Island Life Magazine Ltd February/March 2018 | Page 67

Travel
By Terry Willey
Within the last year, some good friends in America
invited us to take a trip to Jackson Hole, Wyoming.
It’s fair to say that my wife and I were truly excited
about this trip and for my part, I particularly
wanted to observe the “old west” of America.
As we entered the State
of Wyoming, on what
appeared to be a never-
ending highway, all I
could observe on either
side of the road were
vast expanses of totally
undeveloped land with
a magnificent backdrop
of the Teton Mountain
range dusted with snow
on the upper peaks.
With the temperature on the
ground registering over 30
centigrade, we were travelling
in a luxury air-conditioned truck
which gave us great views on
both sides of the road. I couldn’t
help reflecting on my days as a
teenager when my late father
insisted that we watch his
favourite cowboy films that were
then shown regularly on BBC
2, and which often didn’t start
until nearly midnight. I was now
actually amongst such prairies
where all the action happened,
and ultimately was developed by
Hollywood into such memorable
western movies.
As we entered the town, it was
clear that the Americans had gone
to great lengths to preserve the
original cowboy environment, with
some of the buildings remaining
largely unaltered apart from
routine maintenance, although
naturally now sporting various
tourist shops with souvenirs.
Surprisingly, it was not overrun
with tourists, although clearly
many had travelled far and wide
to experience some of America’s
history of the Old West.
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