Grand Teton National Park Sept 2020 Mountains, Grizzlies and Pronghorn Antelope

Aspens and Tetons

Grizzly #610 and her cubs

One of the first things that strikes you when you enter the Grand Teton area is that there are mountains everywhere you look. Not just the Tetons themselves but the entire area is encircled by mountains. It's really quite breathtaking, especially early in the morning and at sunset. 

We were still on our quest to spot wildlife and were hoping to spot more grizzlies and some moose. We took a drive down Moose-Wilson Road which is supposed to good for spotting moose and bear, but didn't see a single one. It was a fun drive through the woods and some pretty scenery along the way though.

We drove several big loops of the area in the next few days, just stopping to take photos and looking for wildlife. We also took time to stop and have lunch along the riverbank most days. 

We drove to the area of Gros Ventre campground where we had heard there were several moose and finally spotted some - a few bulls and some mamas with babies. Mike had been hoping to see a bull moose so he very happy. 

One morning we were driving on the highway outside of Jackson and just before the Moran junction, we could see some cars pulled over on the side of the road. In the sagebrush you could see a mama grizzly and 2 year-old cubs. One of the people there identified her as Grizzly #610 and her cubs born the previous year.  We were able to find a side road that gave us a better view of the three bears and eventually they actually crossed the road just a couple of car lengths in front of us! I was standing safely in the sunroof of the car taking photos. This mama bear intentionally keeps her cubs close to the road to protect them from boar grizzlies who might harm cubs. It's a trait they say she learned from her mama #399 who is something of a legend in the Tetons. We didn't get to see #399 but she had 4 cubs this year and she's 24 years old! That's old for a grizzly bear!

We had seen a few pronghorn in Yellowstone but there were quite a few more in the Grand Teton area, including one fairly good-sized herd. I think they're pretty and I think it's funny when they're all facing away from you because their rear ends look like a bunch of white hearts! 

We also managed to come almost face-to-face with a herd of bison as we walked up the crest of a hill trying to look for antelope. We have previously had a close encounter with bison on our own property years ago and we know they are unpredictable and rather cranky. We slowly backed away and left the area.