Day 5 of the trip was mainly a travel day, covering the approximately five-hour drive from Casper to Jackson. The initial part of the drive was mainly open range with a lot of sage brush.
About 40 miles west of Casper is Hell's Half Acre (which really covers 320 acres)...definitely worth a quick stop at the gravel lot to look at the ravines, caves, and colorful rock formations that are reminiscent of the Badlands (see photo).
As we got closer to the mountain ranges in western Wyoming, we traveled through beautiful painted hills of the Gros Ventre mountains in striations of yellow, purple, grey, orange, and red. We passed through the Wind River Range, which were still very much snow-covered, passing by the Gannett Mountain, the highest peak in Wyoming. After we crossed the Continental Divide (close to where we had a black bear cross the road in front of us), we had our first view of the Tetons, which was magnificent! Every bend held a new awe-inspiring view.
As we approached Jackson, we could see bison and elk in the valley inn the distance. Elk had already moved to their summer range in the mountains, so there were not many remaining at the Elk Refuge. We took the Elk Refuge Road and continued on one of the dirt roads toward the Curtis Canyon Campground for a spectacular overlook of the Grand Tetons and the valley (i.e., Jackson Hole).
The downtown area of Jackson is relatively compact, allowing us to walk from our hotel throughout the area.
We checked out the Roadhouse Brewery for a good IPA and stout, then headed to StillWest Brewery at the base of the Snow King ski resort, and finally wrapped up the evening with dinner at Thai Me Up/Melvin Brewing.
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