It is late spring 1976 and we are traveling west. We just arrived in Jackson Hole, Wyoming as we exited Yellowstone Park. I had never heard of Jackson Hole and it was a surprise. The whole community was fashioned after an "old west" motif. It had quaint western shops that specialized in boots, cowboy hats and general western memorabilia. It had wooden sidewalks. Your mom remembers Debs purchasing a horseshoe and probably some of the other kids too. I think we ate at a western restaurant with long tables and a buffet menu. It catered to "all you could eat" for the hearty appetites after a long day of travel.
Since becoming visiting Jackson Hole in 1976, I have become aware that it is a very desirable destination of the rich and famous. It is nestled at the base of many good ski hills and in the winter, it is the choice many accomplished skiers. The surrounding beauty is stunning and there are many, many muti-million dollar homes and ranches. A famous financier that started Brandywine Mutual Funds moved his personal office to Jackson Hole and does all his business from computers and phones. Then he goes skiing. As Paul Harvey would say, it is not one world.
Having absorbed the charm of Jackson Hole, it was time to move on. Next stop Salt Lake City, Utah. On the way to Salt Lake, we noticed that we were getting a leak of oil from the differencial in the back of the car. It turns out we had too much weight in the back with luggage, kids, and miscellaneous. So in Salt Lake we ended up spending a morning as they installed new heavy duty springs to keep the car from bottoming onto the differential and straining it.
We spent an afternoon tourning the Morman complex which houses the Morman Tabernacle. In order to tour the facility, you must agree to have all your kids turn Morman. No, just kidding. You did have to listen to a 30-45 minute presentation of Morman history followed by a question and answer period. Then you got the tour. It is an interesting tour and the Tabernacle is spectacular. I don't remember if there was a store to purchase souvenirs or not. Salt Lake is pretty location at a high elevation with lots of hills and trees.
When we left Salt Lake City, I knew if would be a day of travel to get to San Fancisco. We had to endure the Bonneville Salt Flats which was hot, dry and white. It was on this long day of travel that a semi-truck driver was chatting to us on our CB radio and asking what our location was based upon mileage markers along the road. It turns out that the trucker was right behind our car and I remember Paul sitting in the back of the station wagon and waving to the trucker are we talked. It can get pretty exiting when you can realize that the radio connects you to real people and real events and they wave to you.
So we rolled through Reno, Nevada without stopping, Sacramento to eat and blew into San Francisco, California at around 3:30 PM on a Friday afternoon. The good thing was that heavy traffic was coming out of the city and we were going it. Our motel was in downtown San Francisco, just blocks from Fisherman's Wharf and the Trolley Car system.
It took one week of "pushing" and having to limit time at some pretty nice locations, but we were in California. Yee-Haa. The next week would be spent in California.
Next time? The San Francisco treat!
Love,
Dad