Yellowstone National Park/Grand Teton National Park, 9.26.21 - 10.6.21, Part 10 of 11
Sunday morning we packed up and left the Chittendon Lodge. Even in the midst of all the fun we had, I found myself really excited about going back to the Grand Tetons. One of the things that was very clear from the first time I had been there was that Grand Teton National Park had way more aspen trees than in Yellowstone. The amount of color we saw on that trip a year ago was stunning but we were there about a week or two before the colors would be prime. When the leaves are prime, there are few places on this earth as beautiful as the Tetons. All week I had pictured myself snapping photos at all the great spots - Oxbow Bend, Schwabacher’s Landing, Mormon Row. I'd seen all the photos others had taken at these spots in the fall and I wanted a piece of that action. What I didn’t count on was that I would actually miss the prime window and the leaves would already be past their prime. That’s exactly what I determined when we drove into Jackson Hole. I would have bet money that on October third there would be no chance of missing the peak but looking around I saw lots of trees either bare or with brown withered leaves instead of soft golden and yellow leaves. Now don’t get me wrong. There were still tons of trees with great color and overall the fall colors in Jackson Hole were breathtaking but in some spots I just wished I had been there maybe a week at the most earlier. If I had to guess, I would say that this early peak was rare and that it was caused by the weather we had this year. Drier and hotter weather could have possibly led to an early color change but regardless of the reason, I just barely missed it.
Despite what I just said, when we pulled into Oxbow Bend I was floored by how beautiful it still looked. We arrived around 9:30AM so we certainly missed the sunrise, but the mid-morning light was still phenomenal and while some trees were clearly past prime, the overall scene was brilliantly orange. I must have shot two hundred photos as I walked up and down along the bank of the Snake River. This was a place of mind-bending beauty.
Changing colors along Yellowstone Lake
Bull Elk in Hayden Valley
Oxbow Bend
Oxbow Bend
Oxbow Bend
Oxbow Bend
Oxbow Bend
When I was finally able to tear myself away from Oxbow Bend, Bridgit and I continued down the road towards the town of Jackson. We only made it around the next bend when we saw a group of photographers at the side of the road. Wolves? Grizzlies? 399 and her cubs? It turned out to be nothing that dramatic. While the trees at Oxbow Bend had just slipped past prime, less than a half mile away this huge grove was in great form with bright orange leaves still looking very healthy. We of course pulled over and I shot another roll or two at this spot before moving on.
Mt. Moran and aspens
Mt. Moran and aspens
A bit further we came to the famous Snake River Overlook. A year ago when we were here we could barely make out the Grand Teton through the thick layer of fire smoke. On this trip we had very clear skies every single day in both Yellowstone and the Tetons.
Snake River Overlook
Eventually we made it to Jackson where we had reserved a room for two nights. Once we were settled in we watched the Seahawk game on one channel and the Bronco game on the other channel. After the games we took a drive up to Mormon Row to scope out a possible sunrise shooting location. Making it a loop, we continued down to Gros Ventre Campground. We will almost certainly come back to the Tetons again with the Navibahn so we wanted to drive through the loops to get an idea of the best sites. This campground is also well known as a great place to see moose so I’m sure we will be back.
Pronghorn near Gros Ventre Road
Aspens near Gros Ventre Campground
That evening we went to a great pizza place and then went back to watch Sunday Night Football. The next day would be our only full day in the Tetons and we planned to make the most of it.
For the final installment, continue on to Part 11