Park Pride

I hadn’t planned on writing again about my visit up to Yellowstone National Park and the Grand Teton National Park but I was inspired by the company, Cotopaxi, to share a little bit of my Park Pride. And since it’s still chilly and I’m in the thick of calving, it’s nice to revisit a warmer time!

Cotopaxi is a company focused on spreading positive vibes and encouraging people to live actively and get outside. They’re also a benefits corporation focused on giving back. A percentage of every sale goes to various organizations that support global health initiatives, and their hiking backpacks help provide the most aid.

Now, the actual date of the 100th Anniversary of National Parks was August 25, 2016 but hey, we can continue the celebration, can’t we? I think so. In fact, last month, Yellowstone marked it’s 145th anniversary.

We went Yellowstone in late May last year which was a great time to see the newborn Bison calves.

We hiked on paths around the Geysers and they were breathtaking. Not just because of their beauty, but because they wreaked of sulfur!

The wildlife is certainly wild, but also quite cute.

And of course, there is always Old Faithful. Incredible to experience.

I was thrilled with Yellowstone but I think my favorite part of the trip was The Grand Tetons.

The word majestic doesn’t even do them justice. And neither do photographs. You must go and visit them for yourself.

Where the antelope run through tall sagebrush,

where the water of Schwabacher’s Landing reflects the peaks,

…and where wildflowers line many hiking paths.
The Grand Tetons stole my heart. If you want a refresher on our adventures in Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons, go ahead re-visit my posts.  (start here for Yellowstone and and here for Tetons) Who knows, maybe they will inspire you to hit the road and visit a National Park this year! 🙂

I do want to mention that I am a cheerleader for State Parks as well. When you are on the road, headed for a National Park, instead of RV’ing or camping at a side of the road camping facility, park your RV or camp in a tent at a state park instead. It can at times be less expensive and most always be more enjoyable. I traveled Wyoming in 2014 for a project with the State and 9 times out of 10, folks were headed to Yellowstone. And all of those families had planned their route to Yellowstone by locating and staying at State Parks along the way. They said they wouldn’t do it any other way. I have to agree!

Cheers and happy exploring!

Please not that this post was inspired by Cotopaxi. This is not a paid advertisement for the National Parks Services or for Cotopaxi. Opinions and photos are strictly my own. I’m just sharing my #parkpride. 🙂

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Tetons Roundup

Needless to say, it was an amazing adventure in the northwest section of Wyoming. Yellowstone and Tetons are both a sight to see.

Pelicans and geese float the lake. A clear sign that the fishing is probably pretty good!

A western meadowlark grabbed up some yummy breakfast!

Moulton Barn on Mormon Row. One of the most photographed scenes in the world. I put my own spin on it with a delicate spiderweb in the foreground. I’m sure I’m not the first but hey, here it is.

Bison in a field of dandelions. We stayed here a moment and looked through our tour guide’s spotting scope. We saw a brand new bison calf getting used to it’s long legs. So cute!

If the mosquitoes weren’t so bad, I could have watched this swan until dark.

This pond is in Jackson not far from the elk refuge.

We took this trip in late May, early June. I will be heading back to Jackson in September to photograph a wedding with the Tetons as the backdrop. I am excited to see how it looks as autumn begins.
Cheers!
 

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Tetons: Pronghorn and Lupine

We saw a lot of Pronghorn Antelope. Or Speed Goats. Whatever you wanna call ’em.

Lupine grows in the meadows all around the Tetons. It is a flowering plant in the legume family.

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Tetons: Schwabachers Landing

In the Tetons, we saw some amazing species of water fowl at Schwabachers Landing. Schwabachers Landing is a boat landing located a few miles south of Snake River Overlook, along the east shore of the Snake River.

We also saw a lot of little baby ground squirrels. They were everywhere and weren’t all that shy.

I wish I knew the official names of the water fowl that we saw but I don’t recall. Our tour guide was very knowledgeable but I didn’t retain the names of them. Dad may have written notes on them so I’ll check with him. If you know, feel free to name them in the comments!

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Grand Tetons: The Ansel Adams Way

Debbie booked us a tour of the Grand Tetons because honestly, we just didn’t know where to start and how to get to where we wanted to go. We needed some direction and we got more than we bargained for with our tour guide, Mike. He was a former National Parks employee and knew so many facts and details of the park, the land and wildlife. It was a great experience having him show us around.
I hoped he would show us the view of the Tetons and Snake River. Sure enough he did but the view I saw was different from the Ansel Adams image that I knew and loved. Of course, Adams shot it in 1942 so obviously the terrain has changed a bit. But Mike also told us that he used a ladder to get this image.
Here is mine:

And here it is cropped, and photoshopped to mimic the look of the large format camera.

Of course, my 70D can’t compare to a large format, but it was fun to post process this into black and white.

More on the Tetons later. Cheers!

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