Them on Us: Meet me at the Wort; our Ford

Wednesday, July 01, 2009

By Jake Nichols

Wort ages gracefully
Jackson Hole, Wyo,-From its humble beginnings as a livery stable in Jackson at the turn of the century, the historic Wort Hotel transitioned from putting up horses to boarding tourists in 1941. Brothers John and Jess Wort built the town’s first four-story building for $90,000, adding the Silver Dollar Bar in 1950. The downtown icon has survived catastrophic fire, the abolition of gambling, and sleek new five-star resorts sprouting up all over the valley.

Finally, the Wort gets its due from U.S. auto club AAA. The landmark hotel made the top 10 list of most historic hotels in the country. Our congrats to the Baxter family, who bought the hotel in 2004 and have carried on the “Meet me at the Wort” tradition with style and grace. The Baxters own and operate Knoxville-based Holston Gases, which is why we read the news in the Knoxville News Sentinel.

Our celeb is their celeb
Ski Channel’s Top 5 Celebrity Ski Spots is out, and Jackson Hole snagged the top spot thanks to Harrison Ford.

The Bruce Willis-owned Soldier Mountain in central Idaho came in fifth despite burning down at the end of this past ski season. Arnold Schwarzenegger helped Sun Valley place fourth even though he broke his femur on a green run there a few years back. Tiger Woods owns a crib in JH, but skis in Vail, helping that community to third place. Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt take their adopted snow angels to Mammoth in California.

Everyone’s favorite Indiana Jones enjoys his clear and present danger on the slopes in Jackson Hole. The Wilson resident has donated more than a thousand acres of land to Jackson Hole Land Trust. He also sponsors a kid’s ski team each winter, is a member of the Jackson Hole Land Trust board of directors, and still serves as an on-call rescue pilot. That was enough to land JH in the number one position.

Virtual hiking in GTNP
At Them On Us we sometimes have to live vicariously through others to enjoy all the outdoors has in store for us every summer. The season is short, and, like most folks, we get so busy we can’t get to all we hoped to, including a trek into the Alaska Basin that we planned to write up for JH Weekly’s “Get Out” column.
We let the Charleston Gazette’s (West Virginia) Gary Cowell do the hiking for us this week. Last fall, he spent an extended Labor Day weekend walking the Teton Crest Trail in Grand Teton National Park. His recount of it appeared in last Sunday’s edition and was simply picturesque.

Cowell also knocked around town long enough to confirm a few things we locals already know. “The town is a little upscale,” he shared while mentioning his fondness for eateries like Mountain High Pizza Pie and the Gun Barrel Restaurant. We especially concur on his sandwich shop choice.

“If you like deli sandwiches, there’s a great place” he wrote. “As you leave town going north toward the park, there is on the left a small shopping center. A store with a sign that only reads ‘Deli Grocery’ has fantastic made-to-order deli sandwiches. It’s not fancy, the eating area is in the grocery store, but the sandwiches are great.’

That’s Creekside Market & Deli, Gary, and we dig it too.

Tetons reduced to a postage stamp
Grand Teton National Park now has its own stamp. The collector’s item is part of the U.S. Postal Service’s Scenic American Landscape Series and features the Tetons prominently. California photographer Dennis Flaherty took the stamp’s image, a photograph depicting the view at dawn from the Snake River Overlook made famous by Ansel Adams.

The First Day of Issue ceremony for the new 98-cent international postage stamp took place at the Craig Thomas Discovery and Visitor Center in Moose. Dedicating Official Gary Sims did the honors with GTNP Superintendent Mary Gibson Scott and Master of Ceremony Richard Thomas on hand along with a crowd of about 50, according to Cheyenne Arts Examiner and former JH Weekly scribe Tammy Christel. JHW

Courtesy photo
Harrison Ford

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Them on Us: Meet me at the Wort; our Ford | Planet JH News Article: General News

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