The Tetons and Jackson, WY - A Little More Heaven on Earth

There may be no more iconic image from Grand Teton National Park (GTNP) than this one.  If there is, it would be the image posted below . . . the Moulton Barn on Morman Row, with the Tetons looming large behind it.  I have been to the Tetons on almost every trip I've made to Yellowstone, but prior to this trip, had never actually stayed inside GTNP.  For this trip, I opted to camp at Colter Bay for a couple of nights.

This place holds special importance to me, as both of my grandparents' earthly remains have been scattered here.  Living and raising their family in Wyoming, the Tetons are seemingly part of my ancestral DNA.

Generally when I've been to Yellowstone National Park, I've camped on the southern most end at Grant Village and made day trips to the Tetons.  Often, the travel time (roughly an hour give or take) has resulted in my missing the magical hours for photography and wildlife viewing.

I have also been so engrossed in my experiences, that I wound up booking a hotel room down in Jackson and punting my already paid for campsite.  So this year, I was just smarter about it and planned for two nights of camping inside the park.

In past visits to GTNP it has been mostly feast or famine in terms of wildlife viewing & photography.  This is where the world famous bear known simply as #399 resides and has raised many cubs right in full view of her adoring fans.  This is a photo I took during a full morning I spent with her and first year cub back in June 2016.  Just a couple of weeks later, the cub had been hit and killed by a vehicle during the night.

When at the age of 24 she had QUADS back in 2020, people were caught up in the mania like never before.  And this year, folks were abuzz in anticipation of whether or not she would survive the harsh winter and emerge with cubs again.  Well she did, and on May 16th at the age of 27, it was confirmed she had a singleton cub-of-the-year (AKA COY).

Like so many other visitors to the park, I had hopes of seeing and photographing her this year too!    This was my place in one of the larger pull-outs near the Pilgrim Creek bridge where she had been frequently seen in recent days.  I spent more than three hours here on each of the days I was in the park!

Unfortunately for me, I did not see her, although I did just miss her when I went over the bridge one evening heading back to camp.  There were lots of people reporting that she had just crossed the road and had headed down the treeline along the creek. Being too dark to really see much of anything, and with mosquitoes pretty thick as the rain began to fall, I continued on my way back to Colter Bay. 

My patience was rewarded the next evening with this moose sighting along the Gros Ventre River just outside of the park boundary.  But like sighting other wildlife, even the moose have been hit or miss for me over the years. I am always happy to see them . . . even more excited when I can get a photo or two because they just seem so damn elusive.

Last summer living in Montana, I did have a few nice days in the Tetons and learned more about the history of the park and those who settled here in the 1800's.  Being able to get out and walk more on this trip, I visited the Cunningham Cabin.  It was an early morning short walk (probably about a mile round-trip on a mostly flat gravel trail).

Built in 1888, the Appalachian style log cabin is one of the few buildings still standing from the homestead settlement of the Jackson Hole valley.

As I did one night last summer, I spent Wednesday evening at the Jackson Hole Elks Lodge where they have four vintage era bowling lanes.  The manager Sam remembered me and was gracious as before.  I thoroughly enjoyed my visit as the league bowlers arrived. As I've said before, there are no strangers, only friends I have yet to meet. This is Gwendy, who is originally from Rhinelander. She's been living in Jackson for over 30 years now. When she overheard that I was vacationing from Wisconsin, she asked where and we struck up a great conversation.

Unfortunately, I didn't get to take the Jenny Lake Ferry on this trip . . . leaves something for my next visit!  The park was incredibly busy and the parking lots at the major tourist areas (like Jenny Lake) were simply mobbed with people, cars and RVs.  All in all, however, I had another great visit and will be back!

Taken as the rain ended one evening