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.