We had spotted many piles of purple, seed-filled bear scat and knew they were in the area. Then we saw fresh tracks and finally the bear itself.
Afterwards, I had a hearty breakfast at the lodge and signed up to go on an all day ride to Sky Ranch. This particular ride is called White Grass because it ends up near a historic, former dude ranch of the same name. We departed the corral around 10 AM with no trailering of horses this time, just 3 hours in the saddle to get to our destination. We rode north through Grand Teton National Park and along a tall ridge at one point, and the valley below with fall colors was beautiful.
I rode a horse named Juliette that I hadn't been on before. She had one little tantrum on the trail when the wrangler stopped to move some underbrush, turning 180s and stomping her foot, but otherwise was a delight.
The White Grass Ranch is significant along with the JY and Bar B C, as one of the first dude ranching operations in Jackson Hole. The White Grass was established in 1913 by Harold Hammond and George Tucker Bispham, who combined two adjacent ranches of 160 acres each, and was converted to a dude ranch in 1919. Control of the ranch later passed to Hammond's step son Frank Gailey who operated it until his death in 1985, the longest-active dude ranch in Jackson Hole. The White Grass Ranch’s remote location sparked ingenuity in its dude wranglers. They came up with innovative ways to provide modern comforts, diverting water from Stewart’s Draw for irrigation and entertainment. Cooling ditches ran past the guest cabins so dudes could chill beverages in the mountain water. Runoff fed a swimming pool and a pond called Lake Ingeborg, named for Frank Galey’s wife, Inge. Wranglers even buried an old car filled with cobbles as a drain field for wastewater. White Grass is currently being rehabilitated as the home of the Western Center for Historic Preservation, a National Trust for Historic Preservation project. It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1990. The rustic cabins are original but have now been rehabbed and upgraded. Their green metal roofs are visible below....
The Sky Ranch is significant in history and architecture. In 1952, the site was purchased by the Balderston family, and in 1982 the Balderston family sold the property to the National Park Service with a 25‑year lease during which the family could continue to occupy the property. They relinquished it in 2007. Its use and physical appearance, including landscape and associated features, have remained virtually unaltered since 1953, when all but one of the buildings were constructed. Our wrangler for today's ride was Balderston's great grand-daughter and two of our ranch guests this week were also his descendants and had spent many years at this ranch. A bittersweet visit for them, I'm sure...
As our horses made their way up the road to the main cabin, I spotted this abandoned swing. It conjured memories of the TN farm we lived on briefly while I was growing up. We had a similar swing in a huge sycamore tree and in recent years, found out that the current owners had torn down our lovely old farm house to build a Mcmansion. It struck a chord, but I digress... this Miranda Lambert song about sums up my thoughts as we wandered around the property. If you have a minute give it a listen and grab a Kleenex:
After securing our horses, removing their bridles and loosening their girths, we sat on the front porch of the boarded up family home and ate our sack lunches, resting and spending an hour in this quiet, magical place. Look at this view of the Gros Ventre range from the front porch! It was easy to imagine the four generations of families and children that enjoyed it, along with the big night sky, laughter, endless stars, etc.
One of the rustic ranch cabins on the property was referred to as Ant Hill when it was built, and housed Bill Balderston's 2 sisters, the "aunts", when they were in residence.
Sky Ranch is representative of the period of settlement in the Snake River valley when families who had spent time at dude ranches and/or friends’ vacation homes in Grand Teton National Park purchased property for themselves. It is an excellent example of a post‑World War II vacation property, developed in 1952‑1953, after the creation of Grand Teton National Park. The property is a simple, rustic, family retreat, rather than a place to entertain and impress guests. The owners were active in the social life of the park and Jackson Hole, and counted among their friends many well-known people in the area, including ranchers, dude ranchers and vacationers.
Original owner William (Bill) Balderston II was an avid photographer and committed diarist throughout his life, and he thoroughly documented his family’s summertime activities, and visits with friends. The construction of Sky Ranch, its use as a place for recreation and family gatherings, and its role in the social history of Grand Teton National Park in the mid‑1900s, are well documented in diaries, photographs, 16 mm movies, business records and the personal memories of the heirs of Bill Balderston.
My favorite local cowboy/artist John Mortensen was also on the ride today and worked as a wrangler on the White Grass ranch next door as a young man. He too had many memories and stories to contribute on this nostalgic ride. I was so grateful to be a fly on the wall (horse) as these people recounted their memories and debated the various methods the National Park Service uses to incorporate inherited properties. They either burn existing structures to the ground, allow them to just decay on their own, or rehab them and use them as employee housing etc. The people on today's ride were pretty much in agreement that they wanted to just see Sky Ranch return to nature, untouched. The park is still weighing its options.
Below, Maggie Balderston, great grand daughter of the ranch's original owner Bill, and also our wrangler today. She's great ;)
Sky Ranch is an excellent and well preserved example of a Rustic style vacation home, designed by a prominent Philadelphia architect, John Arnold Bower. The buildings imitate the vernacular style of Jackson Hole’s early settlement period, 1884‑1927, and can be identified as typical of the ranch form. They are rectangular in plan, with low, eave‑front gable roofs supported by log purlins and rafters with exposed tips. They are constructed with local building materials (logs and stone), using traditional building techniques. Logs are saddle‑notched and chinked with quarter‑split lodgepole pine. The peeled, round logs serve as both exterior and interior walls. Sadly, it was locked up tight by the Park Service, and we couldn't go inside.
We finally packed up our things and headed back. It had been a long day, and horses and riders were tired. This view from a ridge was spectacular. It went on forever.
Exhausted, I decided to join the 4:30 pm nature walk with naturalist Larry Livingood for one last time before leaving Wyoming. He and his wife guided us through some secluded paths around the ranch, identifying birds, flora and fauna and then... fresh bear tracks! Wow... it never gets old. What a day ...2 bear sightings, and did I mention it was 70 degrees? One more day of similar sunny warm weather tomorrow, and then it drops into the 50s for highs, 20s for lows and may rain or snow for my final few days here. Ugh!
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