My wife is out of town so I headed to the Tetons on Saturday morning to see what the moose were doing. They gather in the sagebrush near Kelly and Antelope Flats. I was hoping to see some large bulls and maybe a glimpse of the mountains. The weather forecast called for snow so I really didn't expect the mountains to 'be out'. And they weren't. Cloud cover kept them hidden both days but the moose, bison and sheep were out and about.
Got to Jackson early afternoon and headed for the Kelly area. A herd of bison were in the fields just before entering Kelly. I rounded the curve as I passed through town and expected to see moose out near the Teton Science School but it was snowing hard and they must have been bedded down deep in the sagebrush. Explored the area a bit and then headed to the north end of the Park for the night. I drove to the end of Pilgrim Creek Road to the trail head and parking area. We go out this road often as we see both grizzly and black bear along the 3 miles to the end. I had the place to myself on Saturday night. Its inside the park so not supposed to camp, however, with a foot of snow on the road and so little traffic in the Park I didn't think I'd be bothered by a ranger.
Made some dinner and read a book in peace and quiet. Woke up the next morning to about 1 or 2 inches of new snow.
A couple of images at camp taken Sunday morning.
This was taken as I headed out Pilgrim Creek Road.
Drove back down to the south end of the Park along Antelope Flats Road toward the Teton Science School and the Kelly area. If you could see through the overcast, the southern end of the Teton Range and Black Tail Butte would be in the image below.
Saw some moose through the binoculars so I drove out through a double track road into the sagebrush. There were nine moose in all. These two were the closest.
These were the largest of the bulls I saw and they were both together. Pretty good size rack on this one. Shooting through the snow on some of these, so not as clear as I would have liked.
I think this is the same one as above.
Both of them together. The one bedded down has a taller rack, the other a wider one. They both had large bodies and looked healthy.
Headed back through Kelly and stopped to photograph the bison.
Playtime.
Drove to the east side of the Elk Refuge to Miller Butte to see if the sheep were out and about. Counted about 30, but most were quite a distance away. These ewes and young ones were heading up a trail.
As I was heading out of town, I saw Ron's SMB at the shop so I stopped. Turned out that Ron wasn't in. Must have been out on a call with the tow truck.
Not a bad looking rig Ron........for a Chevy!
Sunset as I was heading home. Taken down in the valley where the clouds were breaking up a bit. A long exposure created the look with the clouds.
Quick trip, but had a great time! Glad I could share some of the experience.
Mike
The YURT
2007 Ford E350 Sportsmobile 4x4 EB
VivaLaVida
Thanks for the report.
watchtower, white whale, land yacht, big pig...
theres just nothing like it where im at...
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