Located within the boundaries of Grand Teton National Park are two chapels, both of which are open daily to the public. Both offer services on Sunday for park visitors and area residents, during the summer. And weddings are held at both chapels, with a special permit through the national park service.
CHAPEL OF THE TRANSFIGURATION
Built in 1925, this is an Episcopal Church, affiliated with St. John’s Episcopal Church in Jackson, WY. It was built to provide local ranchers and residents a place of worship without having to make the 12 mile ride into Jackson, which was a treacherous trip at that time, before automobiles and roads were commonplace.
Chapel of the Transfiguration
The cozy chapel seats 65 people, and does offer additional outdoor seating, weather permitting. They do have a Christmas service, but you need your cross country skis, or snowshoes, to make it to the chapel. The roads to the chapel are closed in the winter.
The window behind the altar offers a spectacular view of the Tetons.
I think it might be hard to focus on the sermon, when you are staring out at this view!
CHAPEL OF THE SACRED HEART
Built in 1937, the Chapel of the Sacred Heart is a Catholic Church, affiliated with Our Lady of the Mountains in Jackson, WY. It is right on the shore of Jackson Lake.
Unlike the other Chapel, it does not take advantage of the views of the lake, as there are no windows overlooking the lake. My guess is the Priests want you to pay attention during Mass!
No view out this altar!
The chapel holds 115 people for mass. The stations of the cross are very simple plaques.
stations of the cross
AND A WEDDING TOO!
Well I can’t have a post about the chapels, without putting in some wedding photos! The step-sister of our boss was getting married on Sunday, and they had the wedding on the grounds of our cabins. I was working in the office that day, and fortunately all of my check-in’s for the day had arrived. Many of our guests noticed several people all dressed up, and I mentioned there would be a wedding in the early evening. They all commented on what a beautiful setting it would be for a wedding.
Since all my office work was technically done, I decided to be a ‘wedding crasher’, and attended the small family wedding. It was a nice ceremony, and Brad gave away his step-sister.
Despite the clouds from a recent rainstorm, it was a beautiful backdrop for a wedding.
ATTENTION BIRD NERDS
One final note, when I was out watering the planter boxes by the cabins, I noticed this small bird, or a large moth, pollinating the plants. I have never seen this type of bird/moth before, so if anyone knows what it is, let me know!
Quote for the day: “Faith makes all things possible. Love makes all things easy.” – Dwight Moody
Liv2RV 
That is a Hyles lineata, otherwise known as a white-lined sphinx or hummingbird moth. Cool find! 🙂
Thanks for letting us know about the moth! I have never seen anything like it before, and it was fun to watch while I was watering the flowers. Hard to believe it is August already!
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Good to hear you continue to enjoy your travels😊😊
Great to hear from you two! We will be back in Florida January through March. If you are back ‘home’ we will have to get together.
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Wow, what a great setting for church! Lovely backdrops for a wedding too. We had those moths in Oklahoma when we were gate guarding. They would be attracted to the light on the guard shack and there would be dozens of them on the ground around the shack.
Always enjoy your stories. How is your foot doing?
My foot is getting better. I have been ‘boot-free’ for 2 weeks now. Tomorrow we will try a 4 mile hike which will be a good test!
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Enjoying your posts so much!!! Making me miss our west traveling, but hoping to make at least one more trip out there before we are done. We are heading back to FL, I start back to work on the 21st. Hoping to get to see you both when you get back to FL after the new year!!
Looks like someone already identified your hummingbird moth but I’ll go ahead and confirm it. We had one in our yard a few years ago and they really do get your attention.
Dan- Just wanted to let you know that Michelle passed her Praxis Math Test on her first try. Apparently there were a lot of statistics questions which she hasn’t had since your class. Once again, thanks for being a great teacher. She has one more math and physics class to go and she is student teaching in both the middle and high school this fall and spring. Then she should be all done and Mike and I should be much wealthier which means more vacations!
Congratulations to Michelle and the soon to be wealthy couple!!! Remember to keep us in mind when you are traveling with your RV across the country.
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