Joe and I were wandering around Jackson on our last day in Wyoming, stopping in shops here and there. He hadn't yet gone in the Million Dollar Cowboy Bar, so I made him take a look. It was getting near dinner time and we were talking about restaurants but hadn't yet made any decisions.
Then the luckiest thing happened. We walked past the Jackson Hole Museum and I saw that it was open! The little stagecoach on top of the building had been beckoning me all week but I had read something that said the museum wouldn't be open until June so I didn't even look. What do I always say? Timing is everything. We were there in time for the last half hour of their open house, celebrating the museum's season opening for its fiftieth year.
But what a time to be caught without my notebook! I debated running back to the car for it but I would lose precious time. I decided to live in the moment.
Correct decision. In my relaxed half hour, I got to read a lot about Jackson Hole, its history as first a fur trader's dream and then a vacationer's paradise starting in the late 1800s. The beauty of the valley ("hole") at the base of the Grand Teton Mountains beckoned to people looking for space and sky and breathtaking views. Having the Grand Teton National Park and Yellowstone right up the road didn't hurt, either.
The displays are easy to see and well explained. Best of all, they're not "museum dry"--meaning they're not boring. I saw pictures of some of the early houses and read the history of those antler arches. I love that between 1920 and 1923 the mayor and the entire town council were women. No surprise since Wyoming was decades ahead of the rest of the country--women were given the right to vote in 1869.
After spending time at Goulding's Lodge in Monument Valley, AZ, and the Del Coronado in Coronado, CA, and seeing the films made in those places, I figured Jackson had to have its own movie history. The museum filled that in for me---"Shane!" (that may be enough to make me finally watch that movie). Wallace Beery filmed a few movies in the area and eventually bought a house here.
The building housing the museum (I believe it's an old store) gives the place such a warm, genuine atmosphere. I suspect they're headed for a new building; if so, I hope they do everything they can to hold on to the welcoming feel their present digs have.
I was very sorry I didn't get to their gift shop. I spent every single minute looking at the displays. At the end, I introduced myself to the museum's executive director, Lokey Lytjen, and told her how much I loved the Jackson Hole Museum. We talked about places in the area that Joe and I had not explored and I made mental notes for my next trip ("talk to the historical society folks about where to go!").
I haven't done this wonderful little museum justice in the above description (from now on, I'll always keep a notebook in my purse when we're traveling). But it's a must-see for anyone in Jackson (that means the locals, too--embrace your history). Even if you don't already love Jackson when you walk in, you will when you walk back out!
