Contributed photo

Contributed photo

Travel Directions:
From US-191 at Grand Teton National Park,
Turn East onto US-26 / US-287.
From here, the area extends approximately 90 breathtaking miles along US-26 / US-287.

Remarks:
Ang Lee saw the enchanting Wind River Valley in December of 2003, and again during the following spring before production of the film commenced in Alberta: “... I found a place in between, which is my idea of Brokeback Mountain: it’s called Wind River, just east of Yellowstone, near Dubois. Wind River is a valley area [in western Wyoming], just below Wind River Mountain. It’s so beautiful, quiet ...” [1]

Make the impressive drive between Grand Teton National Park (Jackson Lake) and the Wind River Indian Reservation (Crowheart) during daylight hours. It is a special adventure. Among its many spectacles are the Togwotee Pass at the Continental Divide, Brooks Lake near Union Pass, and the windswept red canyon country southeast of Crowheart. Only fools fail to stop and appreciate the McKinley Avenue Overlook at Dubois. “Truth is,” the “Avenue” is only a bumpy dirt road, but the view it affords of “Lee’s Brokeback” is incomparable.

The arresting mountains to the north of the highway are the volcanic Absarokas, but the real geological star of this show is the Wind River Range, visible to the south between Burris and Lander. [2] The Wind Rivers form a scenic span of the Continental Divide, including eight peaks which rise over 13,500' (4,115 m). The largest glaciers of the U.S. Rocky Mountains are found here in the Wind Rivers, on the flanks of Wyoming’s highest mountain, Gannett Peak, at 13,804' (4,207 m).

The town of Dubois embraces the hoards of tourists that pass through its small streets en route to and from the nearby national parks. To pronounce the town’s name correctly, forget any French that you may happen to know, then try “DUE-boys.” We stopped for dinner at one of Dubois’ restaurants without any adverse consequences.

See:
http://www.duboiswyoming.org/

Quotation:
“... thought I ate somethin bad at that place in Dubois.” [3]

[1] “Where in Wyoming,” Chicago Tribune, Robert K. Elder, January 4, 2006, Tempo section, page 1.
[2] “Years on years they worked their way through the high meadows and mountain drainages ... the Absarokas ... into the Wind Rivers over and over again ... but never returning to Brokeback.” Brokeback Mountain - Story to Screenplay by Annie Proulx, Larry McMurtry and Diana Ossana (Scribner) ISBN-13: 978-0-7432-9416-4, page 17.
[3] Ibid., page 13.