Teton National Park is in northwestern Wyoming, just south of Yellowstone National Park. It was established in 1929. We haven’t been here in over 10 years and were looking forward to seeing the striking Teton range, but haze from all the western fires almost completely hid them from view on some days. From Thayne, Wyoming it was a two hour drive.
Grand Teton
The National Park consists of approximately 310,000 acres with peaks as high as 13,775 feet. But it’s not all about the mountains. The lakes, rivers, and animal diversity are immense.
Near Jenny Lake, after sunset we came across a bull moose. At over 100 yards away with little light we were glad to capture a couple of images.
Near the Moose Junction entrance, we were able to see a couple of female moose and a calf. It was morning, so the light was a little better. The calf will stay with the cow until about 18 months when she begins estrus again. Even though there are a lot of moose in the Tetons and Yellowstone, the most in the lower 48 states are in Maine.
In the same area of Moose Junction, we saw black bear. This one was gorging on berries.
At Oxbow Bend and along the Teton Park Road we saw more black bears.
Also along the Teton Park road there were some bison.
We frequented the Oxbow Bend area where there were Osprey, White Pelicans, and hawks.
The fall foliage was not yet at its peak, but still beautiful.
The views from Signal Mountain were good despite the smoke haze.
Colter Bay RV Park, Grand Teton, Wyoming
They had 50 amp service with water and sewer. Because of the trees, no satellite. There weren’t any local channels or cable. We barely had one bar of Verizon and no internet. The sites were large, but they could trim their trees.
It’s located next to Jackson Lake. The smoke haze created a moody background of the Tetons.
The Grassy Lake Resevoir drive was scenic.
Along the way, Sandy captured some nice butterfly images of a Painted Lady and Spring White.
Mormon Row Historic District, Wyoming
Located in Jackson Hole valley, it’s a preserved cluster of Mormon settlement buildings. The most photographed is the John Moulton barn. Normally, the Tetons would be in the background, but the smoke haze almost completely hid them.
Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming
The southern section of Yellowstone is not far from Grand Teton and an easy drive along the John D. Rockefeller, Jr. Memorial Parkway.
The first stop in Yellowstone was Moose Falls.
Lewis Falls was just a little further north.
West Thumb Geyser Basin
West of Old Faithful, the West Thumb Geyser Basin was one of the early tourist attractions in the 1800s.
The Abyss Pool is deep with an ultramarine hue.
There are so many hot springs, mud pots, and fumaroles to see with stunning colors from thermophiles.
Dragon’s Mouth Spring is aptly named. The air smells of rotten eggs.
It was amazing to see this huge mature grizzly bear dining on a huge mature bull elk. The park ranger said that it’s not unusual for a grizzly to take down a bull elk, but he suspects that the elk was either exhausted by the rut or injured. Someone else captured a video of the kill, we arrived shortly afterwards. This was in the Hayden Valley along the Yellowstone River.
The Grand Teton National Park is amazing and is a beautiful wild preserved bit of nature we hope to return to time and again. It’s not quite as crowded as Yellowstone either.
