It's great to live so close to my favorite National Park. I took the three days of Memorial Day weekend to head to the Tetons and then again this last weekend. I camped at Shadow Mountain both times. Shadow Mountain is just outside the Park, on the East side, on National Forest land. Boondocking at it's best. Good view of the Teton Range and not too many people.
I stopped in to see Ron at his shop on Friday night as I got into Jackson. Stayed and talked for a half hour or so and then on to the Park. I planned to be out late that night to shoot the meteor shower. My first real attempt at night photography. I shot continuously from midnight until two in the morning. The meteor shower was a bust. Captured a couple of meteors but nothing worth showing. Still learning about night time shooting. After two days in the Tetons I headed up to Yellowstone for a day. I stayed at Bridge Bay Campground for one night. The next day I was in Hayden Valley and from one location could see 4 grizzly bears, 4 wolves and a small heard of elk all at once. The wolves were hunting elk and I had the opportunity to see one of the black wolves chasing a cow elk. The hunt was unsuccessful for the wolves and all the animals were too far for pictures but the experience was fantastic.
Some images from that first weekend.
Sunrise from near Shadow Mountain.
Coyote Pups. These are two of the seven that were in the den under an old bunk house on Mormon Row.
Bear 399 and her cubs from last year.
Afternoon thunderstorm over the Oxbow.
Blue Bird back at camp.
Sunset taken from camp.
Heron fishing along the Yellowstone River.
This last weekend I also stayed at Shadow Mountain. Here are a couple of images of the YURT at camp.
Saturday morning sunrise near camp.
Headed North to the Oxbow and found this little guy getting pretty close.
Stopped at Colter Bay and met Bill and Rosemary. They shipped their Land Rover Defender from the UK to South America and drove from the Southern tip, heading to Alaska and then across Canada to Halifax, where they will ship it back to the UK. A two year trip. Rosemary is keeping a blog from their trip. I haven't checked it out yet but here is the address:
http://latinamericaroadtrip.wordpress.com.
They had the Defender modified in Germany where they added the pop up penthouse with bed, sink, stove and storage. Very nice people and had many stories to tell. No issues on the trip so far and they were really enjoying the West and the National Parks.
Saturday night sunset from Shadow Mountain.
Sunday morning sunrise from the South Moulton barn along Mormon Row.
Drove up to Pilgrim Creek to the pond and found the Lupine in bloom.
Coyote in the sage and flowers near Pilgrim Creek.
Heard that a grizzly was down by the Snake River dam so I went to check it out. This is one of Bear 399's cubs from 4 years ago. It's a male that's been hanging around in his Mom's territory.
Got something stuck in my paw.
This was a passing camper while I was roadside taking the bear pictures. Couldn't resist taking the shot. I think he had one of the best seats in the house.
Headed home Sunday noon. Stopped to check out the Nissan.
They come in all shapes and sizes. Top pops up and the writing on the side says it even comes with the kitchen sink.
Two great weekends. Can't wait to go back.
Mike