| Page Views: 341 Last Visit to Jackson: October, 2007 | The tourist resort in the deep West by kokoryko - last update: Feb 3, 2008 |
Make the maximum with your short past Like in many other “new world” places, having a short recorded history, every wagon wheel, every piece of old wooden fence, 50 years old hats, any elk antler, bison horn, hand carved piece of wood etc. etc. , is a museum masterpiece, put here in the same display importance as a Greek statue in Syracuse (Sicilia), a Maya temple; the local house painter’s daubing is exhibited like Vermeer’s or Dürer’s masterpieces in Europe. . . . Well, exaggeration! Yes, I confess, but it was a cultural shock for me, and, although prepared, I had hard times to get my eyes used to what I saw in many places of this little town; but I like to change of scene, so I had what I wanted!
Jackson is located in Jackson Hole, where flows the Snake River, surrounded by mountains.
The name of Jackson Hole was given by trapper David Jackson who spent the 1829 winter on the shores of . . . . . . Jackson Lake. . (Are all the Indian names lost?).
Settlers established in Jackson Hole in the 1880’s and Jackson became head of Teton County created in 1921.
Today Jackson is a little city of 8500 inhabitants and there is a small “historical” centre located around a central square; wooden typical west houses, wooden sidewalks, galleries, neat bright painted houses, it has its charm. . . . and almost every building in the area is historical, marked with signs, there is a historical walk (follow the signs and arrows).
Tourism represents the major economic activity of Jackson, all year long, with skiing and other snow activities in winter and many outdoor activities the rest of the year.
3.850.000 tourists visited the very close nearby Grand Teton National Park, this figure giving an idea of the touristical business here ( National Parks Service statistics) and the Chamber of commerce website gives almost all information a visitor may need. |
| Jackson Lake and Teton Range |
|  | Very close to the mountains As it is located in a “hole” (1850 m elevation, however. . . ) it is surrounded by mountains. The Hoback Range, West and South, deeply cut by the Snake river Canyon to the West is a ski spot in the area, with the Snow King mountain dominating the city; East is the wild Gros Ventre range, whose name is one of an Indian tribe, given by early French explorers. North is the Teton Range, with the famous Grand Teton National Park, (Gros Ventre, Teton. . . the French trappers dreamed of feminine presence. . . ) a mountaineering area, with steep slopes cutting the skyline; but Grand Teton is renowned for its wildlife, and many areas are visited specially for watching the very rich various wildlife.
So, there is no surprise that there are many outdoors and winter sports shops in Jackson, besides western or winter fashion shops and “typical” bars and restaurants; I tried to find a bookstore and despite asking around several times, I could not find one. . . . . but I am sure there must be one. . . . |
| preparing the showroom in a gallery |
| | They like to call this. . . . art! There are a very big number of art galleries in Jackson, probably for enjoyment of the tourists on rainy days. . . . I stepped in one or two, and then stayed outside the others, just looking through the show window.
One speciality here is wildlife art, sculptures and paintings of animals (mooses, elks, bisons, a few birds. . ), and there is even a “wildlife art museum” 2 km outside the city on the road to Grand Teton. I just prefer to write it is not my taste, as the western and country art (except some music) are not my taste either. But there is a big, big lot here and I cannot keep silence about. I cannot imagine a would-be realistic two metres high elk in my living room, neither a fast riding bronze cowboy.
I spotted two galleries specialised in wildlife photography, and some frames looked very nice.
Ah, this looks negative, but it is not, it just expresses a bit my mood and feelings when I was there, and my personal judgement has not necessarily to be shared; my views of art and beauty are influenced by Old Europe and love of nature, so please, forgive my preremptory judgement (Who am I after all?).
My photographs are not works of art, my writings are not literature.
Be kind, I posted them here, and I would appreciate you inform me if you intend to display them elsewhere! Merci! |
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| Pros: | "Mountains and nice people" | | Cons: | "A bit too touristy to my taste" |
kokoryko's Jackson Travel Tips
 Comments for kokoryko about Jackson | | | | |
Ewingjr98 Wed Sep 3, 2008 06:08 UTC
Thanks for your tips and tourist trap warnings. I'll be passing through Jackson in a few months and your tips will surely help! | robertgaz Thu Nov 29, 2007 00:26 UTC
A wild Hermann way out west wooed by a working woman ;~) | Kuznetsov_Sergey Mon Nov 26, 2007 20:28 UTC
Welcome back to VT-world, Hermann! Glad to know that you could live without it (that proves it isn't a drug! Ha-Ha!). Excellent new start here - a very vivid page! Thanks for the virtual tour! Greetings from rainy and snowy Moscow, Sergey. | white_smallstar Sun Nov 25, 2007 23:00 UTC
WOW! I'm the first visitor here. Good work, as always! ** |
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