Thursday, September 29, 2016

Mormon Row and the Moulton barn

Jackson, Wyoming's Mormon Row is a fascinating place. Thomas and Sara Moulton joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (Mormons) in 1841 in Northhampton England. In 1856, Sarah Moulton surprised Thomas by telling him she had been secretly stashing money in a fruit jar for 15 years and had enough to pay their way for a move to America for the extended family.  Boarding the ship the Thornton on May 3, 1856, The Moulton family had been assigned to the Willey Handcart Company. Although fewer than 10 percent of the 1846–68 Latter Day Saint emigrants made the journey west using handcarts, the handcart pioneers have become an important symbol in LDS culture, representing the faithfulness and sacrifice of the pioneer generation. They continue to be recognized and honored in events such as Pioneer Day, Church pageants, and similar commemorations. 


Above, examples of carts at the Mormon Handcart Historic Site at Devil's Gate, WY. Three days into the trip, Sara Moulton gave birth to Charles Alma Moulton. The trip from England to the Salt Lake Valley was one of the most harrowing and tragic migrations in American history. Charles survived the trek west in a handcart and grew up to ranch in Idaho, and h He and his wife Rhoda raised a large family. Three of their sons Homesteaded in Jackson Hole, Wyoming on Mormon Row. Click the 2 photos below to enlarge and read more about the community:


Mormon Row, formerly known as the town of Grovont, was settled in the late 1890s by Mormons from the Salt Lake region. Due to the Homestead Act of 1862, which granted land ownership to any person willing to build a house and cultivate the area for five years, this community established a presence in the area east of Blacktail Butte. Settlers secured 27 homesteads that they built close together to share labor and community. They dug miles of ditches to bring water from the Gros Ventre River to their fields. In the winters, these ditches would freeze so families traveled to the river with buckets to gather their water.


It wasn’t until 1927 that the Kelly Warm Spring cooled, caused by hydrologic shifts from the Gros Ventre slide flood, and offered a dependable water source to residents year round. Families mainly grew hay and ninety-day-oats, as these were a few of the only crops that were able to survive the short growing season and harsh conditions of Jackson Hole. Families also owned cows, whose milk and meat provided food, as well as horses, that helped settlers till the fields.

The town of Grovont once contained multiple ranches, homes, a church, and a school. The church, built in 1916, played a critical role in the community, serving as a social stage for all, regardless of faith. Although the building was moved to Wilson, it is marked at Mormon Row by fence posts, two cottonwoods, and a spruce tree. In the mid-1900s, Mormon Row was acquired to expand Grand Teton National Park and in 1997 the district was added to the National Register of Historic Places.

The John Moulton Barn is part of John and Bartha Moulton’s homestead. Today, this barn and their more modern-style, pink stucco home still stand on their homestead, which was inhabited seasonally until the late 1980s. Many travel from around the world to photograph this historic structure.


 Just south of his brother’s homestead, the T.A. Moulton Barn is part of the Thomas Alma and Lucille Moulton homestead. Settled in 1910, T.A. took over 30 years to build his barn. Along with the John Moulton barn, photographers from around the world travel to take photos of this iconic structure with the Teton mountain range in the background.

 
              
                   Antelope Flats abounds with bison, elk, pronghorn, moose and coyotes.
 

When driving to Mormon Row from Jackson, I took Antelope Flats Road and then turned off onto a bumpy, muddy 2 mile road to get there. No turning back....

It had been raining, and by the time I got back to the ranch, the under carriage of my car was coated with 2-3" of thick mud, and my license plate was barely readable. Needless to say, I wasn't happy, as I had just washed my car 2 days before and it was spotless. It took an hour at the corral with a low pressure hose to get it clean. Oh well...

 

On a happier note, while driving back to the ranch, I was rewarded with a black bear sighting! As of September 1st, it is officially bear season and they're being spotted everywhere. Along the 8 mile Moose Wilson Road through Grand Teton National Park, I spotted a bit of a traffic jam. As I got closer, a park ranger was positioned along the road, moving cars along and making sure drivers maintained a safe distance to the bear. I snapped these as I drove by. The bear was up in a tree eating, overhanging the road... VERY cool!

Wednesday, September 28, 2016

Amazing art in a beautiful creekside setting...

This summer, I attended an event at the home of a well-known and very talented local artist and sculptor, John Mortensen. His historic home was also on the Tour of Homes recently. He maintains his studio adjacent to his home in the little town of Wilson near the base of Teton Pass. The ranch where I'm working has a number of his pieces, including furniture and bronze sculptures. They're beautiful. His charming home is a simple, historic farm house with red metal roof, pine floors and a historic plaque near the front door, and he keeps his two horses in a small corral in the yard.



When I arrived, the cottonwood trees were dropping their fluffy seeds, and it was so thick in the air that it looked like it was snowing. I had never seem anything like it, and the "seeds" accumulated in crevices and on trees and table tops, adding to the magical setting and atmosphere. It was a warm, sunny evening. The home and studio/gallery are located right on the bank of Fish Creek which is more like a rushing river as it passes by the house.














I'm not sure if it was the Tetons backdrop, the creek rushing by, the bronze sculptures in the yard or the abundance of flowers, but the setting was gorgeous.




Various wildlife sculptures John has created through the years were tucked into niches in the yard, and everything around them was lush and green. Fish Creek rushed by, just feet from the house.


Don't blink,or you'll miss the bronze statue tucked in behind the flowers.













The cozy home was more like a museum, a vast array of unique keepsakes, artwork and collectibles... the treasures of John and his recently deceased wife Pam's life together. They also collected Indian artifacts and rugs on their many trips to Santa Fe. What a slice of Americana and the old West. I imagined that every piece had a story behind it.




My favorite thing in the house (above) and a cozy creek side gazebo below...





Above, John's studio where he holds his artist's receptions with wine & hors d'oeuvres on Thursday evenings. Ranch guests love to attend. I love the antler chandelier (above) ....


A work in progress in the living room... soon to be bronzed! John has created over 200 bronze pieces since he began as a sculptor in the early 1970s, and they are in many corporate and private collections. I'd love to have one!

A few weeks after this event, John was at the ranch where I work, and I had the pleasure of joining him on a leisurely horseback ride with a guest and wrangler. I asked him about the upcoming bronzing process regarding the clay bronco above, and he explained it to me. He probably looks more like a real cowboy than anyone I've met in Wyoming (think mature Marlboro man). Tall with thick white hair, well-worn chaps, big wide grin... a very imposing figure and super nice man. I also had the pleasure of a quick dance with him at the Wort Hotel bar when a group of us ranch folks ended up there after the fashion show I was in...



If you'd like to see his work, here's the link to his website. It's always nice to meet interesting, talented locals while I'm here in Wyoming!

http://www.mortensenstudios.com/

Monday, September 26, 2016

Another day, another horse... and bear.

I recently went on a girls only crew ride (no guests) from the ranch through the adjacent Grand Teton National Park. I rode a sweet mare named Coral for the first time, and there were 4 of us on the ride. We begged our wrangler friend to "find us a bear", since many of the guests had seen them on their rides lately. This was my first Fall ride since the leaves had begun to turn, and it looked totally different than just a few weeks earlier. The cottonwoods were finally turning yellow!

 

About ten minutes into the ride, we came across a big bull elk with full antlers. He didn't scamper away like he would have if we had been on foot. Horses can get a lot closer to wildlife ;)
 



We crossed a few shallow creeks, and the surefooted horses found 
their way  across the slippery, rocky bottom.

  
We also goofed around and took lots of photos since we didn't have to "behave".

   
These two are best friends and cabin mates.
 
 

We crossed through a wind burst area and over lots of fallen trees but still no bear. Finally we turned around and headed back. As we passed through some trees, one of the girls yelled "bear." We all stopped, became silent, and sure enough, the horses had already detected it. Their nostrils were flaring and they were on high alert from the scent. We looked to the left and there it was, about 30 feet off the trail!

It was just sort of meandering through the woods, calmly looking for food and then stopped to rub up against a tree. Then it started to slowly make its way towards us, so we moved on. Success! ;)

 We rode along a deep creek on the way back and through some sage brush flats, then through one last Aspen forest. All in all, another lovely day on a horse.

 

Here are some random ranch life shots...
Earlier in the week, I was awakened by horses, eating grass right next to my cabin. They don't usually venture that close when out to pasture. When I hear chomping outside my window, I never know what it's going to be...moose, deer, horse, bear?
  

Here are the 70+ horses being wrangled out to pasture in the afternoon after their 
riding day is done... always a treat to see and hear. Beautiful!
 

With the recent cold temps, we've been building cozy fires in the lodge 
for  the guests during meals... ahh.

Some of the ranch girls at the Stagecoach Bar for "Sunday night church" (live country 
music and dancing with local cowboys). Good times! ;)


And finally, a strange phenomenon that I saw for the first time this week. I woke up and the Tetons were GONE! Completely obscured from base to peak by clouds/mist while the valley remained clear. What a completely different landscape compared to the very same view during July (below). It was like a movie set. A few hours later, they were back in all their rugged glory... whew!


Friday, September 23, 2016

Fall comes to the ranch!

This morning, I tagged along on the ranch manager's 7AM nature walk, accompanying her and 4 guests for a 2-3 mile loop around the property to see what wildlife we could find before they rang the bell for breakfast. Along the way, I was amazed by the colors of the turning leaves in the morning light. Not much commentary on this blog entry... just enjoy the 30+ photos!



We saw a big bull elk with full antlers as soon as we left the lodge, but since we were on foot, he scampered away... no photos. Tou can get a lot closer to elk on gorseback and even in a car! His harem of elk cows was nearby, and the mating bugling was heard all around us. It actually sounds like a woman screaming!
Then we saw a medium sized black bear about  a 2 minute walk from the cabin where I live. It was just foraging for berries and ignored us. Then it stood up on its hind legs to reach into a tree. Blurry... sorry ;(



                                            This looks like a postcard, no?



                                           Morning mist on Pete's pond


There's not much orange in the valley, mostly yellow on the Aspens and Cottonwood trees and reds provided by Hawthorn bushes. I love the angle of the buckrail fence in this photo.

At the edge of Grand Teton National Park, we turned south and walked along the Snake River dike.

  
                                       Notice the moon above the yellow tree...


   Always relaxing to see and hear the water! The Snake has so many gravel bars and is always shifting and changing.




                   My favorite image of the day because of the reflection in the water

                                          The jagged Teton peaks never get old!

                               Turning west, we headed back towards the lodge.

                                              Perfectly framed by the trees ;)


                                                A bright red Hawthorn bush

                                    An Aspen forest...note the white tree trunks


 




            My cozy little cabin in the morning light... love it. I bet Scout is ready for breakfast!

                             And later in the week, morning mist in front of the Tetons

    The annual guests' cabin crawl where the crew is invited for drinks and hors d'oeuvres
                           
                                              My silly ranch co-workers ;)
 

 The ranch's  three adorable little donkeys... love them!

                                                Fall view of the Tetons from my bed!