John Colter Day set Monday at Grand Teton National Park
One of the region’s more interesting legends will be featured Monday at Grand Teton National Park.
The Colter Bay Visitor Center will host John Colter Day in the park.
Colter, who was an original member of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, was released from the Corps of Discovery in southern Montana and explored the Yellowstone country during the winter of 1807-1808. He was likely the first Euro-American to travel the region.
On Monday, the so-called Colter Stone will be on display at the Visitor Center. Normally on display at the Teton Valley Hisorical Scoiety Museum in Driggs, the stone is a piece of rhyolite lava carved into the shape of a human head. It is engraved with the name John Colter and the date, 1808.
Other special presentations during the day will include mountain man history, the story of Sacagawea and the legend of the so-called Colter Run.
John Colter Day highlights include:
Colter Stone on Display – June 22 – July 1, 2018 at the Visitor Center
Presentations at Colter Bay Visitor Center auditorium and amphitheater – June 25, 2018
11:00 a.m. – The Story of the Colter Stone, Location: Colter Bay Visitor Center auditorium
Ranger Naturalist Dan Greenblatt will detail the legend and history of this fascinating artifact.
3:00 p.m. – John Colter: Mountain Man Superhero, Location: Colter Bay Visitor Center auditorium
Dr. Barbara Mueller, professor of anthropology at Casper College, will discuss the life of John Colter, widely considered to be the first mountain man of the American West.
5:30 p.m. -The Story of Sacagawea, Location: Colter Bay Visitor Center auditorium
Local author, historian and storyteller, Ken Thomasma, will talk about Sacagawea, a Shoshone woman who accompanied the Lewis and Clark expedition across the western United States from 1804-1806.
7:00 p.m. – Mountain Men of Jackson Hole, Location: Colter Bay amphitheater
Ranger Naturalist Andrew Langford will re-create the rugged life of a mountain man, enduring brutal winters and physical dangers in the unmapped West during the 1800s.
9:00 p.m. – Run for Your Life: Then and Now, Location: Colter Bay Visitor Center auditorium
Dr. Barbara Mueller, professor of anthropology, will discuss historic adventures.
For more information about the Colter Day events, please call the Colter Bay Visitor Center at 307.739.3594.
