Road Trip 2016: Grand Teton & Antelope Island

September 30, 2016

Friday was a driving day.  We needed to get from Grand Teton National Park to Salt Lake City to set us up for an easy drive on Saturday to Canyonlands and Arches.  Still, I had a planned stop to make at Antelope Island on the Great Salt Lake and a quick stop at Moose before leaving Grand Teton to try to see a moose.

Rocky Mountain Elk -- Grand Teton National Park, WY

The morning was foggy.  The mountain range was completely slammed.  The elk were out and could be heard in all directions, though.  A few were even visible.

Mule Deer -- Grand Teton National Park, WY

We didn't end up going to Moose to look for a moose.  We didn't have to go that far.  We saw not one but two moose next to the entrance booths about a quarter of a mile away from the junction to Moose.  It was foggy and a little dark but that didn't stop me from taking a ton of photographs.  None of them turned out great, but who cares?  I saw a couple of moose and I didn't even have to go to Moose to see the moose.

Moose -- Grand Teton National Park, WY

Moose -- Grand Teton National Park, WY

I tried a number of post-processing tricks to try to make the photos suck less.  None really worked.  The photos I tend to like the best put an emphasis on the morning fog, but they tend to leave something to be desired as far as the moose are concerned.  The first moose I saw was a lady moose in a meadow.  She stood around for a while then moved into some trees.

Moose -- Grand Teton National Park, WY

Based on the size and shape of his antlers, I'm guessing it was an adolescent male moose that emerged from the trees.  He tried to put a move on the lady moose but she was having none of it.  Poor little dude.

Moose -- Grand Teton National Park, WY

Moose -- Grand Teton National Park, WY

Moose -- Grand Teton National Park, WY

Moose -- Grand Teton National Park, WY

After watching the moose until they disappeared into the trees, we headed to the Bunnery in Jackson where I picked up some coffee and a spinach and cheese croissant.  If you're ever in Jackson and you like a good breakfast, this is the place to go.

Somewhere on Some Road in Idaho

American Bison -- Antelope Island State Park, UT

Fast forward four hundred miles or so and we were on Antelope Island on the Great Salt Lake in Utah.  The island gets its name from the pronghorn that inhabit the island.  A herd of bison also live on the island.

American Bison -- Antelope Island State Park, UT

American Bison -- Antelope Island State Park, UT

American Bison -- Antelope Island State Park, UT

Pronghorn -- Antelope Island State Park, UT

Pronghorn -- Antelope Island State Park, UT

Pronghorn -- Antelope Island State Park, UT

American Avocet -- Antelope Island State Park, UT

I'd originally planned on camping at Antelope Island, but at this point we'd been camping for four cold, occasionally wet nights, so I was ready for a regular room and a shower.  I also wanted to see Salt Lake City and perhaps take a crack at photographing the Mormon Temple there.  I figured if they light that one up the way they do the temple in Oakland it would make for some nice photos.

Salt Lake Temple, Salt Lake City, UT

Salt Lake Temple, Salt Lake City, UT

I'm not sure if dogs are allowed in the Temple Square or not.  I didn't ask.  Pongo and I took some looks from a couple of Mormon Mafia types, but they didn't say anything.

Salt Lake Temple, Salt Lake City, UT

I'm not religious.  I don't have any respect for religion.  I saw power, money and control in these walls.  The placement of the Zions' Bank building right next door to the Temple Square seemed neither ironic nor by happenstance.

The temple is a beautiful building, especially when lit up at night.  One good thing religions seem to do is construct buildings that are works of art.  This particular building is a bit blocky, but I enjoyed looking at it and taking these pictures.

Salt Lake Temple, Salt Lake City, UT

Soundtrack:

• Band of Horses -- Everything All the Time
• Queen -- Greatest Hits
• LCD Soundsystem -- This Is Happening
• Robin Williams -- Live 2002 [2]
• Hank Williams -- Greatest Hits
• The Jam -- The Sound of the Jam

Road Trip 2016: Yellowstone National Park

September 29, 2016

Pongo and I took a drive around Yellowstone National Park on Thursday.  It was eventful, I'll probably let the pictures tell the story.  The day started with a rainbow over Jackson Lake in Grand Teton National Park.  That was a good omen.

Jackson Lake, Grand Teton National Park, WY

Jackson Lake, Grand Teton National Park, WY

Lewis River, Yellowstone National Park, WY

Lewis River, Yellowstone National Park, WY

River Otter -- Yellowstone National Park, WY

I was thrilled to see four river otters in the beaver pond near Lewis Falls.  I've seen a river otter in the wild once before but I wasn't able to get a photograph.  The otters were very active and often out of view behind the bushes that line the pond.  These aren't the greatest of photos but I'm still pretty excited by them.

River Otter -- Yellowstone National Park, WY

River Otter -- Yellowstone National Park, WY

American Bison -- Yellowstone National Park, WY

American Bison -- Yellowstone National Park, WY

American Bison -- Yellowstone National Park, WY

Hayden Valley, Yellowstone National Park, WY

Tundra Swan

The best animal sighting of the day occurred on the Northern end of Hayden Valley.  The was a small group of photographers on the side of the road near a turnout.  I pulled over and asked some people walking toward their car what they had seen.  A badger was digging a burrow, they told me.  Holy cow!  I never thought I'd see a badger in the wild, and here was my opportunity.  I left Pongo in the car for this particular session.  He doesn't mind, to be honest.  He loves being alone in the car and it was a cool, overcast day.  He gets to guard it, barking at people that walk by and running back and forth from the back to the front.  He's also recently discovered the horn.  He was pretty good at honking it by the end of our road trip.

American Badger -- Yellowstone National Park, WY

American Badger -- Yellowstone National Park, WY

American Badger -- Yellowstone National Park, WY

American Badger -- Yellowstone National Park, WY

American Bison -- Yellowstone National Park, WY

American Bison -- Yellowstone National Park, WY

The animal awesomeness wasn't over for the day, though.  While photographing the badger a lady told me there was a grizzly bear up the road a few miles.  Holy mackerel.  A badger and a grizzly bear on the same day?  Could it actually happen?

Grizzly Bear -- Yellowstone National Park, WY

Yep.

The bear was on the edge of a meadow a couple of hundred yards away from the road.  A large crowd was watching the bear from the road with a couple of harried rangers directing traffic.  All I could make out with the naked eye was a dark spot in the field.  My camera and 400mm lens did a little better.

Grizzly Bear -- Yellowstone National Park, WY

Grizzly Bear -- Yellowstone National Park, WY

Yellowstone National Park, WY

On our way back to our campsite at Grand Teton National Park we encountered another large group of photographers.  They were all looking at a tree.  Well, not at a tree but at a bird in the tree.  It was a great gray owl.  Man, what a day!

Great Gray Owl -- Yellowstone National Park, WY

Great Gray Owl -- Yellowstone National Park, WY

Our final animal encounter of the day was with a small group of elk who were walking toward the ranger station on the Southern end of the South Loop.  They looked like they were checking out for the day.  Miller time.

Rocky Mountain Elk -- Yellowstone National Park, WY

Jackson Lake, Grand Teton National Park, WY

Soundtrack:

• Daniel Amos -- Alarma
• Echo & the Bunnymen -- Ocean Rain
• Jack White -- Blunderbuss