Grand Teton National Park is a favorite because the mountains are young and rugged and rise straight up out of the plains to 13,775 feet. It has grizzly’s, black bear, elk and bison like Yellowstone, but not the insane crowds.
Grand Teton National Park
Its located just 10 miles south of Yellowstone National Park and encompasses 310,000 acres. Grand Teton National Park was established in 1929 and was named after the tallest mountain in the Teton range, originally named by French fur trappers.
T.A. Moulton Barn, Grand Teton
Located in the Antelope Flats area of Grand Teton, it was part of the Mormon Row settlement once occupied by the Moulton family from 1912-1945.
There are other old barns and homes that are part of the Mormon Row.
Moose Junction, Grand Teton
We came upon a black bear gorging on fruit right next to the road. His head was all wet from the foliage. Even though we were the only vehicle there, the ranger only let us grab a couple of photos before making us move on, geez!
We returned another day to find a mother black bear and her cub gorging on black hawthorne berries.
We also came across a female moose lying down, but her calf was still standing watching us.
There were deer too.
Jenny Lake
It is a beautiful area with a lot of hiking trails. You have to get there early because the parking fills up fast.
There were pronghorn in a nearby field. This one is looking a little thin for so late in the year. Maybe it was an old one and in its’ last season.
Schwabacher Landing
There are a number of beaver dams that provide a great opportunity for reflection of the Tetons. We never got there early or late enough to see any beaver. Supposedly there were moose and grizzly in the area, but we never saw them at this location.
There were lots of ducks.
A dragonfly and damselfly.
Jackson Lake, Grand Teton
Jackson Lake was a natural lake, then in 1911 they built a dam to hold back more of the Snake River. It is about 15 miles long by about 7 miles wide.
Along the way there was a thistle with a butterfly.
Two Ocean Lake
We were hoping to see wildlife, but no luck, just pretty views.
Signal Mountain
Near Jackson Lake is Signal Mountain. It provides nice views of the valley with bison in the distance and the Buffalo Fork River.
At the base of Signal Mountain near Jackson Lodge a large bull elk, nicknamed “Hollywood” because he seems to like to pose for photos, hangs out near the beach.
Oxbow Bend
A Bald Eagle. Sometimes there are otters, grizzly, elk and black bear, but not this time.
Jackson
It has become a very busy town. We have been here numerous times over the years and even though the shops, restaurants and bars only keep getting better, the crowds seem to outpace the perks. Cowboy Cafe was a treat for lunch.
Snake River Brewing was delicious. Their beers and an artichoke, tomato, pistachio, avocado, goat cheese, fresh greens, and vinaigrette pizza was perfect after a day of hiking in the Tetons.
Fireside Buffalo RV Park, Moran, Wyoming
We had 50-amp electric, sewer, and good water pressure. There was no cable or internet. Our Verizon signal was marginal, but good enough to stream. The sites were tight, but fortunately, they put us in an end site facing a meadow with no neighbors. There were intense mosquitos every night, so photos of the milky way were out of the question. The RV park was only about a third full. They really need to work on spacing sites, providing shade trees, internet and improving the esthetics. They have a small bar with a good enough selection and friendly staff. Overall we enjoyed our stay and would return.
We drove some forest roads up to 8,500 feet then eventually ended up at Turpin Meadow Ranch. They have a beautiful restaurant and bar in addition to an RV park, stables, ATV, and winter activities.
On the way back to the RV park there was an osprey feeding it’s young and magpies in a tree.
We drove out Gros Ventre Road because others spotted moose there, but no luck, just nice views of the Tetons.
Continental Divide
Togwotee Pass is at 9,655 feet and scenic. We went to Brookes Lake where there was another lodge and horses.
There was a young badger busy digging out chipmunks. Jake found him fascinating to watch.
We also explored Windy Lake and some National Forest roads looking for a mother grizzly and her two cubs without success. Maybe another day because that is just par for the course with wildlife and landscape photography!
