Beautiful country. I've always loved the place, but I suspect making a living there is a challenge. An acquaintance from Soda Springs tells me they always called it "Starve Alley---Poverty with a View".

Know a girl that used to live in Alpine Junction, lived off her dad though so I don't know how easy it is to make a buck around there. It certianly is beautiful country though.

Have some relatives who own/operate a ranch up there. Hard work and they made some money elsewhere, but they make a go of it.

Some of the most beautiful country you will ever see, I live an hour from there (Soda Springs) so I see it quite often. Homes are very expensive there, lots of overflow from the Jackson Hole crowd.
A large portion of Wyoming relies on the tourist dollar, that & gas & oil. There's jobs there if a person can pass a drug test, many can't but thats the same everywhere. A weekend drive through Star Valley, over to Bear Lake or head the other way to Jackson Hole, be sure to stop in at Bubba'a for some good ribs! Watch the shoot out in the center of town, or drive north towards Yellowstone & get lots of photo's of the Teton's.

Dick

Rob,

I have hunted there many times. It's beyond beautiful. However, locals have told me that it gets beyond cold in winter with snow accumulating about ten feet. It stays all winter.

Fall hunting in Star Valley is one thing. Winter living there is another. Cabin fever can become fatal.

I hope this helps.


Take care,

R

Thanks for the info guys. Thanks Raisuli. Sounds like you might be from near there.

Hi Rob,

No I am from Reagan Country, sunny Orange County, CA. But I have hunted there. It's beyond beautiful. But before you consider a move to Star Valley, visit it in February. Were you to do so you might wind up being my OC neighbor.


Take care,

R

R, what are you talking about, Star Valley hasn't had 10 feet of snow since april, these California guys keep blowing things out of porportion.

Dick

Star Valley averages 158 of snowfall a year, that isn't going to stack up to 10' level (snow settles quite a bit). An average low of about 6 degrees ain't that bad either. Seems quite nice actually. Steamboat Springs, CO is snowier and colder but that was a great place to grow up. Just saying that winter and snowfall are a great thing, especially if you ski or sled.

I live in Preston, a 100 miles SW of there. It's not the snow, but the cold that makes winter a challenge. I've hunted there in mid Nov at -10 in the morning. They probably have 60 days without a freeze in the summer. It is a beautiful place though, with lots of game and decent fishing, not to mention proximity to Yellowstone country. The economy is still slow, but there are deals on housing, at least compared to 4 years ago.

Raisuli:

I grew up in Cache Valley, Utah---just over the mountain from Star Valley. I remember a couple winters where it got -20 below. And we had to milk cows in that cold. I got banished to Kommie Kalifornia in '87 and I've not been able to get out. Cache Valley is ruined. Too many people. Tryin' to find a place that reminds me of where I grew up. Gonna go out to Soda Springs, Idaho in August and check it out a little closer.

Jordan

Ronben:

Hauled many a truckload of wheat to Franklin Grain Growers in Preston in my youth. Heard it burned down not long ago. Always liked Preston---alot. But it seems to be struggling to. 25 years ago main street was much more vibrant. Are you a native? What you do there? Farming?

Jordan

My father was born and raised in Smoot, and I am still probably related to half the valley. My dad always described the weather in Star Valley as 8 months of winter and 4 months of rough sledding.

Of the relatives I stay in contact with, one is a trucker, one works for the county, and another owns and operates a cleaning and restoration company.

I've got a bro-in-law from Star Valley, he never seemed to complain about it being too cold or too much snow. His Dad owns or runs a feed store there. The BIL does talk highly of the hunting there.

Gee, I didn`t know money was tight in the valley. Richard Petty has a home there.
Talk about snow, my daughter lived in Wilson at the bottom of Teton pass, recently moved to Hobach Junction. I think she gets a few feet less there. Me, I`ll stay in the Wind River, the bananna belt, of the state.

I hear tell the commie police are huntin' me down to serve eviction papers. They don't much like Reagan Republicans anymore, even in Reagan Country, formerly known as OC.

I have going to try to hunt Southern Utah, try because I am having my left shoulder rebuilt on Nov 7. My surgeon is going to take a muscle from my chest and do something with it in my rotator cuff. Then about 2 months later he's doing my right rotator cuff. At least I was drawn for one of my favorite deer zones.

Southern Utah might just be the safest and most beautiful states I have hunted. Highway 12 was at one time ranked in the nation's top 10 of most beautiful highways. And that area has HUGE bucks. I was told that the mineral content of the soil has a lot to do with huge antlers. Lot's of red and bronze hues in the area.

I am going strictly trophy this year. The benefit of hunting Southern Utah is that I always do well whether I harvest a buck because when I'm there I'm in one of the most gorgeous areas on Earth.


Take care,

R

Jordan, The grain growers burned down, but they are going to rebuild it. It was quite the fire, could be seen for miles around. Preston is holding it's own. I don't see much change over the years. I moved to CAche Valley in 74 and Preston in 88. I'm almost a local! Like always here, the biggest challenge is low wages. Decent jobs are few and far between unless you commute to Logan or Soda. I make custom furniture, mostly for the Jackson market, which is why I go thru Star Valley a lot. It seems like they have a month more winter on both ends.

wind river???......many a beaver' as stars in the sky...........

My wife & I were driving through Preston the day the Grain Growers complex went up in flames, they had traffic blocked off for several blocks & the flames were visable for 3-4 miles. Two of my kids live there, it was quite a spectacle. That old building was one of the local landmarks for many years.
If you get over to Jackson Hole be sure to take in one of the live theaters, also there is a Ripley's Believe It Or Not thats a lot of fun for the kids, and me!
In Star Valley you can have a fine meal at the old Cheese Factory, although its changed hands several times in the last few years. Also Freedom Arms is just up the road at Freedom, Wyoming. A drive up through Star Valley ranch is a worth while side trip just to see the fabulous homes.

Dick

Used to date a gal from Thayne in Star Valley. It is beautiful with a mostly agriculture economy, with some tourism thrown in. Hard place to make money if you weren't born there. It's about 95% Mormon (or was back in the late 1980s) and all the little towns are named after the families that settled thee. Nice people, but if you aren't Mormon you will be an outsider in the same way as if you went to live in a town that is 95% Catholic. Houses are expensive as they have been pushed up by people moving there who can't afford to live in Jackson.

I remember the old cheese factory. Are they still processing cheese there? I did not think they were. Not many dairy farms in Star Valley anymore are there? I am thinking maybe two or three?? How is Freedom Arms doing in this recession, if anyone knows?

Jordan

I was born and raised there. 4th generation of people to do so. Family owns a ranch in Etna. No finer place on earth IMO. But it is a tuff place to make a living.

My fathers family came from there, mothers came from Paris id. Cold in the winter but beautiful in the four month summer. Guess there is going to be a temple in Etna in the near future. The Utes come through in droves in he summer. Wish I was able to spend more time there as a kid, before my father passed. Good luck.

Paris Idaho is a nice little town. My grandfather used to teach at the old Paris Academy back in the day. That would have been in the 20's I'm guessin. I'm told the foundation of the old building is still visible on the hillside. The old Paris Tabernacle is quite a fascinating structure. Bear Lake is beautiful country. Liked it better when there were more ranches and fewer condos.

Yes my mother graduated from the Academy, not sure 1st version or second, can't remember if it burned down before and after she went there or just after. The tabernacle is breathtaking, how they built that in the 1880's.

I hunted there a number of times in the late 80's.
My buddy's family was from there, he was also was related to some mink farmers that lived there by the last name of Chadwick.

Back then it seemed like two kind of folks lived there, those just making it and the wealthy that had vacation dream homes.

Beautiful country...

I did a guided Mule Deer hunt about 8 years ago in the Gray's River drainage. The country was beautiful. Nothing beats a high country, late season mule deer hunt.

Great hunting and fishing and close to even more great hunting and fishing.