Moose

Moose -- Grand Teton National Park, WY
Canon EOS Rebel T5i, EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM, f/5.6, 1/800s, ISO: 6400

I saw three moose on my trip to Grand Teton National Park a few weeks ago.  One eluded my lens entirely.  The other two I caught in less than ideal conditions for photography, but who cares?  Holy cow, I saw moose in the wild!

The Teton Range

Grand Teton National Park, WY
Canon EOS Rebel T5i, EF 17-40mm f/4L USM, f/5.6, 1/50s, ISO: 200

We caught the sunrise on the Tetons on a bright, clear morning a couple of weeks ago.  We were surrounded by bugling elk.  Quite a way to start a day.

Early Morning at Jackson Lake

Jackson Lake -- Grand Teton National Park, WY
Canon EOS Rebel T5i, EF 17-40mm f/4L USM, ISO: 100, f/8, 1/80s

You're going to be seeing a lot more pictures from this particular day (Thursday, July 9, 2015) on this blog over the next few weeks.  Well, unless I hit some amazing places on the next few weekends, of course.  The sun has barely risen in this shot.  Jim is probably still snoring in his tent.  We haven't even had a cup of coffee yet and I'm taking pictures like this.  Yeah, baby!

Mule Deer

Mule Deer -- Grand Teton National Park, WY
Canon EOS Rebel T5i, EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM, f/5.6, 1/2000s, ISO: 6400

I spotted a couple of mule deer in a field one early morning this summer in Grand Teton National Park.  There's nothing all that unusual about seeing deer in the Western states, but I still get excited about it.  Shoot, I see deer on about half of my drives to work, but I still love it when I spot 'em.  Where I live we have Columbian black-tailed deer.  They inhabit most of the Pacific coastline.  Mule deer live in the Sierra mountains in California as well as most of the Western United States.  I was talking to a ranger at Pinnacles National Park and she said Columbian black-tailed deer inhabit that park but that they're getting "muley."

Anyway, I'm not sure what's going on with the fur on their faces, but these two dudes looked a little rough.

Mule Deer -- Grand Teton National Park, WY
Canon EOS Rebel T5i, EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM, f/5.6, 1/1600s, ISO: 6400

Rocky Mountain Elk

Rocky Mountain Elk -- Grand Teton National Park, WY
Canon EOS Rebel T5i, EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM, ISO: 6400, f/5.6, 1/1600s

Thursday, July 9, 2015.  This would end up being an epic day.  We toured the Northern loop of Yellowstone for the first (and only so far) time.  We saw and photographed elk, deer, hawks, eagles. bison and grizzly bears along with many of the geographical features of the Yellowstone and Grand Teton parks.

This was the first animal I shot that day.  It was an elk (obviously) not too far from our campsite.  Jim was still sawing logs in his tent so I went for an early morning drive to see what I could see.  I was hoping for a moose or a grizzly bear, but I wasn't exactly disappointed by this elk.  Little did I know the grizzly bears would come later in the day.

The Tetons

Grand Teton National Park, WY
Canon EOS Rebel T5i, EF 17-40mm f/4L USM, f/9, 1/80s, ISO: 100

This is what July looks like in Grand Teton National Park.  Doesn't look all that summery, does it?

The Teton Range

Grand Teton National Park, WY
Canon EOS Rebel T5i, EF 17-40mm f/4L USM, ISO: 100, f/10, 1/100s

Grand Teton is one of my favorite parks.  Death Valley and Capitol Reef probably round out my top three.  A big part of the attraction for me is that they aren't swamped with people, at least not whenever I've visited them.  Smaller crowds seems to be a more important characteristic to me than big time attractions.

Heron Pond

Heron Pond, Grand Teton National Park, WY
Canon PowerShot SD770 IS

It rained a lot on our trip to Wyoming last year, so much so that I had to leave my big camera in the car for our hike out to Heron Pond.  We were hoping to see some beaver or some moose.  We saw neither, although we heard a few beaver slaps.  We saw a beaver dam on Swan Lake and a beaver lodge not too far from where this photo was taken on Heron Pond.  I have yet to see a moose in the wild.

Grand Teton

Grand Teton National Park, WY
Canon EOS Rebel T5i, EF 17-40mm f/4L USM, f/8, 1/125s, ISO: 100

The Teton Range has to be one of the more photogenic mountain ranges around.  It has so many moods.  I really like the quiet peacefulness of this photo.  At times it can look downright menacing, at other times you get something like this.  Don't miss this park if you ever visit Yellowstone.  It shouldn't be an afterthought.  I don't stay in Yellowstone when I visit this area, I stay here.  The first time was just by luck, but now it's by choice.

Jackson Lake

Jackson Lake, Grand Teton National Park, WY
Canon EOS Rebel T5i, EF 17-40mm f/4L USM, ISO: 100, f/6.3, 1/50s

This is one of the more mellow shots I took on our trip to Grand Teton and Yellowstone in July.  That's a lotta green, isn't it?

Photo selection inspired by Geogypsy's Foto Friday Fun 145, image #7265.

Cowboy Crossing

Grand Teton National Park, WY
Canon EOS Rebel T5i, EF 17-40mm f/4L USM, f/7.1, 1/60s, ISO: 100

I like the cowboy hat mods on horse crossing signs even better than the Rudolph noses on deer crossing signs.  This one looks like Butch Cassidy.  By the tilt of his hat we can clearly see that he's moseying.

Ghost Rider Crossing

Grand Teton National Park, WY
Canon PowerShot SD770 IS

Remember in junior high when you'd get yourself up to a good speed on your bike and then jump off to see how far you could send your bike down that hill?  Ghost riding, right?  I guess there's a lot of that going on near Jenny Lake.  Doesn't seem like the likeliest of places.  There's no hills or jumps in the vicinity of this sign, anyway.

Rain Over the Teton Range

Jackson Lake, Grand Teton National Park, WY
Canon EOS Rebel T5i,  EF 17-40mm f/4 L USM, 1/80s, f/6.3, ISO: 100

I spent four nights up at Grand Teton National Park earlier this month.  This was one of the clearer views I saw of the mountains over the course of that stay.  It rained every day I was there.  Made for some moody photos, though.

Grand Teton

Grand Teton National Park, WY
Canon PowerShot SD770 IS

A preview of coming attractions.  I'll be in Wyoming in a couple of weeks and I am beyond excited.  I might even buy a cowboy hat.

Sunrise at Jackson Lake

Jackson Lake, Grand Teton National Park, WY

Canon PowerShot SD770 IS, 1/100s, f/8, ISO: 60

I'm itching to get on the road.  I'm hoping to make a big trip this summer, which means I'll probably forego the short trips I've been making in spring.  It will be worth it if I can get back to Colorado and Wyoming.  I may have gone stir crazy by July though.  Hopefully I'll have my kayak in these waters in a few months.

Jackson Lake

Jackson Lake, Grand Teton National Park, WY
Canon PowerShot SD770 IS, 1/400s, f/2.8, ISO: 80

This is Jackson Lake at dawn in the middle of summer in 2012.  We stayed for three nights at the park.  I woke up early on this particular morning and walked along the shore of the lake from the campground to Signal Mountain Lodge.  This place is gorgeous, but it lives in the shadow of adjacent Yellowstone.  There are many reasons why Yellowstone is the place people come to visit, but it has no answer for the Teton Range.  These mountains aren't large like the Sierras but look as rugged as anything I've seen in North America and don't take a back seat to any of the West's great mountains in terms of beauty.

Signal Mountain

Signal Mountain, Grand Teton National Park, WY
Canon PowerShot SD770 IS, 1/125s, f/8.0, ISO: 80

I'll grant you this isn't the most exciting picture I've ever posted.  It is, however, the most exciting picture numbered 207 in my collection.

This photo is of a meadow just off the road to the top of Signal Mountain in Grand Teton National Park.  I like the greens of the grass and trees.  There's a pond to the right of this scene where moose are often spotted.  We didn't see any on this trip.  I have yet to see a moose in the wild.  It's high on my list of animals I want to see.  Mountain lion tops that list.  Can you imagine?

Photo selection inspired by Geogypsy's Photo Friday Fun #91, photo #207.