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!
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| The alpine glow on Mount Moran just after sunrise at Oxbow Bend |
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| Alpine glow on the Grand Teton just after sunrise |
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| Early morning at Jackson Lake. The reflection could be gone in less than 20 minutes. |
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| Morning reflections from Schwabacher's Landing |
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| A juvenile bald eagle flew by our first day in the park |
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| The famous Mormon Row - love the matching shapes of the building and the mountain. |
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| A brown-headed cowbird near the barn |
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| 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.
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| Beautiful man-made stained glass behind the altar at Chapel of the Sacred Heart |
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| Amazing Nature's creation behind the altar at the Chapel of the Transfiguration |
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| 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. |
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| 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? |
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| The Cathedral Group before sunset with the alpine glow just coming on |
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| 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.
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| The Taggart Lake Trail |
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| Great Spangled Fritillary butterfly |
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| Hobomok Skipper butterfly |
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| Western Tanager with catch |
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| Comma butterfly |
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| A young elk (with its mother) in the forest |
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| Beautiful reflections in the clear waters of Taggart Lake |
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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!
After three days in Grand Teton, we moved on to Yellowstone National Park. Our plan was to spend 7 days in the park with two nights in each of Canyon, Mammoth Springs and Old Faithful and one night in Lake. It worked out well and we were able to see all the items we had on our itinerary.
We stayed at Canyon Lodge for the first two nights. This part of Yellowstone is very diverse, with some awesome scenery in addition to geysers, waterfalls and mud pots, not to mention the ubiquitous bison which we encountered on our first day in the park. The highlight for me was the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone, much touted and deservedly so. It was a most spectacular canyon with its contrasting red and yellow rocks, highlighted when the sun was on it at different times of the day. The Lower Falls faces east and is best seen in the morning with the rainbow arriving promptly at 9:45 am to add to the dazzling falls encircled by the warm canyon walls.
The lower part of the canyon gets its best light during the golden hour two hours before sunset when the sun is right on the red and yellow walls of the canyon. But arrive too late and everything is in the shade and the colour would not be as intense. This is truly a case when timing is everything.
The West Thumb basin has some spectacularly colourful pools and springs accessible via a short trail while the Norris Geyser Basin has some interesting geysers and pools spread out over a broad expanse. Porcelain Basin at Norris has come colourful runoffs from the geysers - emerald green, yellow, rust and red abound - not to be missed. We were caught in the rain twice when we were in the Back Basin and had to convince ourselves that "there is not much to see anyway" before doing a quick loop back to shelter. The Back Basin is mostly geysers with not very much colour.We were held up like everyone else going through Hayden Valley as there always seem to be a stray bison or two on the road. But it is a great spot to get your must have bison shot. We visited the mud volcano area on our last day in the park - not very photogenic but an interesting spot nevertheless. If you've visited other thermal areas in New Zealand or Iceland, you can pass on this.
PRACTICAL TIPS:1. Stay in the park if at all possible because of the long driving distances to the entrances and constant traffic delays due to wildlife, usually a bison that decided to take a stroll on the loop road and tourists desperate to get a photo without stopping or parked by the roadside where they should not be parked and blocking other traffic. A cabin or campsite in the park would help you make the most of your time.2. The drive through Hayden Valley is almost constantly slow because of wildlife so allow extra time. The best advice we got from Tripadvisor was not to assume we can drive through the park in the morning to catch even a midday flight. Driving through the park confirmed this.3. If you only have time for one basin at Back Basin, do the Porcelain Basin. At West Thumb, do the outer loop. | | The stunning Lower Falls at the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone. |
 | | The remarkable red rocks of the Canyon |
 | | This rock formation jutting out into the valley looks like an iguana |
 | | The Upper Falls, overshadowed by the Lower Falls but still pretty |
 | | Pools in the West Thumb Basin |
 | | Abyss Pool is the most spectacular at West Thumb. It last erupted in June 1992. |
 | | Black Pool - why the name? Apparently at one time, it really was black. Lower water temperature allowed thick mats of dark green and brown termophiles to grow in the pool causing it to appear black. The water temperature rose in 1991, killing the organisms. So it's now a clear blue and you can see right down to the bottom here. |
 | | The runoff from the Black Pool is like a golden river going right into Yellowstone Lake |
 | | Kayakers on the lake can go right up to Big Cone |
 | | Fishing Cone right by the lake. Folk legend has it that mountain men told of a geyser where one could catch a trout, swing the pole around, dip it into the boiling pool and cook the fish without taking it off the line. Fishing is no longer allowed. ;-) | |
 | | Bluebell Pool |
 | | In Norris, the Palette Basin took one's breath away with its size and colours. The milky blue pools are saturated with silica, the primary component of glass. Norris's thermal waters contain the highest concentration of silica in Yellowstone. |
 | | Look at the colours of the runoffs! The different colours are based on the mineral content. The brilliant green belongs to acid tolerant thermophiles, rust-red mats are coloured by iron oxide and arsenic. |
 | | At the Norris Back Basin - Steamboat Geyser erupts regularly |
 | | Cistern Spring is linked underground to Steamboat Geyser. Each time Steamboat had a major eruption, Cistern Spring was emptied. |
 | | One of the many geysers in Back Basin - but see the approaching thunder clouds? This was where we ended our hike. |
 | | Panoramic view of the Mud Volcano area |
 | | Churning Cauldron lived up to its name |
 | | Mud Volcano |
 | | Beautiful green stream runoff |
 | | Marsh area at the bottom of the Mud Volcano area |
 | | Fishing Bridge - wood bridge from which there used to be many anglers fishing but now fishing is not allowed |
 | | Lewis Falls near the South Entrance |
There are around 5,000 bisons in the park. It's almost impossible not to see one even if you only drive through it. We saw a herd the first day we were in the park. | | Here is one closeup! |
 | | Bison at the spa |
  | | Red-tailed Hawk in Hayden Valley a popular wildlife watching spot. We saw a bison and this hawk. |
 | | The golden hour near Hayden Valley |
Next post: North to Mammoth Springs
Mammoth
Hot Springs was our destination in north Yellowstone, and we arrived in
time to catch the late afternoon sun on some of the springs on the
Upper Terrace. The setting sun heightened the orange colour on Canary
spring and also brought out some beautiful reflections on the springs.
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| Canary Spring |
Mammotth
was only an hour's drive from Canyon but we took our time exploring
the sights along the way. One of the must visit places on the way was
the LeMar Valley mainly because of the wildlife. We were not hopeful to
see much
because by the time we arrived it was close to midday. But as luck
would have it, five minutes into the valley, we saw cars parked beside
the road with a photographer and a tripod. There was a pronghorn by the
roadside - that was a lifer for me. It actually strolled slowly to our
side of the road before heading off into the valley.
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| Pronghorn |
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| The expansive LeMar Valley |
As we headed further into the valley, we saw a bison on a hill beside
the road and decided to stop. After I got out of the car to move closer
to the bison, the woman in the car ahead of me rolled down her window
and said: "Excuse me, there is a bison behind you." I turned around and
saw the bison behind some long grass. I scrambled back into the car as
it headed towards me! Whew! It then headed across the road and did a
dust bath before sitting down for photos.
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| It was literally 3 feet from me when I was outside the car! |
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| Dust bath |
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| Tower Falls on the road between Canyon and Tower-Roosevelt |
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| Calcite Springs - a spring can be seen on the side of the mountain |
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| Basalt columns that looked like a fence above the canyon walls |
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| Undine Falls - between Tower-Roosevelt and Mammoth |
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| Mount Everts - they call it an inverted mountain |
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| The
Roosevelt Arch - the north entrance to Yellowstone commeorating
Roosevelt who was instrumental in making Yellowstone the first National
Park in the United States |
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| This looked like a fortress just south of the north entrance |
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| The graceful staircase in the renovated Mammoth Springs Hotel |
We
hiked up the Lower Terrace of the Mammoth Springs and was surprised to
find it's much smaller than we expected. Other than Palette Spring
which could almost be seen from the road, the Minerva Terrace and
Jupiter Terrace, are the only ones of note. Minerva Spring is mostly
dried up but the lower part with the water in the terraces can still be
quite spectacular, forming some amazing abstract lines.
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| What's left of the lower terraces of Minerva |
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| Jupiter Mound |
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| Jupiter Terrace |
The
Upper Terrace is reachable by car and one could drive from one spring
to another. The most impressive item here is the Orange Spring Mound
(below).
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| White Elephant Back Terrace |
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| Angel Terrace |
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| This side of Canary Spring is better seen in the morning - but it's very far up |
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| Liberty Cap - once an active hot spring |
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| Palette Spring |
We
went out for a drive during the golden hour and caught some of the
surrounding areas in the golden glow. You would think it was an
entirely different landscape if you had seen the same thing in the
morning.
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| Mount Everts - almost unrecognizable |
We
headed south to Yellowstone West after two nights at Mammoth Springs.
We saw the Golden Gate on the way out of Mammoth, it looked completely
different in the morning sun from the day before - it was indeed golden!
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| Bisons
roam the area between Mammoth Springs and Madison. Here's one standing
right in front of our car. We were able to drive around it because the
bus in the other lane must have stopped for its passengers to take
pictures, causing a long line of cars to form behind it. In this case,
it was clearly not the bison holding up traffic rather the
bison-watchers holding up traffic. |
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| Roaring Mountain - so called because of the many steam vents on its slopes and it did make a lot of noise! |
PRACTICAL TIPS:
1.
We could probably have just spent one night in Mammoth Springs instead
of two if we timed it right - visit the Upper Terrace in the late
afternoon, the Lower Terrace in the morning and head south in the
afternoon.
1. Visit the Upper Terrace at least two hours before sunset. Any later and the sun would be too low to hit Canary Springs.
Next Post: Yellowstone West (the highlight!)
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