why.
For starters, there’s the 310,000-acre Grand Teton National Park, a tapestry of verdant valleys, mountain meadows, alpine lakes and soaring peaks, dominated by Grand Teton, at 13,775 feet the highest mountain in the range.
On my tram ride, I got a good view of its craggy profile etched against a cornflower blue sky, and decided this part of the northwestern Wyoming landscape must have looked much the same to the early Shoshone tribes and fur trappers who populated it.
Today, the park offers recreational activities galore — from hiking, biking and backpacking on 250 miles of trails to a 14-mile float on the Snake River; from flyfishing and horseback riding to wildlife safaris that rival anything on the continent.
There is so much here that you may opt to save Yellowstone, connected to the Grand Teton National Park by the John D. Rockefeller Jr. Memorial Parkway, for another visit.
One place you won’t want to skip is the town of Jackson itself. Wyoming is known as the Cowboy State, and it’s clear why in this lovely town of just under 11,000 residents.
Sure, there are the ultra-rich whose cowboy hats sport diamond bands and whose custom-made boots would set most people back a month’s wages.
But there are the real cowboys too – those who are familiar with the back of a bucking bronc, and whose hats and boots show the wear and tear of their rigorous profession. Both kinds mingle at Jackson’s premier watering hole, the Million Dollar Cowboy Bar, on the town’s main square.
I moseyed in one afternoon, threw my leg over the saddle-shaped barstool, and listened as the barkeep told me the story behind the bullet hole lodged in the bar (just one, I thought).
As it turns out, even though the Million Dollar looks like it would have attracted every desperado in the West, the bullet hole resulted not from a gunslinging outlaw, but from a timid night watchman scared either by his own shadow or that of his equally timid pet poodle.
In more recent years, Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, Tanya Tucker and Clint Black have all made their way to the bar’s stage, with the sound of the spinning roulette wheels serving as background music.
The bar is also the site every October of “Cowgirls at the Cowboy,” the nation’s only all-female bluegrass and country music festival.
If you’re looking for a great photo op, look no further than the Town Square and its unique archway composed of hundreds of antlers shed by elks from the nearby National Elk Refuge.
Check out the National Museum of Wildlife, or, if you prefer to buy western art, stop at Gallery Wilde where 35 artists, most of them regional, display their work.
Should your visit coincide with Labor Day, stick around for the Fall Arts Festival which starts the day after and continues for two weeks.
Of course, you’ll need a place to stay, and there is none better than the Four Seasons Resort. Located in Teton Village, the property combines the Western aesthetic with the elegance that is a Four Seasons trademark.
As a committed foodie, I loved the multiple food and beverage options. For an elegant dinner, book a table by the window in WestBank Grill offering a panoramic view of Teton Village and Rendezvous Mountain. A large stone fireplace and open kitchen highlight the décor, and steaks are the specialty, although many guests opt for the sampling menu which at $60 for three courses is a bargain.
That same panoramic view can be seen from the massive bank of windows at The Handle Bar, the resort’s more casual dining option. I found myself returning to a table by the stone fireplace for the smoked Idaho trout dip and the Handlebar burger – always being careful to observe the bar rules, strictly enforced: “There’s nothing wrong with drinking before noon”; “If there is ever any confusion, the fuller beer is yours”; and my personal favorite, “Patrons must have fun … this is not the place for Buzz Killington or Debbie Downer.”
Another favorite spot was 80 Proof, a speakeasy whose manager Nick Gatz can best be described as a literary savant. Grab a cocktail and invite Nick over to discuss how his favorite fictional characters became inspiration for his favorite drinks. Try the tequila-based Pedro Romero, named for the fiery bullfighter of Hemingway’s “The Sun Also Rises,” or the Carraway in honor of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s narrator in “The Great Gatsby,” described as “bananas Foster in a glass.”
Likewise, don’t even think about passing up a chance to be pampered in the resort’s luxurious spa. I was tempted by locally inspired treatments such as the Alpine Glow Body Wrap and Wildcrafted Facial, but finally decided on the Sacred Earth Body Ritual (why settle for 60 or 90 minutes when you can have 110?) The ritual starts with a mineral-rich body exfoliation, follows with a geothermal mud mask and a detoxifying hair and scalp treatment, and concludes with an almond oil massage.
The highlight of my stay, however, was a half-day private sunset wildlife safari tour, which while admittedly pricey ($645 for up to two people, $85 for each additional person), is an adventure of a lifetime.
With my guide Seth Ames leading the way, I watched graceful kestrels pirouetting above me, a shy coyote camouflaged among the sagebrush, and pronghorn antelope and bull elk nonchalantly grazing.
One of the most thrilling moments of the four-hour tour had to be getting caught in a traffic jam caused by a herd of bison (there are more than 500 in Grand Teton National Park) who, knowing they were in control, seemed in no hurry to move things along.
I thought that would have been enough, but we weren’t through. Seth’s sharp eyes spotted a black bear surreptitiously making its way through a grove of trees in the hope of cooling off in a nearby lake.
The scene was magic, and enough to convince me that Jackson Hole, Wyoming, has to be the most beautiful spot in America.
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Source: Paradise Post