In and Around Jackson, WY
2004

THE CUNNINGHAM CABIN

Pierce Cunningham came into Jackson Hole with the first influx of settlers during the late 1880's and early 1890's. He homesteaded in the valley, and there, on Flat Creek, he worked his ranch and married and raised his family.

All that remains today is a reconstruction of their dog-trot style cabin (two small cabins joined with an open covered breezeway).  

It is interesting to note the sod roof and the double-pen saddle-V-notched log structure of the cabin.

What a view the Cunninghams enjoyed!

  
     
Buck-and-rail fences are found here as well as throughout the area. Named for the X-shaped cross-braces or "cross-bucks", these fences are self-supporting and the materials easily obtained. The winter snow helped anchor rather than topple them and they were easy to repair.  

A dark side of the ranch involves a famous gunfight in April of 1893, when two wranglers from Montana came by wanting to buy hay for their horses. Read all about it here.

ANOTHER EARLY HOMESTEADER CABIN

We ran across this old homestead while exploring the area around Kelly. Inquiring at the historical society in town we found out that it was indeed the remains of one of the first families to settle in the area.

Later it was used in scenes in the classic western movie, "Shane".

  

THE GROS VENTRE SLIDE

Also in the Kelly area we found a very interesting geological happening, the remnents of one of the largest earth movements in the world. On June 23, 1935, the earth, rock and debris moved rapidly from an altitude of 9000 feet across the valley bottom and up the slope of the nearby red bluffs. The action lasted only a few minutes but a river was dammed and the landscape changed forever.


Here you can see the huge section gone from the hillside.

... and here you can glimpse the lake formed by the damming of the Gros Ventre River.

A FEW OTHERS

a male and female bluebirds sit on a rail fence

 

buffalo roam freely on the open range

 

a lovely old ranch

 

a zoom on the mountain peeks

 

If you look closely at the top of the lighter-colored mountains,
you can see the "Sleeping Indian" lying asleep across the ridge.
His head is on the right, war bonnet spread out. His arms are folded
across his chest and his long legs point to the left.

 

The Snake River winds it's way through the valley at the
base of the Tetons. A rafting trip down the Snake is a
highlight of any trip to Jackson.

 

the ski slopes

 

CLICK HERE TO VIEW A LIVE WEB CAM
IN DOWNTOWN JACKSON HOLE



to be continued

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