The Grand Tetons
If’n, you’re looking for a higher possibility of seeing awesome mammals, then the Tetons is the place you want to go. C’mon inside and see!
Good day everyone, I hope you all had a fantastic week! Yellowstone, last week, was a great trip and we saw allot of very cool mammals and raptors. The Tetons had offered up some different mammals that were not accessible in Yellowstone. But before we get to it, I have to say, that, even though the landscape was absolutely stunning in Yellowstone, the Tetons literally took my breath away. The photo to the left, and the one below it, were taken from Mormon Row. Mormon Row was the first established homestead, within Jackson Hole. John Moulton, along with his brother, T.A. Moulton, built the 2 iconic barns that photographers from all over the world come to photograph. The photo to the left is a pink stucco carpenter house that John Moulton built in place of the log cabin he initially constructed. It is a wide-open expanse of land that seems to go on for days, but in the foreground are these few remaining, and in pristine condition, buildings. The winters were indeed harsh, but that didn’t stop the Moultons working it for 30+ years. Lots sold their land and moved to places with less harsh conditions, it was for a different caliber of human to live under those extreme conditions. Mormon Row was started in the 1890’s and the land hasn’t been used as it was when Mormon Row was thriving. It is protected, historical land and none of it is for commercial, or personal, use.
This is the barn that John Mouton built and if you couldn’t, from the photo above, make out the scene in the background…now you can! Like I said, breathtaking views!
And this is the barn the T.A. Moulton built on Mormon Row. Sometimes words cannot describe the feeling one gets when one is exposed to something so wonderfully beautiful. This is a must stop for any planned trip to Wyoming especially if you’re in, or near, Jackson Hole. So, the next parts will be mammals, but I wanted you all to see, without mammals, how stunning the landscape can be in the Tetons. If you are at all into photography, anything beyond a cell phone, you will lose your mind, as I did, and you really won’t know where to begin. This would be a good place to start. Lots of depth of field work to be had. During the bright and sunny times you may be there, ND or polarizing filters would come in handy. Almost any time of year would be great to visit. Unless you have the right kind of gear, from clothing to vehicle, I would not recommend winter, although I imagine it brings another depth to the beauty of Mormon Row, I’m not sure I could deal well with frigid temperatures and my camera freezing up!
My wife and I decided to freestyle a bit and, not far from Mormon Row, we found a pair of dilapidated log cabins. Both were pretty much identical to one another in terms of what is left of them and they both held a secret that most people wouldn’t know about. Those my age, or older, will have knowledge of films of the 1950s and 60s. There was a particular movie made in 1953, starring Alan Ladd, entitled, Shane. These 2 cabins we came across were part of the set used in that movie. The film crew never tore them down, there was a couple more structures and a corral, all of which they broke down and took with them, but not the cabins. There is a placard on a fence post at the VERY small parking patch, that tells you a little about the cabins.
While we walked around and inside the cabins, my wife and I noticed that, although the grass was at times calf-high, there were large holes in the ground, maybe 6-10 inches in diameter, and they were definitely ankle twisters, if not breakers, but we couldn’t figure out why they were there. Too big for moles, and the ground wasn’t pushed up, like on a mole mound. Below left is the reason for those holes…
After we walked around the 2 cabins, we walked up to a bluff to see what was on the other side. As we walked back, passed the cabins and back to the car, I noticed something move…it was a BADGER! Now, I’ve never come into contact with one of these critters, but I do know one thing and that is they take their demeanor from bison. They are grumpy all day long. Luckily with my Nikon P1000, I can be a comfortable distance away and still get a good shot. Totally wasn’t expecting this kind of mammal on our visit, but I’ll take it any day of the week! Once again, if you’re into photography beyond what you can use your phone for, bring a telephoto lens with you on trips like these. Or a point and shoot camera with a good zoom capability. The closeness I would have to achieve to use my cell phone effectively would test the boundaries of privacy and common sense. These animals are to be respected and given a wide berth. They’re not domesticated and don’t need to be petted. It can only be bad news for those who try. So save yourself stitches and a rabies shot and appreciate them from afar. You’ll bring back more pleasant memories.
Also near Mormon Row, we were continuing our free styling and came across an area where several cars were parked. We asked a person we saw about what was around that people were interested in. The person stated there was a bull moose and his cow near by. So we followed the easy walking instructions given and we saw, a cow, out in the open grazing away, and the bull was smack dab in the middle of some shrubbery. After for, what seemed an eternity, I could no longer wait for that bull to come out into the open. I just started shooting. Now, were roughly 30-40 yards away from this bull. By his rack size, he was fairly young. So he still may have been unaccustomed to humans and therefore, bashful, and since this was gift, I tried to make the best of it. I could still see that he would turn his head occasionally and I have his left eyeball framed in the branches of that shrubbery, as he looked to his right, and they’re kind of comical shots, but the best one is the one to the right. I turned the photo infrared, in post processing, and his brown fur against an almost stark white foliage, is really cool! After we had our fill of this guy, we headed back to the car but were stopped by a couple of people and they stated that there was an even bigger moose just up the road. When I asked them for particulars on the location, they stated, “Head this direction and look for all the cars.” Below is the result…
When we came upon this big bull, I almost soiled myself! There is a story with this one but it is too long and I would need to use visuals but suffice it to say, I could die tomorrow and be happy that I got to shoot a giant bull moose in a place where I had dreams about shooting a giant bull moose. This guy was a bad enough customer that he had 2 cows with him. Rather than the standard, one, that the previous one had. And, this guy was given a wide berth as well. There would be nothing pleasant about meeting up with his hooves or antlers. And the rack on him was impressive. I’ve said it once and I will say it a hundred more times…we have been extremely fortunate in the shooting situations that we have found ourselves in during our trips. This one is a prime example of that statement. I can’t speak for others and I don’t know how others would feel if they saw a magnificent beast like this one, but I was over the moon and felt very privileged to have seen one in my life time.
There are more photos I could have shown everyone. Very near Mormon Row I got some shots of some antelope. Near the Shane Cabins I got some shots of an immature male and female Big Horn Sheep. And some shots of Ravens and other birds, more landscape photos, panoramas and such. But you have to go right into the really great stuff you capture in an attempt to hook those you’re telling and get them motivated to go and visit the place your talking about. I’m not promising anyone anything, in terms of what you may or may not see, and you may have a completely different experience that we had. If you’re a hiker/backpacker, you could very well see animals that may be a bit more shy in their relation to humans. Bears, for instance. They have been seen, I think more in the Yellowstone area than the Tetons, but the possibility is there to see one. I even saw a fox and a coyote. If you intend on going, then I would go with a plan in mind. Since there is so much to see in BOTH places, make a list of the, CAN’T MISS and MUST SEES. But then freestyle before, during or after those. Most of the mammal photos I shot were during some freestyle driving. Also, take a trip into Jackson Hole and check it out as well. There are some restaurants that have venison and bison on the menu. If you’re never tried them, I highly recommend you do so. I’ve seen elk on menus as well. All sorts of tourist trap souvenir shops, photography studios, ice cream/candy stores, clothing…I don’t believe you would want for anything after a visit to Jackson Hole. You can even hire guides to take you around see/do different things. A guide for all situations is available in Jackson Hole.
I hope you enjoyed the last 2 weeks visiting Yellowstone and the Tetons with me. I hope everyone enjoys a wonderful holiday and stays safe, happy and healthy this weekend. Until the next time, the last posting for 2021, I hope your travels are safe and wonderful!
