Quote:
Originally Posted by jdhpa
How about Driggs?
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I'll put it this way... Jackson Hole got all the attention, but Driggs got the best side of the Tetons.
You can't see any of the Tetons from Jackson Hole, and I always thought it was weird because Driggs was just over the hill and has always had by far the best view.
Driggs was unknown for a very long time, too. But beginning about 20 years ago when the billionaires started moving into Jackson Hole, they drove the mere millionaires over to Driggs on the other side.
It's a very expensive little town to live in now as a result. While not as expensive as Jackson Hole, it's still hell for expensive, and rentals throughout that narrow valley are impossible to find, as Jackson employs more people that it can house, and the workers can't ever afford the enormous rents over there. So they all live in Teton, Driggs, and Victor on the Idaho side.
I actually like Victor a little better than Driggs, but it's less developed and doesn't have much in the way of conveniences there.
Driggs is the largest, and is a small service city for the others, but most shoppers come to Idaho Falls or Rexburg to buy stuff that's bigger than groceries, beer and gas. Everyone goes to Idaho Falls to see the movies and do the serious shopping.
But if you want to live in a town with major winter, Driggs is the only approach to Targhee, the mountain that always gets the most snow of all in the Teton range.
Mt. Targhee actually lies inside Wyoming, but can only be reached from the Idaho side. The Tetons lie smack dab on the border, which runs down the middle of the range.
It's very high, always quite cold at nights, and winter begins in early September and doesn't quit until the end of May.
Targhee routinely gets about 110" of snow a year, usually with a lot of powder. The 2 highways that lead to the valley are both pretty well maintained, but it's common in Driggs to be snowed in for a day or two during the big storms, and either road can be dicey in bad weather.
Driggs began as a whistle stop for loading cattle and sheep. Ranches once thrived in the Teton Valley, mostly because only hay can be grown in the short growing season. Most of them have been subdivided long ago.
Work is mighty scarce there unless you want to commute over the pass to go work in Jackson. Hundreds do it, but the pass tends to avalanche in the winter, and though I've driven it all my life, it's still sometimes too white-knuckle for me to do daily. Rock slides are about as common in the summer as avalanches are in the winter.
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