Skip to main content

2016 Summer Mountain Trip Part 16; Grand Teton National Park and the nebulous disconnect in the US Routes

By
After leaving Yellowstone National Park I entered Grand Teton National Park on John D. Rockerfeller Memorial Parkway which follows the Snake River along to the east shore of Jackson Lake.


This blog serves as the 16th entry in the 2016 Summer Mountain Trip Series; Part 15 can be found here:

2016 Summer Mountain Trip Part 15; Yellowstone National Park and the Grand Loop Road

Grand Teton National Park consists of a large swath of area protecting much of the Teton Range in northwestern Wyoming.  The Teton Range is a 40 mile north/south sub-range of the Rocky Mountains.  Amusingly the word "teton" is French for "nipple" which early explorers thought the high peaks resembled.  The Tetons are known for steep peaks ascending over Jackson Hole with the tallest being Grand Teton at 13,775 feet above sea level.

Early conservation efforts after the establishment of Yellowstone National Park sought to include the Teton Range within the southern park boundary if not Jackson Hole itself.  By 1907 a log dam was built along the Snake River in Jackson Hole which created Jackson Lake.  The first Jackson Lake Dam failed in 1910 but was soon replaced by the modern structure which first opened in 1911 but was expanded to it's current height of 65 feet by 1916.  The development of Jackson Lake was enough to spur the superintendent of Yellowstone National Park to push for congressional approval of a new National Park protecting the Teton Range and six lakes at the base of the range.  Legislation was passed by Congress in 1929 which created Grand Teton National Park.

Much of the land within Jackson Hole on the eastern flank of the Teton Range remained in the private control of John D. Rockerfeller (mostly known as the tycoon of Standard Oil fame).  Rockerfeller wanted to purchase as much land as possible in Jackson Hole to donate to the National Park Service.  However there as a strong push by Congress, local groups in Wyoming, and even the National Park Service against expanding Grand Teton National Park.  The land set aside by Rockerfeller in Jackson Hole was ultimately acquired by the Federal Government when via the Antiquities Act in 1943 which created Jackson Hole National Monument.  Jackson Hole National Monument was mostly added to Grand Teton National Park in 1950 while the southern extent became the National Elk Refuge.  In 1970 an additional 24,000 acres of land east of Jackson Lake was added to Grand Teton National Park.  By 1972 the road between Yellowstone National Park and Grand Teton National Park was renamed "John D. Rockerfeller Memorial Parkway."

Previous to the 1970 expansion of Grand Teton National Park the US Routes in the area went all the way to the South Entrance of Yellowstone National Park.  The original alignment of the US Routes through Grand Teton was on Teton Park Road until 1957 when it was shifted to the modern highway to the east of the Snake River to Moran Junction.  Sorting out what US Routes used to traverse to the South Entrance of Yellowstone has changed greatly over the years, fortunately it is fully detailed on USends.com.

USends.com; US Highway endpoints at Moran Junction and Yellowstone's South Entrance

These 1951 and 1956 maps detail the US Routes that were present in Grand Teton National Park on Teton Park Road.  Both maps show; US 89, US 187, and US 26 on Teton Park Road.

1951 Wyoming Highway Map

1956 Wyoming Highway Map

Rather than continuing on John D. Rockerfeller Memorial Parkway to Moran Junction I turned on Teton Park Road.  Presently all the US Routes (US 89, 191, and 287) resume at the end of John D. Rockerfeller Memorial Parkway at Moran Junction which can be viewed here:

Moran Junction US Route Guide Sign

Teton Park Road quickly ascends above the Snake River on Jackson Lake Dam.


The view of the Teton Range is pretty worthwhile from the top of Jackson Lake Dam.  Aside from the massive sound of water coursing through Jackson Lake Dam it is hard to picture Jackson Lake as a reservoir.


Much of the remainder of my day was spent walking through the fields along Teton Park Road looking easterly towards the Tetons.  The relaxed pace of Grand Teton National Park is a nice contrast compared to the busy swath of tourism compared to Yellowstone to the north. 




After reaching the south end of Teton Park Road I turned south on US 26/89/191 and headed to Jackson for the night.  In downtown Jackson I picked up the north terminus of US Route 189 which begins at this location:

North Terminus of US Route 189 in downtown Jackson, WY

Part 17 of this blog series can be found here:

2016 Summer Mountain Trip Part 17; US Route 191 over Flaming Gorge Dam
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

2018 Mojave Road Trip Part 2; The deadly desert highway (California State Route 127 and Nevada State Route 373)

By
After leaving Barstow via Old Highway 58 my next destination was in Death Valley.  To access Death Valley from rural San Bernardino County required a trek on north on Interstate 15 to California State Route 127 which becomes Nevada State Route 373 at the state line. Along I-15 I encountered the road sign oddity that is Zzyzx Road about eight miles south of Baker.   Zzyzx Road is a four mile road that used to go to the Zzyzx Mineral Springs and Health Spa.   The spa was founded in the 1940s and the owner made up the name "Zzyzx" to claim it was the last word in the English Language.  The spa has been shut down since the 1970s and is now part of a Desert Studies Center for California State University. The southern terminus of CA 127 in Baker is located at I-15 exit 246.  CA 127 is a 91 mile north/south highway which runs to the Nevada State Line in Inyo County.  CA 127 is called Death Valley Road from I-15 northward.  South of CA 127 ...
4 comments
Read more

Finding the Pre-Emption Road of New York State

By
  The Pre-Emption Road (or rather a series of roads named Pre-Emption Road) follows a survey line called the Pre-Emption Line, drawn in the early days of the United States. The story begins with Massachusetts and New York having competing land claims to modern day Western New York State that have their roots in colonial charters granted by the British. After the Revolutionary War ended, this land became the frontier of the nation and its settlement became a priority for the new American government. During this era, there were a lot of competing land claims that needed to be settled. It was no different with the land claims between New York State and Massachusetts. On November 30, 1786, Massachusetts and New York sent representatives to Hartford, Connecticut to resolve their competing land claims. In less than three weeks, the representatives had reached a compromise. Massachusetts would receive pre-emption rights, meaning the right to sell the land after the Indian title ...
Post a Comment
Read more

What's In a Name?: When the Roads Really Do Tell a Story

By
  Our tagline on the Gribblenation blog is "because every road tells a story". Some roads tell different stories than others. Along our travels, we may see historic markers that tell us a little story about the roads we travel or the places we pass by. Some historic markers are more general, as to telling us who lived where or what old trail traversed between two towns. During my travels across New York State and other states or provinces, I pass by many historic markers, some with interesting or amusing references to roads. I wanted to highlight a few of the markers I've seen along my travels around the Empire State and help tell their stories. Those stories may be as specific as explaining the tales of a tree that was used to help measure a distance of eight miles from Bath to Avoca in Steuben County, as referenced on the Eight Mile Tree historical marker above. They may also help point the way along historical roads first used centuries ago, or may help tell a local l...
Post a Comment
Read more