Welcome to THIS IS AMERICA in VOA Special English. I’m Faith Lapidus.
VOICE TWO:
And I'm Steve Ember. Today we travel to the mountains of Wyoming for a trip to Jackson Hole.
VOICE ONE:
This beautiful valley was named after the 19th century explorer and hunter David Jackson. After he spent a winter in the area, his friends started to call it “Jackson’s Hole.”
VOICE TWO:
The valley looks like a hole in the middle of the mountains that surround it. Over time, the name stuck.
(MUSIC)
VOICE ONE:
Jackson Hole is about forty-eight kilometers long. The valley includes the town of Jackson. About eight thousand people live there. The valley also includes the Grand Teton National Park and much of the Bridger-Teton National Forest.
Jackson Hole is a popular holiday place. In the summer, people go there to ride horses, climb mountains, catch fish and take trips on the rivers and lakes.
Many visitors take a trip across the valley on the Snake River. The Snake Indians once lived near this river. It turns from side to side, like a snake on the move.
Some visitors bird-watch from sailboats. One of the birds they can see is America’s national symbol, the bald eagle. Other people go white-water rafting. Rubber rafts carry them along the fastest parts of the river. The water moves so fast, it becomes white with foam.
VOICE TWO:
In the winter, people come to Jackson Hole to ski. Jackson Hole Mountain Resort provides some of the best downhill skiing and snowboarding in the world.
And there are other kinds of skiing. Some people skate ski; they speed across level snow. Others enjoy the slower speed of cross-country skiing.
Some people go dog sledding in Jackson Hole. They get on a sled and are pulled by a team of dogs through the snow. This is one of the many ways to enjoy the extraordinary mountain views.
Some wealthy people have homes near the ski resort. Other people stay in the many hotels nearby. Some of these hotels are new and very costly.
In fact, the average sale price of a single-family home in Jackson Hole is more than one million dollars.
(MUSIC)
VOICE ONE:
Visitors to Jackson Hole have many shopping, dining and entertainment choices.
People can imagine they are in a town in the Old West. At the Million Dollar Cowboy Bar, instead of chairs, they can sit on saddles as if riding a horse. On some nights there are dance lessons. People can learn the two-step, a kind of Western dance.
Or they can eat dinner and listen to live music at the Mangy Moose Saloon. There, a large dead moose hangs from the ceiling.
At the Silver Dollar Bar, a long table is covered with more than two thousand shiny silver dollars. If you look carefully, you see that the coins are all from the year 1921.
Visitors can also enjoy an evening at the Jackson Hole Playho
