An extra early wake up time today (4:45) was almost not early enough. We buzzed down to Mormon Row to photograph sunrise at the famous barns. Less photographers than I had expected at that hour (only three), and as we waited for the sunlight to hit all the right places, we watched a moose canter across a distant meadow, sending a trio of pronghorn into a full gallop.

I got plenty of barn shots, though the clouds never burned off the peak of Grand Teton completely.

Max made it to the barns by sunrise... barely

After a chilly breakfast, we next visited Schwabacher's Landing. There were no moose, but plenty of noisy waterfowl could be seen and heard, including a common goldeneye with her young and this cinnamon teal. At this point, the clouds began to move in en masse, and would envelope the mountains completely by midday.

A stop at Moose Junction for coffee afforded us a chance to see the hummingbirds Helene had spotted last year in the same place. Action shots were nearly impossible, but if the sun hit it just right, the little hummer certainly shined.

Moose-Wilson Road was empty again, so we drove north past Jenny Lake. Near Signal Mountain, I spotted a brownish spot on the side of the road... it had kind of a cinnamon-bearish tone, but I was undecided as to whether to turn around and investigate. At the next stop, I told Helene and Rene about it, and we agreed to try to find it.

Napping was hard for this bear with a crowd of onlookers onhand

It turns out it was a bear, and by this time someone else had discovered it as well. As we pulled up, a wild-eyed gentleman swiveled in a deep crouch with a finger to his lips, loudly shushing anyone who pulled up... and then he promptly ran to within 10 yards of the bear to try to get a photo.

The bear moved into the woods and eventually laid down by a tree, barely visible from the road through the branches.

We had been striking out with moose still, but at least we finally had a bear. It was my first Teton bear, and technically Helene and Rene's first as well (since the ones they saw on Moose-Wilson last year were outside the park boundaries). Maybe things were picking up.

A further exploration of the area yielded no further wildlife, so we had lunch before returning to the Oxbow Bend area. Here, we hit another bear jam. Perhaps it was the grizz and three cubs? Nah, just a black bear. But this one was a bit younger and seemed rather nervous. It gazed up at the throng of onlookers several times before running off into the woods.

Our afternoon tour concluded with a run-in with a fox. It disappeared into the woods, but we found it back near some employees' cabins, where it concentrated on getting as far away from us as possible... that and the driving rain made photography difficult, so I'm still looking for my first decent fox pic.

It was time for me to get going back to Yellowstone, but first, a great pizza at Leek's for dinner. We tried to figure out why we had had such a hard time finding moose on this trip... It just doesn't happen for me in the Tetons for some reason, but with a couple of bears and a fox each day (though no great pics), I can't complain.

This great gray owl was a very pleasant surprise

I hit the road after saying goodbye to H & R, and two minutes later, a moose ran across the road in front of me! It trotted down into a lagoon, but by the time I got out of the car and focused my lens, it was zooming for the trees. So I'd officially end the Teton leg with no moose pics. Sigh.

North into Yellowstone, trying to avoid nodding off after another couple of long days. The roads were wet, but the sun was trying to peek through. I chose the Lake/Hayden route, with Gardiner as my ultimate destination. A gorgeous bald eagle launched itself into the air at Pumice Point and flapped away. A detour to Mary Bay produced no sightings, and Hayden Valley was empty, except for the most ardent bear-watchers waiting for their prize. The sun slipped behind a huge cloud, and that was it for the rest of the good light... my photo day was done.

That is, until just before the Canyon junction, when I reached a crowd. I figured that they might be looking at a bull elk, or *maybe* a bear. Instead, I saw an empty clearing with a downed tree in the middle and a branch sticking straight up. On the branch was sitting a big puffy form, and I couldn't believe I was looking at a great gray owl.

Another Yellowstone first for me, and it was sitting right out in the middle of the clearing. I crept out there to join another photographer, and despite the low light, we managed to get some shots of this beautiful bird before it flew away. Now that's the way to finish off the day!