Fremont Lake
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Wed, 8/6/08

Hoback Jct. to Pinedale, WY: The drive to Pinedale was great. We drove along the Hoback River through a beautiful canyon—very rugged. They must have lots of road closures in the winter because of snow slides. The Hoback River is very pretty—as wide as the Snake but pretty shallow. (It’s called Hoback Jct. because that’s where the Hoback flows into the Snake.) Would be great canoeing. The canyon widened and eventually opened up into a vast, arid landscape of low hills and buttes full of sagebrush. Pinedale is at 7700+ with a population of 1400 people. Cute little town. We’re staying at a national forest campground on Fremont Lake—four miles out of town. We turned north out of Pinedale and the barely paved road took us through hills covered with sagebrush and lots of boulders and rocks—left there by a glacier eons ago. Freemont Lake is a glacial lake 600 feet deep. When we got close to the campground we went through a lush forest of pines and aspens. Very pretty. Nice campground with great sites. We went to the Mountain Man Museum after we got set up. Very interesting place. I bought two books—one on Jim Bridger and one on Joe Meeks. The things they endured. After the museum we went into town for dinner and then drove around a little. This area was very popular for the annual rendezvous where the mountain men and Indians got together and traded and raised hell. The Green River valley was perfect for this event since it had plenty of water and lots of grazing for their animals. We drove down there. It’s really lush and pretty. Then we drove up to half moon lake—another glacial lake not quite as big as Fremont. Started raining which is good for the forest fires in the area. You can see the smoke from several of them.

Jenny Lake Lodge, Grand Teton National Park

This is a neat little lodge which boasts a five-star restaurant. However, you are required to dress for dinner. Needless to say, we never had dinner here. Who wants to dress up after hiking, or fishing or boating all day?

Hoback Junction, WY: I woke up feeling great. Mike kinda wants to stay here another day, so we’ll extend. The drive down to Pinedale is only about 50 miles, so we can be down there and set up before noon and still see the mountain man museum. We’ll be staying at a national forest campground for the one night. So, today we’ll head into Jackson (aka Jackson Hole) and do some grocery shopping. Maybe we’ll walk around Jackson a little if it’s not packed with people. Jackson is a pretty little town. They have really rigid building codes because all the buildings have a very rustic look. And all the signage is in wood. Very upscale. But really really touristy.

While we were in Yellowstone, we were driving over to Canyon and saw a couple of guys on bikes—one of whom had a “kiddie” carrier which contained a dog. Wow! I thought. He’s biking with a dog. Anyway, while in Canyon getting something to eat we spotted them having lunch outside at a picnic table. We went over and chatted with him for a while. His name is Alan Sylvester and his dog is Chiva. Chiva is a rescue dog—part husky and part shepherd. He’s biking from Seattle to Maine. He’s logged 3400 miles so far. His blog is amazing. Check it out at www.bikingdog.blogspot.com. A really nice guy. He’s biking for donations to animal shelters.

Cute Little Shop in Jackson Hole

Hoback Junction, WY: Spent most of the morning on the computer. Accomplished a lot. I have a cold and feel like my whole head is under water. First cold I’ve had in years. Another beautiful, warm day. Sat out in the sun for a while until the wind kicked up. It’s been really dry here and the dust blows around when it’s windy. So, we closed up and turned on the AC. Supposed to leave here tomorrow and head south to a national forest campground. There’s a mountain main museum there we want to check out. Bike week at Sturgis is coming up and there's a lot more bikers on the road. Rib eyes and sweet corn for dinner tonight.