Jackson (Grand Teton NP 2)

I had two goals for today, to capture a sunrise and find some moose. Sunrise is about 7:15, so I was out the door at 6 AM. I’m up early anyway, so that is not a problem, but I don’t particularly like driving in the dark, and I had a 20 minute drive to the location I had scoped out. Once there, I set up in time to capture a few stars before the sky started lightening. I was disappointed to find clear skies - I had hoped the white fluffy clouds from yesterday might hang around. Regardless, I worked with what I had. This is a famous location as Ansel Adams captured the Snake River against the Teton range as part of his project to photograph wilderness areas for the then nascent National Park service. They had conveniently placed a plaque at the exact location of his photograph. What I noticed was, that in the 60 odd years since it had been taken, the trees had grow up, obscuring the near bend in the river. So it is now, obviously, a different image.

Once the light went flat, I went in search of moose. I headed back out to the antelope flats area and started driving around. While I am not particularly good at spotting wildlife, I have learned the skill of spotting people who have spotted wildlife. The cluster of vehicles and the people standing outside of them with scopes and long lenses is a dead giveaway. The first group was at a pull-out of Mormon row. They were looking at black specks in the distance that were a couple of moose laying in the sagebrush. That wasn’t going to cut it for a photo. However, I noticed some cars and people far closer to the moose and continued to see if I could find where they were parked. I finally figured out that they were up a pitted dirt road that bisected the field. Lucy II proved up to the job of navigating the short road. I parked and walked out to where I could see a group on a rise. Sure enough, three moose were bedded down about 25 yards - the closest legal distance - away. I joined PJ, Bill, Gary and Scott to wait for them to get up. These guys had experience photographing moose in this park and said that they tend to get up to feed every few hours. They had been there about a half hour already, so we took took the waiting time to chat and get to know each other a little bit.

As the sun headed to high noon, we started taking bets on when they would get up. Our hope that all three would get up would not be realized. First, one of them - possibly Foster - rose to have a small snack, then returned to his nap. Finally Hoback - the current alpha male - decided it was time for lunch. He tried to get the third guy up, but was unsuccessful. He did give a a nice show, eating and turning in our direction. Unfortunately, the cloudless sky produced harsh shadows, so the situation was not optimal. Still, it was a good morning.

As I had eaten only a few small snacks on the run, I decided to treat myself to brunch at The Virginian . This place is out of the main downtown and not as usuriously priced as many of the Jackson Hole restaurants. Then, as the light was still harsh, I opted to visit the National Museum of Wildlife Art. This institution is located on a bluff across from the Elk Refuge. It is a beautiful building in its own right, constructed of stone and barely distinguishable from the mountain face into which it is built. And the exhibits are first class. A few rooms highlighted the history of wildlife photography and the role it has played in wilderness conservation. Another room featured photography from an African Art competition; there were some truly impressive images. And Inuit art was featured in the final hallway. One of the exhibits also gave some information on the history of Indigenous peoples in the far north, and I was interested to see that the populations in Canada fared little better than those in the U.S. I then walked the 3/4 mile trail outside of the museum that features many beautiful wildlife sculptures.

By then it was late afternoon. I decided to drive the short road at the back of the Elk Refuge as bighorn sheep are found here so frequently that there are signs asking you to keep them from licking the salt from vehicle tires. None were out this afternoon, though. So I headed back to my hotel.

I decided to take advantage of the outdoor hot tub before starting the evening’s work. I met Rosie and Dillan who are from Wyoming and were taking a short vacation in Jackson. We had a nice chat before I headed up to edit, process and blog.

Tomorrow I will try to find some more moose, or whatever else the area offers.