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Jackson, Wyoming
Jackson Wyoming is a genuine cowboy town which has been remade into a tourist Mecca. There are good and bad sides to this. Most of the real ranchers, cowboys, oil workers, and roughnecks, have been priced, zoned, or regulated out of town. The place has been taken over by merchants, hotels, restaurants, tour agencies, and developers. Most of the residents are here part time in their vacation homes. In the winter, this becomes a resort for legions of skiers. Time share condos are common here. This is not really a criticism; we all loved Jackson, but it is a fact that this is no longer any  more an authentic western town than Chicago, New York, or Los Angeles, and probably hasn't been since the late seventies. Jackson is more like a displaced part of California or New York, and has little cultural connection with Wyoming or the rest of the west. Still, we had a great time here, and would recommend a visit. The shops are world class, as would be expected in a resort town, and the scenery is not to be believed.
Jackson Wyoming, adjacent to the famous Jackson hole, is a shopper and tourist paradise. This is no accident and is by pure design.
As in Flaggstaff and many other mountain towns, the foothills and peaks dominate the landscape, and every street seems to end at the foot of a local mountain.
Elevated wooden or concrete sidewalks help in the winter, when this place gets buried in snow. In the summer, they are merely picturesque.
Angle parking makes room for more visitors. Jackson has managed to organize itself in a way that makes it capable of handing crowds that defy the efforts of much larger cities.
The famous Cowboy Bar, and other places of interest along Jackson's main drag.
More shops and businesses line ever street. It took us all day merely to find them all. 
The beat goes on. This place never seems to stop. The photographs here do not do justice to the energy of the place. This is anything but a sleepy little mountain town.
This was to be our motel, though I didn't know it at the time this photo was taken.
A western museum is advertised by a covered wagon sign, shops and an indoor mall flank it.
The cowboy meets the yuppie. Rustic streets host high end shops which go on for blocks.
Main street Jackson Wyoming, in the middle of the day.
The Sundance Inn, is a nice little locally owned Motel. Our rooms were pleasant, and the morning breakfast was a nice touch.
Mountain High Pizza Pie. Who could resist?
The back side of our motel, with the ever present mountains in the background.
Trading posts, mountains (literally) of shops, and tour agencies dominate the main drag.
On and on they go. This place probably does as much business as any major city in the country,
A trading post, and a camera shop with the ever present mountains behind. 
The Antler Motel, and a few other smaller establishments sit on a side street a bit off of the beaten path. 
The Ranch Inn heads a line of cowboy styled storefronts edging up to the side of the mountain. 
Wooden sidewalks, shaded storefronts, and the mountains in the distance, give this place the feel of the old west, though the shopping here is quite cosmopolitan. 
Note the temperature of 104 on the bank. Also note the long shadows, it was early evening, and there was still no break from the heat.
This picture, taken right after the first shows the time of 5:56. Thank goodness for air conditioning. 
Even out in the mountainous west, there is no escaping parking regulations.
Looking a bit our of place, and disoriented, a mounted rider looks around what was once his natural habitat. 
The Cowboy Bar and steakhouse. This place is famous both for it's western decor, it's size, and the quality of the meals it serves. It is also, like many places in Jackson, gentrified, and expensive.
I am sorry sir, you can't park that horse here. it is considered to be an RV.

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