Grand Tetons National Park - Beautiful Jenny Lake and Foxes and Bears!! Oh My!

Continuing my adventure through Grand Tetons and Yellowstone National parks!

Previous Posts (Click Links) :

1)  Through Nevada and Idaho!  Stopping at LDS Temples on the way. 

2)  Grand views of gorgeous Grand Tetons National Park + Jenny Lake Campground and Elk Herd

Wow!  Waking up to a beautiful morning in the Tetons is a great feeling!  I slept really well in the back of my car (although my sleeping bag is so warm!  Too warm almost.) and woke up pretty early and fairly bright - although I had no idea what time it really was since there is a time zone change from California.  

I got some toiletries out of the bear box and headed for the restroom when OUT popped my adorable camping roommate.  Meet Mr. Uinta Squirrel!

I felt terrible that I tried to stomp the rock into his hole the night before!  I just didn't want to trip little guy. My bad.  

He didn't seem to harbor any hard feelings and was happy to just hang out while I was taking photos of him.  He seemed very curious about what I was getting for breakfast though. 

He's so, so cute!  

And he wasn't the only cutie hanging around my campsite at Jenny Lake.  There were many gorgeous robins and chipmunks running to and fro in my little meadow too!

The chipmunks seemed a little disappointed that they couldn't find anything delicious around my fire pit and picnic table.  Next time!  I promise!

Anyway, I knew I didn't have a lot of time in the Tetons that day so I wanted to head out and figure out what's where, etc.  Since my time was limited and I had never been there, I just really wanted to explore and stop wherever I wanted to stop.  Usually for a photo op.  :)  Like this lone tree.  I love trees. 

I made my way back to the Jenny Lake loop road, which I had rather quickly driven the night before in my search for Jenny Lake campground. 

Oh my goodness.  Jenny Lake is really beautiful!  Originally, when planning  my trip, I had planned to do the hike around the lake and up to Hidden Falls.  I'm not even going to lie...I knew it wasn't going to happen this trip because I did not get myself into the shape I needed to be in to hike 8-9 miles at just under 7000 feet elevation. 

Seeing how gorgeous this area is, I really regretted my life choices that led to me standing here at the overlook unprepared. 

But I did take the opportunity to walk a little bit (a very little bit) along the trail that skirts the eastern shore of the lake.  The views along the overlook were simply breathtaking.  The blues of the sky and the lake were almost unbelievable!  

I ran into a few people who were hiking along (as well as some people in the overlook parking).

Most people were in small groups although I did see one solo hiker.  But I was very bear aware after everything I read and had been told thus far.  So I was a bit afraid to walk much farther than a couple hundred yards. 

There is a shuttle boat that you can take across the lake (it wasn't running yet as far as I can tell) which I also want to do in future.  I think I'll (get in shape!) hike most of the way and then shuttle back. We'll see.  But there are definitely a lot of reasons to return!

But for today, I had to content myself with a little stroll admiring the clear blue water and breathing in the fresh air.  

So dramatic!  I love this spectacular place!

But it was time to get back on the road.  :-)

Honestly, it's hard to figure out how to blog all the photos I took and places I saw...and that's just in about a 24 hour period spent in Grand Tetons!  Imagine if I had more time there on this trip and saw all the places I wanted and did all the things I wanted to do!  

After leaving Jenny Lake, I drove north on Teton Park road until it met 191, then head back south on 191/26/89 to Jackson for supplies/gas.  I figured I would see where things were (mainly Oxbow Bend, Schwabacher Landing, and Mormon Row for animals & photo ops) and stop for exploring/photos as time allowed.  I also wanted to stop at the National Museum of Wildlife Art before heading back north on Teton Park Road to see Willow Flats and Colter Bay before heading on to Yellowstone. 

This is pretty much what I did.  And I was SO LUCKY to see a lot of wildlife on my way!  

After pulling over to take a couple shots of Mount Moran (which really, REALLY looks like Jabba the Hut to me), I stopped at the Chapel of the Sacred Heart.

Just me??  Okay.  lol  I really see it though. 

I wasn't sure I was going to stop at the Church even though I usually stop at every picturesque church-type building I see when I'm on my road trips.  I actually thought it was closed due to Covid and, being on limited time, I figured I could just see it next time.  

But at the last minute I decided to pull into the parking lot.  There were a lot of people around and, as I was pulling out again, I saw people parked on the street in "I see wildlife!" pose.  So I pulled over to the shoulder and looked where they were looking.

Except I saw nothing.  Nada.  I was just about to give up when a cyclist pulled up behind me and started looking.  I asked if he could see anything and he very kindly came to my window and pointed to the beautiful, tawny fox!  It took me a minute but I finally saw it, just as it started trotting through the church parking lot towards the wilds. 

I flipped back into the parking lot pretty quickly (after profusely thanking the kind cyclist!) and jumped out of my car just in time to snap off a few photos before Mr. Fox went out of sight through the bush.  

There were two people who were quite literally chasing the fox through the brush, but I didn't want to do that so I contented myself with the shots and the experience.  I was soooo happy!  I had seen signs at the campground asking people to not feed the foxes and others had told me that they were "nuisances" but I hadn't seen any at Jenny Lake.  

I ended up seeing two more foxes on my trip - one near Cottonwood Creek picnic area and the other one in Colter Bay.  I wasn't able to pull over quickly enough at either to get a shot, unfortunately.  But it was so cool!

I headed out again and, just as I got to what I think is a Ranger station before the Jackson Lake dam, I caught a glimpse of brown fur on the green lawn!  Bears!!  I was so excited, I automatically turned into the Ranger station, but it was roped off.  I considered parking right there, but realized that it put me about 50 feet away from a mama bear and her two babies!  Oh my God!  

So, me trying to be a good girl, decided not to stop in the middle of the road and pulled down the little hill until I saw a turnout just before the dam. 

I quickly parked, curbed my wheels like a good Californian, grabbed my D7200 w/600 Sigma lens attached and ran my fat ass back up the hill towards the bears!!  

By the time I got back, there were about 15 cars blocking the road and people milling about.  The bears were still there and didn't seem too concerned, but they did move just into the tree line for shelter as they slowly lumbered south alongside the road.  

I was able to snap 3 pictures - 1 decent, 1 bad, and 1 very bad - here they are in reverse order:

This first one, I greyed out everything except exactly where the bears are.  My camera of course focused on the tree closest to me and I was huffing and puffing too much to try to manually focus. 

But!  You can clearly see one of the bear cubs on the left walking behind it's much bigger mother who is obscured by the branches of the tree.  But!  You can see her brown fur in spots.  lol

Here's another blurry shot of the other cub!  But you can see most of it.  This cub looked older and bigger, but not as big as mom. 

And finally, here is the best shot of the three!  Mom's whole body - in focus!!  But missing her face.  But!  Look at those cute ears!  Anyone able to identify a bear by its ears??

Maybe a grizzly?  They definitely seem rounder...

And there you have it.  My first ever bear sightings!!  So freaking fun and exciting!  And I got a little bit of exercise in the process, so that's always good.  

Next post we'll continue the trip around Grand Tetons National Park with more animals and amazing places.  Stay tuned!

 xoxo

Nikon D600 & D7200

Oh My!! New Lens In My Bag - Let's Test It Out at Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge!

 For my birthday my wonderful daughter chipped in to help me get the lens I've been wanting!  The Sigma 150-600 Contemporary.  I couldn't WAIT to test it out - especially handheld - because we all know I'm too impatient to use a tripod.  haha  But I am really going to try. Sometimes.  :-)

It was raining in Sacramento but the farther north I got, the more the clouds concentrated around the mountains, creating some stunning landscapes. 

What a beautiful Red-tailed Hawk!  She was huge (so I'm assuming she was a she). 

Awesome Common Gallinule!  Nothing common about these cuties.

They actually lift their wings up further on their backs when they are floating, which often cause them to have a curly look to their feathers. 

Pied-billed Grebe!

I drove right past this guy.  I felt someone staring at me! So I looked to my right and our eyes met.  

I braked gently and reversed...hefted my large camera and Sigma lens to my eye - praying that the bird staring at me would remain calm and still!

Spoiler alert - he did!

More gallinules!  The tips of their beaks were actually a bright yellow; I feel like these photos don't really capture it well.  

And their cousin, a cute American Coot!

Hawk in flight with the Buttes in the background.

There was at lest 75 Coots floating on the lake.  So cool to see them bobbing around.

And another Pied-billed Grebe!

Along with the Coots and tiny Pied-billed Grebes, there were quite a few Clark's Grebes floating around.  A lot of them were settling in for a nap...

But some were beginning to pair up for courting. 

And you could see their beautiful, bright red eyes!

Cormorants, ducks, and geese snoozing on the island. 

Wow!  About 6 American White Pelicans were out there floating around too!

Check out those baby blues!

And, much to my absolute delight, there was a lone Mute Swan serenely floating around the lake. 

And there were a LOT of Snow/Ross Geese still hanging around on the beach!

Along with a pretty gigantic Red-eared Slider turtle.

Turkey Vulture flying over the Geese 

Green-winged Teal duck pair with a Cinnamon Teal duck friend. 

Awwww, babies!!  This Canada Goose had little babies but there were some teenagers hanging around just beyond mama too.

Oh my, this cormorant was soooo fast!  I saw it coming to my right, got the camera/lens hefted and into position.  But before it could focus clearly, the bird was almost out of my range!  I thought it still looked pretty cool.  

White-faced Ibis!  I think this guy is almost in breeding plumage.  But the white around his face isn't quite as distinct as it should be.  

You can really tell the difference in coloring between the breeding adult on the right and the juvenile/non-breeding Ibis on the left. 

Came around the corner and saw this Squirrel just drinking in the sights and looking for birds like the rest of us.  lol  Little cutie. 

I know I say "wow" a lot, but WOW!!  A Double-Crested Cormorant in breeding plumage, which means you can really see those crests!  And his gorgeous blue-green eyes!

These cattle egrets were sitting on a fence beside the road and were spooked by my car.  But luckily they just flew across the water.  Look at his little yellow feet!  

So beautiful.

Red-Winged Blackbirds are so hard for me to get a pic of lately.  They're pretty skittish.  But these two (yes, they are two different birds) were happy to pose!

Oh, this Mourning Dove looked so lovely in the golden and pink sunshine!

I had seen quite a few Jack Rabbits as usual, but they were all very quick to escape my eye.  Not this guy though!  He sat there for quite awhile, clearly hoping that I hadn't seen him!  lol  

xoxo

Nikon D600 Sigma 150-600 Contemporary Lens