Grand Standing in the Tetons

The Grand Tetons are called “grand” because, my gosh, they are grand!  This is our first full day in the park and we have beautiful weather. I don’t know if there’s anything like this mountain range.  There are no foothills.  They shoot straight skyward from the forest floor splitting the stratosphere.

 

 This is Mount Moran located in the Tetons--the second highest peak at 12,605 feet.

 

And this is Grand Teton, the highest peak in the range at 13,775 feet.  Isn’t it simply splendid?

Here’s a video of this remarkable range.

We took the Jenny Lake Loop which is a beautiful area of the park.  We stopped at the lodge to have lunch, but they were full.  Apparently it is a very popular area and if you want to eat at Jenny Lake Lodge, you better make reservations.  This area is supposed to be great for wildlife viewing, but we went there three separate times and nary a wild thing did we glimpse.  Here I am at Jenny Lake Lodge saying “hello” to all of you out there in cyberspace.

Here are some photos of Jenny Lake.

We stopped for lunch at the town of Moose, Wyoming in a shopping area called Dornan’s. This is the view from our window seat.  Now that’s what I call a window seat with a view!

Every time we leave the car, Sadie jumps into the front seat so she can keenly observe our every move.  She faithfully watches until our return.  Isn’t she just so cute?

 

On our way back to the campground, we caught the gorgeous fall colors.  They are just starting to turn and each day they become more vibrant and more pervasive.

 

Gary’s birthday was September 25^th and we celebrated with dinner at the lodge.  We’re in front of the large fireplace in the lobby. We had a delicious prime rib dinner and Gary enjoyed a nice slice of cheesecake for his birthday cake!

 

Psalms 104:10-13 // He sends forth springs in the valleys; they flow between the mountains; they give drink to every beast of the field; the wild donkeys quench their thirst.  Beside them the birds of the heavens dwell; they lift up their voices among the branches. He waters the mountains from His upper chambers; the earth is satisfied with the fruit of His works.

White Winter Wonderland

It’s Day 3 in the park.  Haven’t seen any wildlife photos yet have you?  That’s because they are few and far between in the Grand Tetons—so unlike Yellowstone.  We think they went on strike!  So we decided to get up early and head out to see if that would make any difference (early for us was getting out of the RV by 7:50 a.m.!).  We did get blessed with this one solitary wildlife sighting of a bull elk in the middle of a meadow off the rim of the road thanks to Gary’s eagle eye!  Isn’t this guy a beauty?  And what about that rack? Enjoy it because that’s all there was today!  I do think it was worth it, however.

It was just beginning to snow when I took this photo of Gary.  If you look closely, you can see the snow flurries. 

Baby, It’s Cold Out There!

It’s Day 4 now and we slept in late and woke up to a nice dusting of snow on the ground and covering the trees. While Gary took the dogs for their morning walk, I took the camera and clicked a few around the campsite. 

Don’t you love the way the snow is snugly settled on the wooden fence railing?

Gary is back from his walk with the dogs, so I snapped a shot of him freezing and the dogs having a grand old time.

We enjoyed a nice, casual, relaxed breakfast at the lodge (where I savored a tasty latte), and decided to head straight from there for a short drive just to see what we could see ... just in case the local moose, elk, deer, bear and whatever else is hiding in the forest wanted to make a miraculous appearance.  We were so blessed to catch this really remarkable photo of a deer warily watching us from the snowy tree line after having just crossed the road in front of us.  There were actually three of them, but they started moving so quickly into the forest I was only able to capture this one.

Remember the Tetons when it was beautiful and clear?  Now look at them with the low clinging clouds concealing their pointy peaks.

The water level in Jackson Lake is seriously low which creates a wonderful wet habitation for not only the larger wildlife (which we never saw on the lake bed), but also water fowl. I zoomed all the way in and was able to catch this photo of a small gaggle of geese enjoying the wetlands. It may not be “exciting”, but it is after all a legitimate wildlife observation in a national park!

We decided to dump our first photo of the park sign that we took when it was nice outside.  We substituted it with this new one with the snowy perspective instead.  Yeah, it's crooked, but that's the best I could do setting the camera on the hood of the car without the "Gorilla" with me (so sad!). I thought it would make a great picture if we sat down on the stone platform.  Unfortunately it did get our butts a bit wet!  Ah, the price you have to pay for picture perfection!

And, of course, I had to take a picture of the road while we were driving so I could show you just how beautiful the snow-laden pine trees look as they line the highway.  Now that’s what I call a scenic drive!

Here are a few more photos of this white winter wonderland in the Grand Tetons.

With only one more night left in the park, we are seriously considering extending our stay an additional day.  We really want to get pictures of the Grand Tetons covered in a blanket of snowy white powder.  The forecast prediction for Saturday is partly cloudy with no precipitation. 

Now don’t go thinking that means it will be nice and balmy … au contraire!  The predicted low tonight is in the mid-20s!  The highs are staying in the low 40s.  We added the quilt to the bed last night because I was having a hard time getting warm.  I really appreciate having a motorhome that includes a nice heater and all the other home-related amenities in life with the weather so cold.  This is, after all, our home!

Psalms 147:16-18 // He gives snow like wool; He scatters the frost like ashes. He casts forth His ice as fragments; who can stand before His cold? He sends forth His word and melts them; He causes His wind to blow and the waters to flow.

Old Faithful and a Beary Good Time!

This was one heck of a day—a long day, but a great day!  On our way to finally see Old Faithful (and on our way home) we saw so much that I hope you don’t get bored with this blog.  I’ll keep my comments short because it’s going to be the pictures and videos that make your day (I hope) … like they made our day!

We started out driving right up alongside this elk by the side of the road.  How good is that?  It was a sign that things to come could only get better … which they did!  That was, however, our only wildlife sighting before we arrived at Old Faithful. 

And, yes, we did see bison on this outing as well.  Just so you don't forget what they look like, here's a photo from today's park passage.

Finally, we arrived at Old Faithful! In talking to the Park Rangers, they told Gary they have a 90% accuracy rate on predicting a 20-minute window for Old Faithful to erupt.  And they were right-on when we were there.  At exactly the last minute in the 20-minute window we had been given, Old Faithful exploded! Here we are at the official location sign.  Of course, we asked someone to take our photo!  You can see from my hair (not Gary’s!) that it was a bit windy that day.

And, here she is, bursting out of her geyser hole!

You know I can’t pass up a picture-perfect video opportunity … especially something as amazing as a geyser like Old Faithful erupting.  There’s no better way to capture it.  But I do have to apologize that you will have to turn your head sideways to see it, but I think you will still love it anyway!

After leaving Old Faithful we decided to head up to Lamar Valley.  We had heard so many visitors tell us that it was THE PLACE to see wildlife.  It was a long drive, but we said what the heck and took off anyway.  Let’s face it.  We’re retired.  We’re living in our RV.  What else do we have to do??? Now that it wasn’t rainy and cloudy we were able to get a beautiful picture of Yellowstone Lake.

Then we got caught in a bison traffic jam!  When the buffalo are on the road in any way shape or form in the park you are legally obligated to HALT and allow the buffalo to cross over.  Now sometimes they start crossing and then just stop in the middle of the road!  Really, buffalos are so stupid, dumb, and slow moving!  They must know they have the right-of-way because they often just linger in the middle of the road.  This picture gives you a good idea of the traffic back-up at this buffalo crossing.

We took Dunraven Pass over to the north side of the park and Lamar Valley.  It was really beautiful with diverse terrain.  Check out this rock formation area.  It somewhat reminds me of Devils Postpile in Mammoth.  Have you ever been to Devils Postpile in Mammoth?  It is stunning so I suggest you make a trek there some summer.

Once we got to Lamar Valley we were so blessed to accidentally come across this small herd of pronghorn antelope.  The herd consisted of one male and four females.  Initially when we saw them they were about 50 yards off the road and then they started moving towards the road (where we were standing).  Okay, that’s camera material for sure!  What was really amazing was the performance we were able to observe.  The male kept herding his bevy of beauties (first picture) so they didn’t get “out of line.”  He made sure they stayed exactly where he wanted them.  It was really cool.  Don't you love the caramel/off white coloring on these antelopes?

Uh-oh!  Another buffalo crossing!  This time, we were the lead/front car at the crossing which was really cool.  The bulls were a bit randy and were jumping the females in the middle of the road.  It also looked like a few of the bulls were vying for the power position of the brood.  It was so exciting to witness up close and personal.

We had been praying and asking God for a bear sighting.  We really had given up hope.  When we were stopped for the antelope, there were these two women with a high-powered monocular mounted on a tripod.  We knew there was a bear viewing because about an eighth of a mile before this turn-out there was a gaggle of “wildlife paparazzi” with their cameras and sighting scopes (or monoculars) focused on the hillside.  Since we knew our camera would never see what they were seeing we continued on.  These two women, however, were so gracious and allowed us to take a peek at the momma bear and her three young’uns on the hill.  You’re going to look at those black dots and say to yourself, “Really, Judy, you’re including that photo?” 

Well, we thought that was our bear sighting … but NO it wasn’t! Headed back home back over Dunraven Pass, Gary spotted this young bear RIGHT ON THE SIDE OF THE ROAD with NO ONE ELSE around!  Check this out!

And, of course, I had to take a video of that cub scrounging around in the ground looking for whatever tasty morsels that bear eat.  This really made our day!

This ends our time in Yellowstone National Park.  As part of our farewell, we took our picture in front of the general store at our campground. See the cute "welcome" bear carving next to Gary?

 

Isaiah 11:7-9 // Also the cow and the bear will graze, their young will lie down together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox.  The nursing child will play by the hole of the cobra, and the weaned child will put his hand on the viper's den.  They will not hurt or destroy in all My holy mountain, for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea.