2019 Tetons Final

Fall colors in the Tetons are not the same as in NH but they offer their own special touches.   Add in a bit of snow on the mountains and it’s really special.  

Not only are there moose around but if you get up very early and can locate some elk you my be treated to watching a bull elk taking care of his harem (this means watching over the cows and driving away rivals) and bugling.

As the moose rut progressed the bulls were getting more active. One morning we got to watch this bull drive away a younger one then chase the early cow first i n one direction then in another. They were moving at good speed and sent some photographers running. They can turn on a dime and are as agile as a lot of horses.

Down by the river the willows grow very tall and thick. This provides food for the moose and also hides them very well. I tend to not go into the willows, you never know what may be in there with you!

 

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2019 Tetons, more moose

Still in the Tetons and enjoying the moose Had a clear night recently so I went out to see if I could capture the Milky Way. As always out here it is spectacular and humbling.

Catching the moose has been a test of patience. They’re wild animals so where & when they will be visible is unpredictable. Being able to watch them is always a joy.

 

There is a river nearby and they tend to head towards it, the feeding is good there with the willows. But the willows are tall and thick so simply wandering in them to look for a moose is unwise. Fortunately when they decided to cross the river there was a wide clear spot upstream where we could watch.

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2019 Teton Moose, week one

Handsome bull
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Another September in the Tetons watching moose. I’ve been here a week and had some great opportunities so far. When I arrived it was very warm but that ended with a few rainy days and now it is clear and cold. Frost on the van windows the last two mornings. The rain down her bright new snow to the mountain tops.

 

The three bulls
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The moose count has varied, one day 4 bulls and 4 cows, but mostly we’ve seen 3 bulls and a couple of cows. This morning it’s down to 1 bull and 2 cows. Not sure if he’s driven the other bulls off or what.

When the 3 bulls were here they were all sparring together with one exception, see the photos for more info.

The cows seem more active, watching people and chasing each other at times. We have to be very aware of where the animals are because they are big and fast and can get pretty darn frustrated this time of year. Watching a bull

Early morning
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thrash away at a bush then jumping around and trotting away can give you an glimpse of that. They are surprisingly agile given their size. Watching a cow chase another one away or a bull chase a cow brings home the fact these are not sedate harmless critters they are big and fast and not much will stop them.

All three bulls
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2019 Yellowstone day and night

I spent some time in Yellowstone in late August, moving from Mammoth area to Madison Junction then to Canyon Village. Managed to see some bison and get some nice images at night also.

 

It  was  warmer  than  I  was  hoping for but  all  went  well  

 

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2018 Valley of Fire SP, NV

A few friends have been to this state park and had glowing reports so this fall on my way south I decided to stop there. It’s not a large area but has some really nice views and scenery. It reminds me of what a cross between Arches NP or some of the other UT NPs and City of Rocks SP in NM might be like. Many of the rocks have the coloring of the UT parks, but the size and the fact that the campsites are located in in among the rocks reminds me of the NM state park. There are plenty of places to hike and lots of very little “arches” to view. Maybe someday some of those mini-arches will be bigger?

There are some Desert Bighorn Sheep there, rather regal looking the way their horns are set on.

 

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2018 Gros Ventre final days

Watching and photographing the moose in the Gros Ventre area in Wyoming is usually the highlight of the fall for me and this year I was there close to a  month, what a great time! I got to see and photograph several bulls, watch them interact with each other and with some cows.

One of the things a bull will do at times is pee in a spot, then lay in it. I’ve seen elk do this, too. This time I learned that a cow will lay down with the bull, getting very cosy. After a while these two wondered off to the river, she went across and i don’t know what he finally did. It was getting too dark to hang around

Fall is when the aspen turn golden and I got to see that, too.  The moose were pretty active at dawn so I was up with or before the sunrise. That paid off one morning with some glorious color. 

But the moose were my main interest and they cooperated so well. One time there were two bulls. a cow & calf and another cow on one side of the drive and two bulls on the other side of the drive. Where to look, which to photograph, and all the while paying attention to where they were all moving!  The campground has been putting up very sturdy “bear boxes” at each campsite for storing food,
etc., in. They often seemed to be in the worst locations for taking photos, though.

One morning when I left the trailer I saw two bulls and a cow right close by. The mature and immature bull butted antlers a while then took a break, grazed, moved to another area and resumed the challenge.

 

 

 

To give you an idea if the size of some of the bulls, the truck on the left is mine and that bull was right behind it.

 

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2018 Tetons Moose

One evening I went  down the road to the riverbank to see is anything was going on. There were lots of folks watching something so I stopped and took the camera with me to catch any action. What action!  The bull Custer had found the cow with twins and was intent on pursuing her. She didn’t want any part of him and so the chase was on. They started out in a thick cover of willows and came out running. They moved downstream in and out of the water. The calves followed mom as best they could. At one point the bull was chasing after the calves a bit but that wasn’t his main objective. It was fascinating to watch, totally futile on his part though since with calves that young she would not be breeding this season. Eventually she moved off into the woods on the far side of the river. He followed but much more slowly.

Mornings here can be pretty nippy, down in the mid teens in fact. A few days after that evening’s drama I was up at 0600 and out at 0700 to see if I could find yet another bull I’d heard about. Sure enough he was where I was told, along with three cows. This bull is massive with an impressive rack. Of course I wasn’t alone, there were quite a few photographers and spectators there. As we watched him and the cows we realized another bull was coming…… oh boy.  The second bull moved in from the west, staying in the low area where one of the cows was while the first bull stayed on the upper area (same level as us). He waited for the second bull to approach him, knowing he had the advantage of higher ground. There was no dramatic charging or clashing but bull #1 was definitely the winner is the contest. Bull #2 moseyed away in search of easier pickings. At least one of these bulls has a name, too, but I down’t know it yet.

Getting really good images is always satisfying, but I truly enjoy watching the animals interact. There’s always something to be learned from observing them.

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