Small town holiday

Currently In: Rawlins, ID
Will be in several locations in Colorado for the rest of July and early August

We're taking couple of days to catch up on life here in Rawlins, WY.  Resupply, hair cuts, car wash and the like.  Our RV Park is like a big parking lot - just a place to rest our head for a couple of nights.  I should be able to get current on the blog now since we won't be touring at all.

We finally hit the heat wave the rest of the country has been experiencing all summer!  It's been in the low 90's the last couple of days, but no humidity so not too bad.  We've been very lucky with the weather all Spring/Summer with very mild temperatures and only a couple of days of rain.

Our 4th of July holiday was very fun.  It started with a brunch sponsored by our campground in Victor, ID.

Because of the brunch we missed the parade in Victor.  We decided to drive to Jackson, WY for the day by taking the Teton Pass, 10% grade in our Jeep.  The town of Jackson sits at the southern end of Jackson Hole, a valley that is surrounded by the Teton and Gros Ventre mountain ranges.
The Jackson parade was just ending as we got to town!  We still had a great time looking around this tourist town.  And they were decked out for the holiday.  The first flag in the photo below is the Wyoming State flag and we saw it everywhere.  It's a big buffalo - kind of cool.

Traffic control was left to the local police on horseback.

There are a number of historic buildings that now house retail and restaurants.  And this museum.  Many sidewalks are something out of the old west.

I liked this old theatre that is now a restaurant.  I thought the entrance fit the theme for the day!

the lobby of the Playhouse Restaurant

The Teton movie theatre dates back to 1941 but is now a restaurant.  I liked the ticket booth.

We took a stroll through George Washington Park right in the middle of town.  All 4 corners of the park have the Elk Arch entrance - real antlers.  The cowboy statue is a tribute to the heritage of this region.

By this time of day we were ready for a beverage.  The historic Cowboy Bar seemed to be the perfect place! It was built in the early 30's  - the neon sign, the rotating cowboy on top - nostalgic.

The barstools are saddles.  Word has it that Meg Kerr, Johnny's cousin, enjoyed a cocktail or two from this barstool.

There is artwork all around the bar that depicts the life of a cowboy back in the day.

Other fun things we saw around town -

relaxing with a bear

Only moose we will see on this trip!

American Legion Monument and cabin in back - 1928

Corny stagecoach ride

These bears made me laugh!

Wildlife sighting for the day: trumpet swans.  We didn't see any in Yellowstone, but took a drive out to the Elk refuge in Jackson and saw this little family.

We made it back to Driggs, ID (next to Victor) in time for a little music in the middle of town - kind of like Ravinia, but not as many people.  We saw 2 bands- both pretty good.  And they handed out slices of watermelon - small town charm.

The final feature and showstopper - fireworks.  Around the corner from the bandshell.
They didn't start until 10:20pm because the sun goes down so late here.  The show was wonderful - as good as any I've seen.  A great finale.  The best part?  No traffic as everyone got on the road to go home! We were back at the RV park in 10 minutes.