Until Rulon Gardner improbably won the gold medal for wrestling in the 2000 Summer Olympics, precious few people had ever heard of Star Valley, Wyoming. While the publicity surrounding his victory didn’t exactly turn Star Valley into a major tourist stop, it did introduce many Americans to a region that is virtually unknown compared to the region less than an hour north, Jackson Hole. And Star Valley residents are happy to keep it that way.

Known locally for an antler archway spanning Afton’s Main Street and a cheese factory in Thayne, Star Valley is home mostly to ranches (real ones, not those prissy dude ranches) and small towns. Jackson Hole and Cody are home to many of Wyoming’s dude and guest ranches; Star Valley has more of the real thing. Increasingly, it’s also home to people who work in Jackson but can’t afford to live there, but it remains an authentic piece of the real West. OK, there are some dude ranches in the valley, too, if that’s your thing. There’s also a growing number of folks who make their summer home there, retreating from the valley’s harsh winters to the American southwest when the snow flies. Paralleling Wyoming’s border with Idaho on the west and hemmed in by the Salt River Range on the east, Star Valley lacks the majestic scenery of Jackson Hole, but it also lacks Jackson’s outrageous real estate prices and nouveaux West façade.

U.S. 89 meanders south from Jackson to Hoback Junction, a collection of convenience stores and small shops. The highway then turns southwest into the Snake River Canyon (grandiously referred on some maps as the Grand Canyon of the Snake River). U.S. Highway 189/191 runs southeast out of Hoback Junction toward Pinedale, where the Wind River Range provides a stunning backdrop, with peaks exceeding 13,000 feet. The “Winds” offer world class hiking and pack trips. A number of outfitters offer guided trips into these mountains, which can be hostile to the unprepared but are far more remote (and, therefore, less crowded) than the Teton Range but no less spectacular. But we digress.

The Snake River Canyon is a very popular place for river rafters in the summer. There are a number of outfitters offering float trips – one can scarcely pass a street corner in Jackson without running into one. The trips are safe and surprisingly affordable and give you something to brag about to folks back home. Rafting companies have all the materials you’ll need.

U.S. 89 emerges from the canyon at Alpine Junction and the eastern edge of Palisades Reservoir, the majority of which lies in Idaho. Alpine Junction is mostly a place to get some gas and quick snack, but it’s also home to the Nordic Inn. The Inn itself is comfortable but unremarkable, except for the adjacent Stag Bar and Brenthoven’s Restaurant. The latter is run by chef Brent Johnston, who also happens to be a classically trained pianist with five CDs to his credit. The restaurant is open from early June through mid-October, and is worth a stop if the timing of your visit is right. Room rates at the Nordic are reasonable, as is the cost of a meal at Brenthoven’s.

At the junction that is Alpine Junction’s namesake, U.S. 89 turns due south and U.S. 26 heads north and then west along Palisades Reservoir, another source of irrigation water for Idaho’s famous potatoes. If you want to see where those potatoes are grown, take U.S. 26. You’ll wind along the reservoir before entering Swan Valley, a pretty area below the Palisades Dam world famous for fly fishing. The highway crosses the Snake River at the point where Swan Valley gives way to Conant Valley. Just pass the bridge to the left (if you’re traveling westbound) is a dirt Forest Service road that leads to the falls of Fall Creek in a mile or so. Look for the sign and park in the turnout, which is at the top of the falls. The water tumbles over travertine ledges into the Snake River, one of the most unique and beautiful falls you’ll ever see. Idaho Falls, which is named for what are essentially cascades and artificially created falls on the Snake River (where a diversion dam sends water into a hydroelectric plant) in the middle of the town, is about 45 minutes west of here, and offers a wide variety of lodging, shopping and restaurants.

If you choose not to take the Idaho Falls side trip, another option for those with a penchant for vehicular adventure is a backcountry drive that essentially bypasses Star Valley altogether. Forest Road 10138 – referred to locally as Greys River Road – connects to U.S. 89 at Alpine, just a mile or so south of Alpine Junction. The road runs east and then south along Grey’s River, eventually snuggling between the Salt River Range to the west and the Lander Mountains to the east. The Salt Rivers top out at just over 10,000 feet, while the Landers nudge 11,000 feet. The season for this drive is short – late spring through early fall – but it offers a great backroad alternative to the highway. It runs parallel to U.S. 89 until it connects with FR 10072. At this point 10138 heads southeast; to reconnect with U.S. 89 take 10072. This road, FR 10072, eventually becomes State Highway 232 and comes out on U.S. 30 near Cokeville. Backtrack northwest 30 miles or so to Montpelier, where you pick up U.S. 89 again. An alternative route takes you back to U.S. 89 just south of Afton, which requires taking the right fork instead of the left at the junction with FR 10072 (there are few, if any, signs indicating road numbers in the back country, so a good map and good map-reading skills are essential) Four-wheel-drive, a good map and up-to-date information from local sources are recommended before taking this side-trip, but it’s an adventure worth taking. When in doubt, stay on well-traveled roads and you’ll emerge near civilization one way or the other. The road is wide and graded for first half or more leaving Alpine and gradually narrows as it approaches the source of the Greys River. There are three primitive campgrounds along the way along with great scenery and the likelihood of encountering elk, moose or deer.

If you stay on U.S. 89 at Alpine, you’ll be officially entering Star Valley as you drive south. Idaho is only two or three miles west of the highway during this stretch, which settles in at about 6,500 in elevation. This means the summers are cool and short and the nights are cool even on the hottest days. You’ll pass through the small towns of Etna and Freedom before arriving at Thayne, home of the Star Valley Cheese Factory. The factory, on the south edge of town, is fronted by a coffee shop-style restaurant. After you eat, or if you’re not ready for a meal when you hit Thayne, buy some cheese curds to snack on as you get back on the road.

If you’re in cowboy country, you’re also in horse country. Thayne claims the distinction of being the first place to host cutter races and is now home to the All American Cutter Races in December. The featured event at the county fair in Afton each August is, naturally, a rodeo.

Near the southern end of Star Valley is Afton, the county seat and home to what the town boasts as the world’s largest elkhorn arch, spanning U.S. 89 in the middle of town. Afton is the hometown of the aforementioned Olympic champion Rulon Gardner. When he returned home after the Olympics, more folks turned out to greet him than actually reside in Afton, such was the pride in their hometown hero.

Afton and other Wyoming towns host the annual International Stage Stop Dog Sled race which, unlike the more famous Iditarod race in Alaska, is held in stages much like the Tour De France bicycle race. The race, held over 11 days in January and February, starts and ends in Jackson and travels a loop that includes Afton and other towns in Star Valley.

One interesting side trip out of Afton is to Periodic Spring. After seeing the geysers of Yellowstone, this might be a bit of an anticlimax, but what makes it unique is that it’s the largest of only three cold-water fluctuating springs, or cold-water geysers, in the world and the only one in North America. In late summer and early fall the cycle is at its peak, running about every 20 minutes. To get there, take Swift Creek Road (FR 10211) east just north of Afton. The trailhead is at the end of the road. The trail is less than a mile one way, with an elevation gain of about 500 feet.

U.S. 89 exits Star Valley just south of Afton and traverses rolling hills until it leaves Wyoming and enters Idaho’s extreme southeast corner. This is where U.S. 89 intersects the Oregon Trail and enters the region settled and still dominated by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the Mormons (though the Mormon influence is very strong in Star Valley and much of eastern Idaho as well). Sections of the highway in this region have been designated by the states of Idaho and Utah as the “Bear Lake-Caribou Scenic Byway” and the “Bear Lake Scenic Byway”, and the “Logan Canyon Scenic Byway.

When Lewis and Clark made their way from St. Louis to the mouth of the Columbia River in 1803-04, they believed they had found the best path to the Pacific Ocean from the nation’s mid-section. It turned out that their route, which ran through present-day Montana, was much more difficult than the Oregon Trail, which went through present day Wyoming and Idaho, bypassing some of the most daunting mountain ranges by following the Snake and Columbia rivers. The Oregon Trail is credited for making possible the settling of the West by European settlers during the mid-1800s, until the coming of the transcontinental railroad in 1869. Of course, the Oregon Trail spelled disaster for the Native Americans who had lived in the West for centuries and who were eventually virtually wiped out during the white settlement. Visible wagon wheel ruts remain today in places along the Oregon Trail.

U.S. 89 crosses the Oregon Trail near Montpelier, Idaho, which is just north of Bear Lake, a deep blue lake that straddles the Idaho/Utah state line. The lake is a favorite spot in the summer for a variety of water sports and is known for its raspberries. Stop by any drive-in along U.S. 89 at the lake during the late summer for a fresh raspberry shake.

For a quick side trip near Bear Lake, take St. Charles Creek Road west out of St. Charles to Mennetonka Cave. During the summer, guided tours of t he half-mile-long limestone cave are available.

U.S. 89 enters Utah midway down Bear Lake and turns abruptly west at Garden City, where it begins a steep climb into the Bear River Range. After reaching the pass, the highway winds its way toward Cache Valley and Logan, eventually entering a gorgeous mountain canyon with the Logan River alongside. This is a favorite drive of local color seekers during the fall.

The highway spills out of the canyon and immediately into Logan, Utah’s northernmost town of any consequence and home to Utah State University, Utah’s land-grant university. As nearly every Utah town, Logan was founded by Mormon settlers sent by Brigham Young in the mid-1850s, a little more than a decade after the Mormons first arrived in Utah. Jim Bridger had first scouted the area nearly 30 years earlier. Cache Valley, home to Logan and a number of smaller towns, is separated from Utah’s main population center along the Wasatch Front by the northern edge of the Wasatch Range. Its slightly higher elevation and northern position also makes it cooler year-round than the towns along the Wasatch Front.

As do many Utah towns, Logan features both a Mormon temple and a tabernacle, both of which are visible as you drive through town on U.S. 89. These buildings have very different purposes. Temples are open only to members of the church in good standing for religious rites and ceremonies, whereas the tabernacles were built for regular meetings of the faithful but were, and are, open to the public. In a number of towns the tabernacles are now owned by the local city government and used for a variety of public events. They are excellent examples of 19th century Mormon architecture and engineering. The Logan LDS temple was completed in 1884 and the tabernacle was completed in 1891. Another common feature of Mormon tabernacles, a pipe organ is the centerpiece of the Logan tabernacle.

If the drive into Logan has left you hungry, there are many options in this town of 33,000, but one you must consider is the Bluebird Restaurant in the heart of downtown on Main Street. First opened in 1914, it features an antique soda fountain and good food and candy.

A unique stop in Cache Valley during the summer is the Jensen Living Historical Farm, about six miles south of Logan. Open only in June, July and August, this is a fully operational farm operated by student volunteers from Utah State University. Set up to run as a farm would have in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the farm includes authentic period buildings and farming equipment. It’s open Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

If you’ve visited Jackson Hole in the winter you’ve seen elk gathered in the National Elk Refuge just north of Jackson. Cache Valley has its own version at the Hardware Ranch Wildlife Management Area, managed by the state of Utah. About 700 elk winter at the ranch, where sleigh rides are available to see the elk up close. The ranch is open year-round but elk are there in the winter only. Sleigh rides to see the elk are offered in season from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday and noon to 5 p.m. on Sundays. There’s a restaurant and gift shop on the premises and special night-time rides and dinners are available.

In the interest of fairness, we must mention that Cache Valley, like Star Valley, is home to a major cheese factory. In fact, the Cache Valley Cheese Factory purports to be the world’s largest manufacturer of Swiss cheese. There’s a company store at the factory, located in Amalga in the northwest corner of the valley. (Amalga was named for Amalgamated Sugar, a company that once produced sugar from Utah and Idaho sugar beets.)

U.S. 89 leaves Cache Valley heading southwest, where it enters a gentle mountain canyon before emerging at Brigham City. It’s not hard to figure out for whom this town is named. Here you’ve officially entered the Great Basin and the bed of the ancient Lake Bonneville, the high-water marks of which you can still see on the foothills near Brigham City, much like a bathtub ring. Lake Bonneville existed from 14,000 to 32,000 years ago until it broke through Red Rock Pass in Idaho and eventually settled at the Great Salt Lake’s current elevation. Brigham City features another Mormon tabernacle and is home to a variety of orchards. Just south of town right on U.S. 89 (which is now running parallel to Interstate 15) is another restaurant of local note, Maddox Ranch House.

Maddox opened in 1949 in a log building built on skids, “so it could be moved if things didn’t work out.” It’s still in its original location, added onto several times. There’s a drive-in and a sit-down restaurant featuring very American fare, emphasizing fried chicken, chicken fried steak and the like. The home-made rolls and desserts are spectacular, too. Bring a serious appetite and patience – there’s often quite a wait for dinner.

In late summer and early fall, the stretch of U.S. 89 leading south past the small towns of Perry and Willard are lined with fruit stands selling what’s been picked that day. To the west is the Great Salt Lake and the Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, where the Bear River empties into the Great Salt Lake. This 94,000-acre area of marsh and wetland is a bird-watcher’s paradise, offering everything from Canadian geese to white pelicans. Spring is the ideal time for bird watching here, and most of the birds are gone from November until the spring thaw.

U.S. 89 enters Weber Valley in a few more miles, and we’ve officially come upon the Wasatch Front, home to nearly 90 percent of Utah’s population and the only truly metropolitan area traversed by U.S. 89.