Day 204 – North to Jackson Hole

Beth Bankhead

15 years ago

Day 204 of a Year Long Road Trip Along America’s Scenic Byways

Logan Canyon

This morning I reversed the drive through Logan Canyon and weaved along the Logan River beneath limestone cliffs where I made a handful of stops. Two stops were at campgrounds that my Reader’s Digest book suggested to see a slab of quartz tunneled by tiny seaworms and to see a Jardine Juniper that is believed to be over 1,500 years old. Both campgrounds were closed. I’m presuming the river was up too high.

Rick’s Spring

I was able to make an impromptu stop at Rick’s Spring, just off the side of the highway. The spring generally slows to a trickle in November and begins a heavier flow in April when the snow melts. At times, during severe cold and blizzards, the spring stops flowing.

After passing by fields of yellow wildflowers and surrounded by snow-capped mountains, we reached Montpelier, where the Bank of Montpelier was held up by Butch Cassidy in 1896. Cassidy and gang escaped with $16,500 of gold, silver, and currency.

Periodic Spring

Our next stop was Periodic Spring in Bridger-Teton National Forest about 4 miles east of Afton. Here we took a ¾ mile hike to a spring that gushes approximately every 18 minutes between August and May and flows down the cliff side into Swift Creek. It is thought that a cave behind the spring causes the water to stop and start. During my visit, the spring looked like a raging river! It didn’t appear to stop and start.

After our hike, we continued north on Hwy 89 toward Jackson, along the way, I spotted a bald eagle in its nest and with the help of many others parked on the side of the road, I saw the antlers of a moose lying down in the grass! Before meeting my friends Carrie and Steven and their three kids for the evening, I snapped a photo of the snow covered Tetons. After a glass of wine on the deck, my friend Max from Dallas arrived, and we went for a delicious dinner at Q. ETB