Part IV: Shooting Idaho and West Yellowstone - September 16 - 23

The road closure turned out to be blessing in disguise. The scenery through Idaho was fantastic, and Upper Mesa Falls along Idaho Route 47 were absolutely gorgeous.  After stopping numerous times to take photo along the way, we arrived in West Yellowstone near dark and checked into our motel (Best Western).  Most of the businesses in West Yellowstone were getting ready to close for the winter; however, they were still open for the few days we would be there. We had dinner at a different place each night and were not disappointed with any of them.  We had originally planned for this part of our trip to be devoted primarily to photographing scenery; however, it turned out to be the best for wildlife too.

First day we drove along the Madison River to Madison, and then turned south towards Old Faithful.  We followed the Firehole River, stopping to photograph along Fountain Flat Drive, Lower Geyser Basin, and finally Old Faithful. After lunch we returned the same route and continued north past Madison towards Norris as far as Gibbon Falls.  We returned to the motel early that day because some wanted to get some laundry done; but I went back into the park about an hour before sunset.  I got some great shots of elk and bison along the Madison River, and decided we should concentrate on that and Fountain Flat Drive the following morning.

Next morning we cruised very slowly along the Madison, taking the drive that edges the Madison River and stopping at other pullouts.  Our rewards were some great shots of the bison and elk in a light fog that had developed overnight.  From there we proceeded to the Flats and again got some great shots of bison in the fog. My wife, Mary, got one that everyone is envious of.  One bison rolling in the dirt, while two others looked on, and a third coming through the fog to see what all the excitement was. The rest of the day was spent walking around the Upper Geyser Basin, photographing the geysers.

Third morning we again headed south towards Old Faithful, and were fortunate to catch a coyote along the road for some great photos.  We then turned around and headed north towards Norris and photographed they geysers in Norris Geyser Basin.  After lunch we drove from Norris to Canyon stopping to shoot the Virginia Cascades.  From there we drove down to Yellowstone Lake for some great eagle shots and more scenery then slowly back to the motel, getting some great shots of elk at the junction of the Madison, Firehole, and Gibbon Rivers.

Fourth morning we drove to Madison getting great shots of Elk along the way, then up to Norris and over to Canyon.  From Canyon we turned north and drove back up to Mammoth Hot Springs to photograph the terraces, retracing our route back towards the hotel after lunch.  Again, along the Madison we found a huge, frustrated bull elk attempting to control his harem. We got some of the best shots of the trip there.  Finally back to the hotel to prepare for our departure the next morning.  A drive back through Lamar Valley, Beartooth Highway, and back to Billings. We allowed for two nights in Billings to get our gear shipped back to our homes, and caught our flight out the next day.

Part III:  Shooting the Grand Tetons September 13 - 16

We only allowed three nights in Jackson, and that was a mistake. It only gave us two full days to shoot, and we could have used more.  I knew that sunrises at Oxbow Bend, Schwabacher Landing, and Mormon Row were top priority shots.  Any wildlife here would be a bonus.  We stopped on the way into Grand Teton NP to get maps and any advice the rangers might have.  The first thing we discovered was that there was highway construction on the main route I had planned to use, causing lengthy delays both ways.  We stopped at Oxbow Bend to take a few insurance shots, just in case.  I drove towards Jackson on Highway 26/89/191 until we got to the construction.  We sat there for about a half hour and decided it was going to take too long.  I talked to one of the construction workers and asked him if it was this bad early in the morning.  He confided to me that they would not set up the barricades until around 7:30 AM.  I knew we would be through long before that, so I then turned around and drove through Teton NP on the Teton Park Road to get to Jackson.  We had to go through downtown Jackson to get to our motel, which was a Motel 6. Now honestly, I would not stay in a Motel 6 in the Atlanta area for fear of my life.  However, this was a very nice place. It was clean and, quiet, had a courteous staff, and there was easy access to everything.  Our favorite place to eat there was The Bunnery. Don’t miss it if you go.

The following morning we were up well before sunrise and on our way to Oxbow Bend, about 35 miles away from the motel. We arrived about 20 minutes before sunrise, staked out our spots and got set up.  The water was completely calm without a ripple on the surface, reflecting the Tetons in the distance and the trees along the river.  As the sun began to break over the horizon, the tops of the peaks began to glow and soon the entire scene was bathed in soft morning light.  We shot for about 30 minutes, by which time a breeze had developed ripples on the water, and we called it a wrap.  We drove back to Jackson along Teton Park Road, checking out other potential places to shoot along Jenny Lake.  After lunch, we drove back north on Highway 26/89/191 and checked out Blacktail Ponds, Schwabacher Landing, and Mormon Row.  We identified specific shooting locations at each place for the next day.  After talking to a fly fisherman at Blacktail Ponds, we found that there would probably be moose at the Gros Ventre campgounds.  We then spent some time shooting scenery at Blacktail Ponds, Mormon Row, and exploring along Gros Ventre road, which produced some photos of a bull moose.  The rest of the day we explored along Teton Park Road, driving up to top of Signal Mountain, and shooting along Jenny Lake. We returned to the motel, and that night one of my sisters and I went back to Mormon Row to try our hand at photographing the Milky Way.  We could only shoot until about 10:00 PM due to a near full moon rising; however, we did get some satisfactory shots.

Again, with a personal 4WD vehicle, I would have driven the Grow Ventre Road up into the Bridger-Teton National Forest, and the Moose-Wilson Road that runs from Moose Junction to Teton Village that was closed to all but 4WD vehicles.

Our last morning in Jackson we headed for Schwabacher Landing for sunrise.  Again, an early morning departure from the motel put us in position well before sunrise the next morning, and the efforts paid off fantastically.  We were able to get some fantastic shots of the Tetons reflected in the perfectly still waters of the beaver ponds, with the breaking sun providing beautiful color to the mountains and sky. We returned to the motel to prepare for our drive to West Yellowstone the next day.  Due to road closures in Yellowstone, we would have to traverse Teton Pass and travel through Idaho to get there.

Part II:  Shooting Yellowstone East September 10 - 13

The first morning saw us delayed about thirty minutes from our desired departure time; however, after that everyone got organized the night before and we were out on time from then on.  Entering at the northeast entrance allowed us to slowly cruise the Lamar Valley to Tower-Roosevelt Junction, looking for wildlife, then either travel north to Mammoth Hot Springs area, or south over Dun Raven Pass and into the Hayden Valley.  We chose the southern route the first three days, then the northern route the fourth day.

The first day out it was 18 degrees F, and snowing.  After that it warmed up during the day, but the mornings remained quite chilly.  Each day as we cruised the Lamar Valley, we had the sun to our backs which allowed us to capture the bison and pronghorn antelope, as well as some spectacular sunrises.  While the entire Lamar Valley is great for wildlife, some of the hotspots we always visited were the Pebble Creek Campground area, Soda Butte, and the Slough Creek Road.  The wolves however were staying up in the higher elevations for the most part, along with the bears that were around nine thousand feet.  As we crept along the Lamar Valley, I kept a lookout for the wolf trackers, and always stopped to talk with them. They are the ones with the antennas on their vehicles, and the portable tracking devices. They will tell you where the activity, if any, is at.  We did see one of the wolf packs and heard them howling; but they were too far away to render decent photos.  The sun was still in the east as we traversed south to Dun Raven Pass and Hayden Valley too.  With a good vehicle, we would have driven up to the summit of Mt. Washburn; but dit not want to risk it in a rental.  Along this route, we were able to photograph the Upper and Lower Falls on the Yellowstone River from Artist Point near Canyon, and capture some great scenery all along the way.  Going through Hayden Valley to Lake Village we were able to photograph Sulphur Caldron and Mud Volcanoes.  Both the Lamar Valley and Hayden Valley are prime areas for wildlife, however, Dunraven Pass proved to be an excellent area as well for both elk and bison.  After eating lunch with a cup of coffee purchased at one of the establishments in the park, we would retrace our route with the sun in the west, or at our backs again in Lamar Valley.  This again provided excellent lighting most of the time because we were able to always have the sun at our backs either going out or coming back. 

On the third day, we drove through Lamar Valley and turned north towards Mammoth Hot Springs.  Again, the lighting was excellent as was the wildlife.  A short way from the entrance to the Petrified Tree road, we spotted a cow and calf moose pair and got some great shots.  In fact, upon arrival at Mammoth Hot Springs, there was a traffic jam due to an elk herd that had come down from the mountains to enjoy the relative safety of the humans. Again, with a personal vehicle we would have driven the Blacktail Plateau Drive; but not in a rental. This, like the road to Mt. Washburn summit is a dirt road and with any precipitation it can become difficult.

On the fourth day, we traveled the southern route again as we moved our base to Jackson in order to photograph the Grand Tetons and area. Note:  The road from Mammoth Hot Springs to Norris and Madison was closed, as was the road from Old Faithful to West Thumb.