In and Around Grand Teton National Park

The photographs in today's post were all taken in and around Grand Teton National Park on the afternoon of September 19th.

Horse pasture at the base of the Grand Tetons

T. A. Moulton Barn

John Moulton Barn

Old Fencing at the site of the John Moulton Barn

Jackson Lake

A little fall color

We covered a lot of ground that day...meeting up with Betty in Dubois, then seeing the beautiful scenery and horses between Dubois and the Grand Tetons, then a quick tour of Grand Teton National Park; and we're not finished yet. Later that afternoon, we drove from the Tetons into Yellowstone National Park, where we did some sightseeing on our way to our lodging in West Yellowstone, Montana. So the next posts from this trip will feature some scenery from Yellowstone.

On another note, some of you who have been with me for awhile might remember when I wrote about my cousin, Bill, here. Well, we lost Bill on November 8, when he was killed in a motorcycle accident. He was a very experienced rider, having ridden motorcycles for probably 50 years. He has ridden solo on a  Four Corners tour, where he rode to the four corners of the continental United States. He also rode solo from his home in Ohio to Alaska, tent camping along the way. On the day he was killed, he was just on a day trip to the neighboring state of Indiana.

Anyway, I apologize for ending this post on a sad note, but somehow I just couldn't let Bill's passing go unmentioned.

  

A Smoky Day in the Tetons

On September 23, we drove from West Yellowstone, where we had been staying, down through the South Entrance and, from there, to Grand Teton National Park. Before leaving Yellowstone, though, we stopped to see Kepler Cascades.

Kepler Cascades - Yellowstone

Then we continued on to Grand Teton National Park, known for its majestic mountain scenery. Unfortunately, the smoke from numerous wildfires almost completely obscured those mountain views.

Grand Tetons hidden by smoke

Another view of the smoke-covered mountains with some fall color in the foreground

By mid-afternoon, the thick smoke had lifted, leaving the mountains in a smoky haze.

Since the mountain views were disappointing, we went looking for wildlife. The park newspaper suggested that the road between the towns of Moose and Wilson offered good opportunities for bear sightings, so that's where we headed.

We hadn't gone far before seeing this moose grazing in a small pond.

A little further down the road was this big bull moose.

And this is the crowd gathered to photograph yonder moose.

After getting our photos of the bull moose, we returned to our vehicle and were preparing to continue on down the road. Before we could work our way out of the jumble of cars parked haphazardly by those hurrying to photograph the moose, we looked across the road and saw a bear in the woods. (Sorry, no picture...again) Sitting on a log not 20 feet from the bear was a man.

My first thought was that he had seen the bear and had foolishly gone over there to get a photo. The bear was just passing through, gorging on berries as it went. When it was gone, the man came across the road to where several of us had been watching. He looked a little shaken. It seems he had just gone over there to sit on that log while waiting for his wife or friend to shoot some pictures of the moose. The bear came through the woods, surprising him. So he just sat very still and waited for the bear to leave. I suppose he felt reasonably safe, with all of us standing across the road watching the whole drama unfold.

Following are a few more photos from this visit to the Tetons.

The T. A. Moulton Barn on Mormon Row

The John Moulton Barn, also on Mormon Row

A last look at the Tetons in the late-afternoon light

Tetons, Yellowstone, and the Big Horn Mountains

Wrapping up the travelogue for our trip west in the spring of 2009...

We packed up and left Afton, Wyoming the next morning, going through Thayne, where we had breakfast at...of all places...a pizza place. But this pizza place also served a very traditional and very delicious breakfast. Our route then took us on through Etna and Alpine.

Outside of Alpine, we took U.S. 26 northeast to Swan Valley, Idaho. There were lots of Osprey in that area, many with nests on the tops of poles or in the cliffs along the highway. Since they are fishing hawks, the large Palisades Reservoir and the Snake River were certainly part of the attraction for them.

Osprey

At Swan Valley, we took Idaho 31 to Victor, Idaho and Idaho 22 to Wilson, Wyoming. Then we took 390 to Teton Village and on into Grand Teton National Park. We'd never seen that section of the park before, so that was interesting, in spite of the nasty weather.

Grand Tetons

We drove on through the Tetons and entered Yellowstone National Park through the south entrance. It was June 2, and we had never visited Yellowstone this early in the season. We were a little surprised to find deep snow still lining the sides of the road and ice still on Lewis Lake.

We drove on to West Yellowstone, Montana, where we got a room and spent the night.

It was pretty cold and dreary the next morning, so we decided not to linger in Yellowstone but to start for home, taking time to visit a few of our favorite sites on the way out of Yellowstone, including the Artist's Point overlook of Yellowstone Canyon and Lower Falls.

Yellowstone Canyon and Lower Falls

We left Yellowstone by way of the east exit, which is a beautiful drive. Much of the beauty was hidden by low clouds that day, but we did see some wildlife.

Duck

Big Horn Sheep

When we reached Cody, Doug stopped at the Cody Dam to stretch his legs and to get some pictures.

At Cody Dam

By the time we left Cody, the clouds were breaking up; and blue sky and sunshine were showing through. But that ended when we reached the Big Horn Mountains. The clouds and drizzle returned, making for a harried trip over and through the mountains. But the upside was that the foggy haze seemed to bring the wild animals out in abundance up there.

Moose in Big Horn Mountains

Elk in Big Horn Mountains

Our stop that night in Sheridan, Wyoming officially ended our vacation. For the next two days, we were "homing," with no stops for photographs.

It's been fun sharing this trip here on the blog. It was one of our best vacations to date, and it was fun reliving it as I posted about it here.
     

Homeward Bound

We left Yellowstone this morning and drove down to Grand Teton National Park.

Horses and Teton Mountains

It wasn't our intention to spend any time in the Tetons, just to pass through. Our main goal was to locate and photograph the T. A. Moulton Barn, possibly the most photographed barn in America. You may have seen pictures of it on calendars and postcards.

T. A. Moulton Barn

T. A. Moulton Barn

T. A. Moulton Barn

My photos don't look like those calendar shots. It couldn't be the photographer. Let's blame the weather! The time of day could also have something to do with it. I guess most true photographers arrive at dawn to get the best pictures. Unless I sleep next to the barn, it's unlikely I'll ever get a picture at dawn. Even then, it might be questionable. Those who know me know that I'm not an early riser. Night time is my time.

After getting our pictures of the barn, we drove south on U. S. 191 to where it meets I-80 at Rock Springs, Wyoming. That road passed through some beautiful countryside. But we're homing, so there are no pictures to share of the scenery. I did, however, manage to get Doug to stop for some antelope that were right beside the road.

Pronghorn Antelope

And that's about it for today. As always, thanks for sharing our trip with us.