Roughing It Gently - Our Travel Adventures in our 2015 Discovery 40E: September 7, 2019 - Return to Dubois WY & Foliage Color Changes since last post

We had already been to Dubois, WY (covered in a past post) between August 28^th and September 5^th, in 2017, while we stayed at the Longhorn Ranch Lodge & RV Resort, 3 miles on the southeast side of Dubois. While there as well as exploring the area around it (primarily GTNP) and having breakfast at the very popular Cowboy Café in town, shopping at Welty’s General Store, exploring a cave which served as their ‘refrigerator’ in the early years, and visiting the Tie Hack Memorial, we found some plastic (polycarbonate) brandy snifter glasses (great for our Grand Marnier in an RV setting) that unscrew the base from the cup to be able to be stacked. They have been so well used that we decided to get 2-4 more, so we can leave 2 in our winter home base in Benson AZ, have 2 with us in the RV an leave 2 in our new summer home base in Star Valley Ranch, so we will always have 4 at either location, to share with friends, and keep 2 in the RV for while we are traveling. So we found them (same brand) on Amazon, but they said they only had 3 left, so we ordered all 3. However, when shipped only 1 was sent, leaving 2 on back-order, to be delivered long after we had already left, so we cancelled the rest of the order. Now we had only 3 in hand. So, since we figured that Welty’s stocked them, and since Bill was looking for a sheepskin or ‘faux’ Sherpa-lined winter jacket, we said “Let’s go back to Dubois, as the ride there was so nice and we need to also check out the changes on the foliage color changes, as well as buy 3 more glasses and check out if they have a jacket like Bill is looking for. So we did. Friday it had rained all day. Saturday was supposed to be really nice (sunny and 70s) and Sunday was supposed to rain AGAIN. So we opted to go on Saturday.

A nice (modern) barn we both liked. Last week there were several horses nicely posed in that right corral, but we missed the photo op. Today they were not posing.

At Rangers' homes in the National Elk Refuge.

Beautiful view of the Tetons with low-hanging clouds.

Wells Fargo Bank ready for a brand new roof. in Jackson

This area is so beautiful. Every route out of Star Valley is a

Scenic Byway due to its natural beauty in every direction.

At the entrance to Grand Teton National Park (GTNP).

The Tetons can be seen from miles out, from long before one enters GTNP. As impressive as it is, Mt. Moran is only 12,605 feet tall and not even among the top 10 highest peaks. Grand Teton is 13,770 feet tall, in the Teton Range, and second highest only to Gannett Peak (in the Wind River Range) which is 13,804 feet tall and the highest peak in State of Wyoming, which is where the Rocky Mountains meet the Great Plains. Third to tenth highest peaks are:

- 3rd highest is Fremont Peak, 13,745 feet, N Wind River Range (Prominence feet)

- 4th highest is Mount Warren, 13,722 feet, N Wind River Range (Prominence feet)

- 5th highest is Mount Helen, 13,620 feet, N Wind River Range (Prominence feet)

- 6th highest is Turret Peak, 13,600 feet, N Wind River Range (Prominence 600 feet)

- 7th highest is Doublet Peak, 13,600 feet, N Wind River Range (Prominence 200 feet )

- 8th highest is Mount Sacajawea, 13,569 feet, N Wind River Range (Prominence 409 feet)

- 9th highest is Jackson Peak, 13,517 feet, N Wind River Range (Prominence 717 feet), and

-10th highest is Mount Woodrow Wilson, 13,502 ft, N Wind River Range (Prominence 502 ft)
What does that telll you about the Northern Wind River Range?

The foliage colors are steadily changing and the landscape is getting more picturesque, though perhaps we won't be able to hang around here untill they get to full transformation, this is how the aspens will eventually paint the landscape (by about mid-October).

On our way into Dubois, we also stopped at the Tie Hack Memorial, which we had already stopped at in 2017, but this time we took Roxy up there with us and told her all about it. She didn’t seem too interested, but enjoyed being out of the truck and being out with her ‘peeps’ enjoying the scenery. She also helped us to look for moose in the marshland below but she didn’t see any either.

The text below tells what the Tie Hack Memorial is about and why it is important to credit the memory of the men it honors .

Mud above and in the lower portion of the photo below, shows BIG tracks. Maybe moose,

but they are nowhere in sight at this time (probably from the early morning).

Roxy enjoying the scenery and not being held by the leash. She never wanders too far from us anyhow, and if she starts to, just calling her by name and saying "Come!", brings her right back.She's such a good girl.

The Tie Hack Memorial, is located 12 miles northwest of Dubois on U.S. Highway 26/287, along the Wyoming Centennial Byway. It honors the hard-working men (and their families) who cut railroad ties out of Wyoming forests and floated them down flumes and rivers for the Wyoming Tie and Timber Company, under contract with the Chicago and North Western Railroad. Thanks to their sweat and perseverance under the harshest of conditions (whether in summer heat or winter freezing conditions, their efforts and work contributed to the building of the first transcontinental railroad linking our country from one coast to the other. Ties were made from trees, hacked and cut by hand (whereby the term ‘tie-hack’ comes from. They were a special breed of men, loggers which could quickly ‘fell’ and ‘limb’ a tree, and cut/shape the ties to the specifications demanded. A horse and wagon hauled the ties to specific spots where the ties would be stacked. Often the cutting was done during the winter because it was easier to strip off the bark and drag the ties on the snow. Tie hacks were paid $0.12 per tie in 1913, which grew to $0.30 per tie in the 1930s. By WWII their salary had increased to almost $0.50 per tie. An efficient tie hack could effectively cut 50 ties a day, thus earned about $25.00/day.

In the early days however, ties were delivered to the railroad by floating them down the Wind River on the annual ‘Long Walk to Riverton’, which would take place just after the Wind River peaked in the spring runoff so the ties would move swiftly downstream, though it was a very dangerous and difficult ordeal. Wooden water channels (which are still seen in the area) called ‘flumes’ were built to carry logs down steep canyon sides to await downriver transport.

Ties were then released into the river current along with a ‘driver’ who poled the ties down the river, while riding on top of a log. Poor balance and timing as well as high water often resulted in injuries, drownings and an entire season of timber cutting lost. Tie ‘drivers’ and tie ‘hacks’ eventually disappeared from the work force, being replaced by gas and power mills, sawyers, cutters and skidders that pulled the logs to a mill. Railroads then eventually closed too, and were all but erased from their utility as the trucking industry flourished with gasoline being economical. With no market for further development of new railroads, and therefore no further need for railroad ties, the business and work of the tie hack died.

Arriving in Dubois, and going to Welty’s General Store, we had a horrifying thought... OMG!! What is they are closed after having driven these 278 miles, round-tip from Star Valley Ranch to Dubois... and back. We should have called first to assure that they 1) were open, 2) still had those glasses available and 3) had coats like Bill was looking for. Pulling up in front of Welty’s we were relieved to see the OPEN sign. However, upon entering and asking about the glasses, they also (like Amazon) only had 1 left. Wow! They must be very popular with RV’ers as only RV’ers and perhaps Campers would have a need for plastic brandy snifters. But we were thankful for at least having found 1 more. These were $8.95 ($1.00 more than on Amazon) but we are always glad to contribute to the local economy, as most of these businesses are only open for 5-6 months of the year, due to their very harsh winters. So, now we have 4 glasses in hand. We’ll leave 2 here in WY and 2 to carry with us in the RV, and maybe we’ll be able to find 2 more elsewhere in AZ. We found a sheepskin (not faux) jacket like Bill was looking for, but it had a price tag of $150.00, too rich for Bill’s frugal nature. Besides it was the wrong size, so he was able to pass on it easily. Mary found another one (but Wrangler Denim and with buttons) for $91.00, but Bill didn’t like it and passed on it too. However, we both purchased some 100% American (NC) extra-thick Merino wool “Farm to Feet” (79% US Merino Wool, 20% US Nylon and 1% US Spandex), for winter-hiking, guaranteed for life (like Tervis) with a free replacement or refund, if buyer is not completely satisfied with them, . According to the sales lady, that company even raises their own sheep/wool (www.farmtofeet.com). Not only the socks are completely US sourced materials and production, but also the paper and inks in their packaging are also completely US products. Of interest with these socks is that the company highlights an employee’s profile into each sock’s hang-tag. 100% US sourcing and manufacturing goes a long way toward getting our business. Like the glasses Bill’s socks normally sell for $26.00 from the manufacturer and $27.95 at Welty’s and Mary’s were $21.00 from manufacturer and $25.95 at Welty’s, but we won’t begrudge them a little markup and we’re glad to contribute to the local economy and especially to small business owners.

It was originally located in a log cabin on the outskirts of Dubois owned by Frank A. Welty in 1889. Later it was moved to the main street location where it is still in business today.

There was an interesting sight across the street from the General Store (photo above and below). It appeared for all the world to be the entrance to a mine, right on the main street of Dubois. However, while we were in Welty's in 2017 we inquired about it and were told that it was Welty's original "refrigerator!" Back in the day, as they say, goods that needed to be kept cool in order to stay fresher, were placed in caves designed for this purpose. This would be a fancier, commercial version of the "cave or root cellar" at the pioneer homestead we visited in the Badlands.

On the way out of town we filled up at this Sinclair gas station. It was the least expensive gas within 100+ miles, by at least $0.05. Thanks Gas Buddy.

On the way back it was 2:00pm (Roxy's lunchtime) and she made sure that we were aware of it, so we pulled off at this nice area that had a stream running through it and local fishermen were fishing. We fed Roxy and had lunch ourselves then went for a walk by the stream. As usual there was a family there and everybody complimented us on what a beautiful girl she is. Mary says that it's a good thing Roxy doesn't understand what they are saying or she would get a big head. Bill says she doesn't need to understand what they say. She already knows she's a beautiful girl, because we tell her so EVERY DAY

On the way back home, we took a small detour, stopping by the last place we had seen a herd of elk in 2017. We didn’t see any this time. All the trails were closed though, due to bear sightings in the area; however from our vantage point looking down at a large open field, no bears were seen either. In the end it all comes down to timing… if you happen to be there when a critter is there as well. So, maybe next time. Usually early in the mornings (dawn) or in the late evenings (dusk) are the best times to spot anything in the wild. In between, it’s all just a matter of ‘luck’.

On the way back, driving through Jackson, we noticed that the town center was full of large white tents and porta-potties, but figured that they must be having an arts show or farmer's market. Iittle did we realize until much later the true purpose of those tents and porta-potties, which we kept seeing as we left Jackson and all the way down to Star Valley. Then we started seeing all these bicycles pedaling North and East along US Hwy 191, and then on US Hwy 89, with Sherriff's Depputies directing traffic along major intersections, apparently for that Bicycle Race that the signs had warned about during our morning travel. There were hundreds of them. We wondered where they were coming from as they just kept showing up all along our route back home. At first we figured maybe they are coming from Alpine, which was where we first noticed the ‘Bike Race’ signs in the morning, but as we made the turn south at Alpine, we notice that the racers were still coming north on US-89 from possibly Thayne. So we decided to look up the Race details online (once we found signal at Alpine). Oh WOW! The details of this race needs a special post all to itself, so it shall be covered in the NEXT POST (#95) of the same date, following this one. You won’t believe the scope and magnitude of this race, so take a look at the following post… September 7, 2019 – The LoToJa Classic Bike Race 2019, which runs yearly right through our area.