I’m kind of used to people looking at me funny when I am stooped over my tripod composing a scene instead of taking the ubiquitous ‘selfie’ with my phone. I was reminded of that while visiting the Mormon Row Historic area of Grand Teton National Park. While everyone else’s lenses were pointed at the Moulton Barns, I was facing the other way looking for compositions on the other side of the road.
Kathy is often reminding me to “turn around.” But this time I remembered it on my own!
The Chapel of the Transfiguration is a small log chapel in Grand Teton National Park, in the community of Moose. The chapel was sited and built to frame a view of the Cathedral Group of peaks in a large window behind the altar. The chapel, which was built in 1925, is owned and operated by St. John’s Episcopal Church in Jackson. The church is open daily, and still hosts services on Sunday. On the day of our visit, an organist was playing in the chapel.
The chapel was built to serve guests and employees of the dude ranches that stretched north of Jackson along the base of the Teton Range. The land was donated by Maud Noble, owner of nearby Menor’s Ferry, predating the establishment of Grand Teton National Park in 1929 and its expansion into the Moose area in 1950. The chapel played a primary role in the movie Spencer’s Mountain, which was filmed in Jackson Hole in 1963, and featured Henry Fonda and Maureen O’Hara.
The chapel was placed on the National Register of Historic Places on April 10, 1980.
We wrapped up our western swing with a 2 day visit to Jackson, WY and Grand Teton National Park. This is a classic view of the Teton Range from an area called the Mormon Row Historic District. The photo is a bit of a cliche but I can’t imagine a photographer passing it by. Some photographs just need to be taken! We had some pretty nice clouds on this day, which helps a lot.