Day 3: Casper, WY to Jackson Hole, WY (Mormon-Style)

Before we begin, we would like to thank today's sponsor, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (or LDS for those of you in the know)...

Last night's accommodations at the KOA were much less eventful. We were asleep before sundown and arose at dawn.

We had two route options for our trek to Jackson Hole. We decided on the more historical of the two. We followed the historical trails from yesterday's blog. Our first stop was at Independence Rock which was the most important monument along the trials. It was where settlers carved their names into a large rock as a registry. If the settlers made it to the rock by July 4, they were nearly guaranteed to make it to their destination before winter's storms struck.

Our next stop was definitely the most interesting part of the day. That occurred at the Martin's Cove and Devil's Gate. This stop also happened to be run by the LDS church. We were greeted by one of the Elders and his wife whom was referred to as "sister". We were looking forward to a five mile hike to Martin's Cove, however, the polite man wanted to describe everything in great detail about the Mormon Trail. Eventually, he allowed us passage and a handcart to pull along on the hike. About 1/4 mile down the trail, there was a little hut with LDS missionaries. They also had many stories to tell us and were very nice. We finally were able to proceed again with our cart. We made it about another 1.5 miles before another hut with missionaries. This time, however, there was a huge group of kids who were in the area, so we were able to bypass without stopping. We proceeded up the hill for another mile or so before we saw this lady peek around some bushes at us. It was a little creepy. We walked around the bushes and found another hut. This time they wanted us to sit down and chat. We politely told them that we had a long day's drive ahead and that were used to physical activity, so we really didn't need a break. We knew that if we sat in their chairs we would be there all day. While Elder Johnansen and Sister Johansen were telling us about the Mormon's arriving in Zion and spreading the word throughout Utah, Marissa heard their walkie-talkie broadcast about how many hikers were headed in a particular direction on the path. It was a little disturbing to know that our every move was being watched. We went back and our handcart and booked it down to starting point and politely bypassed the remaining Elders and Sisters. Our five-mile hike at a very minimal incline ended up taking about three hours due to all of the unplanned stops along the way.

By that we were hungry and thirsty, so it was time to think about lunch. If people think Kansas is desolate, try out eastern Wyoming. We were to the point where lunch at a gas station sounded gourmet, but there were no gas stations for at least 100 miles.

We passed the Grand Tetons on our way to Jackson, WY and are very excited to explore them in the coming days. We splurged on tonight's accommodations and are actually staying at a motel, The Jackson Hole Lodge. We also worked up an appetite with all of the cart-pulling and worries about fighting off religious conversion. We went to the Bar-J Chuckwagon Supper this evening. The food and entertainment were both exceptional.

We better let you go for now. Tomorrow morning we will rise early once again. We will head to Grand Teton National Park to try to get one of the few campsites around Jenny Lake. It's first-come-first-serve. Goodnight, y'all.