Grand Tetons in Fall - Oct 2018

 

The Grand Tetons have an allure that keeps you coming back. Back when I was 18, two friends and I made my very first trip to the Tetons, I have been in awe of these mountains ever since. All the world class vistas, and changing weather and unpredictable wildlife makes every day an adventure. I'm always amazed and have fantastic memories every time I see my photos and remember my trips. My 2018 trip started as I arrived in Jackson Hole Wyoming. A great little town, that provides wonderful access to the National Park. 

As Photographers we start each day before dawn, and travel to get into position to get the best early light. I'm not really an early morning person, and getting up while its still dark outside has never really appealed to me, but taking the following images makes up for all inconvenience of it. I'll treat you to a photo from each of the morning sites on this trip to the Tetons. Fortunately for this trip a snow storm the day prior has coated the Tetons with a frosting of white. The weather varied. First morning had remnants of the snow storm with variable clouds, but shortly after sunrise, the sun peaked through a gap in the clouds and provided just fantastic light. 

Next morning was threatening another storm, and while the light was not awesome you did get the ominous feeling in the mountains and the grays and contrasts created an ominous feeling which abated later in the day.

The third morning found us at the Mouton barns. While the clouds were clearing over the mountains they stayed fairly thick in the east and provided a soft light over the area.

Forth morning and the sky was clear as can be so we had to start once again at that epic scene Oxbow Bend.

On the final day and after packing for my flight out later on, the sun provided a golden beam of light to start the day. you almost felt as if you were being touch by the hand of God.

The first morning shots were not all there was to see, and being in the fall the sun stayed relatively low in sky for quite some time allowing the golden hour to extend for some time. This allowed us to go to numerous other locations and see so many vistas and landscape scenes. There were the iconic shots such as the view from the site of Ansel Adams' Snake River overlook, or Schwabacher's landing. 

Everywhere there was a wonderful scenic photo to be had and the fall color just spiced everything up. Since a picture is worth a thousand words. Well here comes about a million.



















Shane Cabin












The scenery alone is reason to visit the Grand Tetons. But then this is one of the most accessible areas to large wild animals in the USA. Critters from bison, to moose, to pronghorn antelope to coyotes, to so much more. Sit back and enjoy the images.



Pronghorn antelope are quite plentiful and sightings occurred daily. You would see a male over watching his harem, grazing on the tall grasses and shrubs.

Bison was also seen on many days but typically at a distance. But there was a magical day where a group just decided to put on a show for us and actually ran over the road literally just a few yards away.

Mule deer also were seen on multiple days. These seemed very at ease with people and a couple actually walked up towards us getting very close.

A coyote even made an appearance, however he attracted several vehicles and getting a photo through the sage and grasses took some doing.

But the most impressive animal was the number of moose we saw. A total of 21 different moose in 4.5 days. We saw mom and children, and along with a few males. We even saw a couple males make a move on a couple females. The moose were magnificent.

Any trip to Tetons is special, but early fall, with all the colors make it special. I can't wait until my next trip. Hopefully you can join me, as I now conduct tours every fall. See this link for more information.

           https://www.rdykstraphoto.com/grandtetons

This is the end of 2018 trip, it was once again a memorable experience.