May 22 -- Jackson Hole, Wyoming

Depending on where you were in Butte, you awoke to between 5 and 19 inches of snow. Fortunately, as you can tell from the first picture, which was taken from our motel room, we were closer to the 5 inches. The temperatures stayed around 34 degrees and the roads did not get snow covered. We drove south on I-15 to Idaho Falls and the snow ended at about the Idaho line. It gave us a beautiful Winter scene with snow covered pines.

From Idaho Falls we drove across state highways to Jackson Hole just south of the Tetons. The elevation at one point was over 8000+ feet and we had some snow, rain and sleet. With 10% grades, we went very slowly. When we arrived in Jackson Hole, we truly felt we had reached the West. What a unique town and all the buildings look like a huge movie set. At each corner of the city park are archways made of antlers collected by the boy scouts. We headed for the the Cowboy Bar with its "million dollar bar" to calm our nerves. (The million dollar bar title is self declared, but the bar does have hundreds of silver dollars embedded in it. Don't know if their value reaches a million or not.) The bar stools were saddles, so sitting at the bar was a challenge for us two city slickers but when it comes to having a drink we met the challenge. Jack had a beer, but Joann again had to try some local color so she had a "Buckle Shiner." Another drink for the Grand Dames to try. It consists of Jack Daniels, Southern Comfort, Triple Sec, sour mash and a splash of 7-Up. Not something for the faint of heart. We walked on board sidewalks around Jackson Hole enjoying the fabulous shops and marveling at the heights of the ski runs. Even though Butte had snow on Tuesday, Jackson Hole did not and the slopes were bare. It looks like skiers would come down the slopes right into the streets. We drove by the Grand Tetons, which were partially covered in clouds, but you can tell a little from the picture how majestic they are. We hope to have better shots today--weather cooperating. Wednesday will be more of the Grand Tetons and then Yellowstone Park with its Old Faithful.