If you’ve been following along on our adventures you know we spent over 3 weeks at Grand Teton National Park in Jackson, Wyoming.
And what a fantastic 3 weeks it was. I (Karen) wanted to share some of our wide and varied experiences at GTNP. This park was truly a treat for all our senses.
The views in every direction were absolutely beautiful. Not just the mountains but there were the flats, meadows, rivers, and buttes. We arrived when the flats were covered in a golden wheat color from the grasses interspersed with the pale green of the sage growing everywhere. As the weeks went by some of the grasses turned a beautiful red next to the purple branches of some of the bushes. On the road to Two Oceans Lake there were meadows with this combination of red, purple and gold that grew up to the autumn colored yellow Quaking Aspens and the dark green of the pine trees on the slopes. Stunning!
Our weather was a mixed bag of treats. We went from sunny and highs in the 70’s-80’s, to rain, then snow and lows in the 20’s with highs in the 40’s. The rain and snow did keep the rivers running fast and the sounds of the rushing rivers flowing over the river rock was both exciting and calming at the same time. On those rainy mornings the air would smell like sage on the flats and pine by the rivers and near the mountains.
The snow added to the majesty of the mountains as the ridges, glaciers and canyons became more defined. The pine trees were outlined up and down the mountain slopes as they became covered in snow or just frosted. They looked as if someone dusted them with powdered sugar. On the flats the big leaf sagebrush filled with snow and looked like huge snowballs.
It was the rut (or mating season) for the elk and moose. On those cold mornings when we were out for a sunrise picture you could hear off in the distance the bull elks bugling to attract mates or round up their harem. Yes, it’s called a harem. We counted 10 females and 4 younger elk in one harem. The bull was very large and had a very large rack. A real ladies man! The moose call was not quite as loud as the elk but was a distinctive grunt and kind of eerie to hear as we made our way out one morning before first light. Several bull and cow moose would visit our campground on a daily basis, sometimes twice a day and even bed down for a midday nap.
Other animal siting’s included black bear and grizzly bear. Unfortunately the black bear and cubs were up in trees and bushes eating black hawthorn berries. The black bears were hard to photograph, one because they were obscured by leaves, two because you had to stay 100 yards away from them. The grizzly bears we saw were pretty far off in the distance. The beavers were busy working on dams. Plenty of large trees were being downed by these little fellows along the river banks. There were herds of bison, pronghorns and mule deer. We heard reports of wolf siting’s but further north in Yellowstone.
There is a nicely paved run/walk/bike path which starts in Jackson and runs all the way thru the National Park for those interested in a work out. It was very popular and we did don our gear and headed out on a beautiful sunny day to partake. Riding thru the flats with the mountains along the side was a real treat and you hardly noticed the elevation change (ha ha).
There is so much to do and so much to see at Grand Teton National Park. Even though we were there for over 3 weeks we have more to uncover, more day hikes and roads to travel. This is a place we will come back to again and again.
