John D. Rockefeller, Jr. was, among other things, a friend of the park service. He bought a large bit of land for Great Smoky Mountains National Park, and he bought a large chunk of the valley to the east of the Grand Tetons.

Prior to his generosity, only the mountains were fully protected. By adding the lands east of the mountains, the park now protected the land from overdevelopment and added lots of view points to the park.

To honor Rockefeller, the seven-mile highway between the south entrance to Yellowstone and north entrance to Grand Teton was designated the John D. Rockefeller, Jr. Memorial Parkway and made an official unit of the park system. The drive is a scenic one (even on the overcast day we drove it) as the lands transition from one park to the next. Even taking the drive slowly and pulling off the side often, one completes the entire route in 15 to 20 minutes. It does provide a nice buffer between the two parks.