Grand Teton National Park

After living in North America for almost fifty years and within only a few hours' flight time from Wyoming, we finally visited Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks for the first time in late August this year,  It was as spectacular as we had expected and the ten days we were in the two parks were packed with sights. It really made me wonder why we waited so long!

The two parks are within a couple of hours drive from each other. Since the closest airport in Jackson Hole is closer to Grand Teton, we started our road trip there, spending three nights in Signal Mountain Lodge inside the park. It turned out to be a great location as I found out later that it was only a 5 minute drive from popular sunrise photo locations like Oxbow Bend and Jackson Lake.

The star of Grand Teton National Park is of course the Grand Teton range. So throughout the two and a half days in the park, I find myself taking photos with various parts of the mountains in the background, at different times of the day, under different kinds of light and from various angles. It is a great spot to see the effects of light on a subject. Throughout these photos, you will see how different the mountains look at sunrise with the alpine glow, in the soft morning light when the sun is on the mountains; midday when the sun is right on top; later in the afternoon as the sun headed to the side and heightened the curves on the mountain side; at sunset when the side light from the setting sun hit the mountain tops and at dusk when the glow is behind the mountains.  On top of that, there is the effect of clouds on the mountains. We only had clear blue skies when we stayed there but had lots of clouds when we drove past on our last day, ovenighting in Jackson Hole before we flew home. One can get a bit obsessive about this but it truly was like looking at a different set of mountains.

PRACTICAL TIPS:
1. The Grand Tetons are definitely morning locations in order to see them at their best. Of course you can still see them in the afternoon, but after 4 pm, they look like a lump of coal.  The golden hour doesn't last very long on the mountains although it stayed longer on the fields.
2. Spend the late afternoon and evening hours on wildlife watching in the marshes and the flats. We didn't see much when we were there as we usually head back to our lodgings by late afternoon. Sunset on the lake can be quite magical.
3. The loop road in the Park takes you to all the key sights. So if you stop at every turnout or follow the signs to the different sideloops, you will likely see all the highlights by car. 
4. Late spring is better than late summer for a shoulder season visit. There would be more snow on the mountains!

The alpine glow on Mount Moran just after sunrise at Oxbow Bend

Alpine glow on the Grand Teton just after sunrise

Early morning at Jackson Lake. The reflection could be gone in less than 20 minutes. 

Morning reflections from Schwabacher's Landing

A juvenile bald eagle flew by our first day in the park

The famous Mormon Row - love the matching shapes of the building and the mountain.

A brown-headed cowbird near the barn

The golden fields at Mormon Row

There were two chapels in the park.  The Chapel of the Sacred Heart was near the north end of the loop, near Signal Mountain while the Chapel of the Transfiguration was closer to the south entrance.  Both could be quiet havens for meditation mornings and evenings when the crowd was gone.

Beautiful man-made stained glass behind the altar at Chapel of the Sacred Heart

Amazing Nature's creation behind the altar at the Chapel of the Transfiguration

An elk horn lamp at the Jenny Lake Lodge, the poshest of the resorts in the park. It has a dress code requiring jackets for dinner while all the other dining rooms in the park are casual.

There are still reflections at Schwabacher's Landing in the late afternoon, but see what I mean by the mountains looking like lumps of coal after 4 pm?

The Cathedral Group before sunset with the alpine glow just coming on

Dusk on Jackson Lake

We were able to do a short hike to Taggart Lake on our second day. It was only 3 mile round trip but part of it was uphill with 500 feet of elevation gain. It was also at almost 7000 ft elevation which made our hearts work harder than usual.  But it was a great hike with rewards along the way and at the end, reflections of the Tetons in Taggart Lake.  We saw several previously unseen species of butterflies, birds and even a mother and bambi in the forest.

The Taggart Lake Trail

Great Spangled Fritillary butterfly

Hobomok Skipper butterfly

Western Tanager with catch

Comma butterfly

A young elk (with its mother) in the forest

Beautiful reflections in the clear waters of Taggart Lake

On our way back to Jackson Hole from Yellowstone, we passed by the Tetons again and this time there were ample clouds in the sky. But it cast the mountains in shadow making them look quite dark. This was taken in a chance moment when the sun suddenly peeked out.  This made it possible to do a "faux Ansel Adams" right at the end of my trip!