Deborah Kade

Apr 22, 20213 min read

Provo, Utah to Teton Village, Wyoming

This leg of the trip was an hour and a half longer (6 and a half hours) than the first two legs (5 hours each leg).

We took U.S. Route 89 out of Provo which meant we didn't have to go through Salt Lake City.

It was spitting snow as we neared Deer Creek State Park and snow fences still lined the highway.

From U.S. Highway 89, we hooked onto Interstate 80. Interstate 80 is an east–west transcontinental freeway that runs from downtown San Francisco, California, to Teaneck, New Jersey, in the New York City Metropolitan Area. The highway was designated in 1956 as one of the original routes of the Interstate Highway System. It is the second-longest Interstate Highway in the United States, following I-90. The Interstate runs through many major cities including Oakland, Sacramento, Reno, Salt Lake City, Omaha, Des Moines and Toledo, and passes within 10 miles (16 km) of Chicago, Cleveland and New York City.

We experienced high winds along this route which Michael said is very normal for I-80. We saw trucks, trucks and more trucks as well as a very very long train.

Once back in Wyoming, we went back onto U.S. Highway 89. There are long stretches of road and nothing but cattle ranches and emptiness.

I especially enjoyed driving through Smoot which is located in the Star Valley. I could feel Spring was in the air. Bushes along the stream seemed like they were ready to bud.

Afton, Wyoming

Afton is home to the world's largest arch made of elk antlers. Spanning 75 feet (23 m) across the four lanes of U.S. Highway 89 the arch consists of 3,011

Alpine is a very pretty area to drive through. It is located at the southern end of the Snake River Canyon where the Snake River enters Palisades Reservoir. The town is also known as Alpine Junction since it marks the point where U.S. routes 26 and 89 turn in opposite directions. The two routes run concurrently through the Snake River Canyon from Jackson. In Alpine, Route 89 turns south toward Afton, while Route 26 turns north and follows the edge of Palisades Reservoir to Swan Valley, Idaho. Three rivers come together in the vicinity of Alpine: the Snake, the Salt and the Greys-- all three flow into the Palisades Reservoir, with the latter two giving up their waters to the Snake River.

We stopped to charge the car in Jackson Hole. The charging station used to be in the parking lot of our favorite little grocery store which was bought by Whole Foods in February.

Since it was sunny and not too many clouds in the sky, I decided we should go to Mormon Row and photograph the Tetons and the T.A. Moulton Barn in Moose before checking into the Teton Club. The sun was in the wrong position but at least it wasn't cloudy, rainy or snowy.

This rustic old barn, perfectly positioned before the dramatic backdrop of the Teton Range, is a striking visual of the Wild West. As such, it’s earned itself a reputation as the most photographed barn in America.

The barn is part of Mormon Row, which was established in the late 1800's. Mormon settlers came from Idaho and formed small homestead communities in the otherwise isolated land. Today, the clusters of historic buildings they built look like a ghost town, now protected to preserve the spirit of the American frontier.