Day 8--8/31/14 Laurance S Rockefeller Preserve
We spent our morning at the Laurance S Rockefeller Preserve Visitor Center, a truly amazing experience. From the outside the building resembles a modern barn. However, the inside architecture cleverly combines outdoor rustic comfort with modern technology used in the gallery displays.
Left to right: Nelson, John D, 3rd, Laurance, John D, Jr.
Sight and Sound Room
Mosaic of Phelps Lake
Individual tiles that make up mosaic above
In the 1920's , John D Rockefeller, Jr visited Jackson Hole with his sons and was deeply moved by the beauty and vulnerability of this scenic valley. The Rockefellers met with the Yellowstone Superintendent who advocated protection of the valley from development. Rockefeller agreed and in 1927 began to purchase ranches in the area with the goal of donating the land to the National Park Service. Despite decades of local opposition to expansion of Grand Teton National Park, John D Rockefeller, Jr persevered and donated 33,000 acres to the park in 1949.
He retained over 3,100 acres around Phelps Lake as a family retreat. This land known as the JY Ranch was passed down to Laurance S Rockefeller, who eventually arranged for the transfer of 2,000 acres to the park. In 2001, he announced the gift of the remaining acres to the American people to become a part of the Grand Teton National Park.
Laurance found refuge at the JY Ranch and he believed in the power of nature to restore and sustain the human spirit. Here at the preserve he envisioned a place where visitors could experience a spiritual and emotional connection to the extraordinary natural beauty of Phelps Lake and the Teton Range. By creating this preserve, he hoped to enrich our lives and inspire us to become better stewards of the land.
I must say that we were inspired and impressed by how much thought went into designing this center of sight and sound galleries. We made a reservation for tomorrow to go on the ranger led hike to Phelps Lake (part of the preserve).
Today was our first day of showers since we arrived out here so we returned to our B&B after lunch. Speaking of our B&B, here are a few photos of the Wildflower Inn.
