The view of the Grand Tetons from Oxbow Bend is purty.

It was the last day our "second carload" would have before they had to head home, and it was decided that we'd visit the Tetons. I had been to the Tetons only once before, on my very first trip to the area back in '88. All I remembered from that trip was that see saw little wildlife (1 deer), and I didn't remember any of the scenery. Suffice to say, as a kid, I wasn't all that impressed with the Tetons... possibly one reason I hadn't returned in all these years.

This was different though. After seeing the photos posted on this forum over the years and knowing that our chances of seeing moose would be much better in the Tetons, I was actually excited about heading south.

In order to allow maximum post-Washburn recovery time, we slept in a bit. The couple of hours it would take to get from Canyon down to the heart of GTNP put us there in late morning. The road south isn't too exciting, the highlight being the cartoonish "slow for animals" road sign, which depicted a crumpled car that had collided with a very Bullwinkle-like animal.

Once we got our first views of the mountains on this bright, sunny day, things picked up. The scenery is spectacular, beautiful and awe-inspiring. It would've been nice to kick back and relax a bit more and soak it all in, but we only had this day to check out most of the main "attractions" in the park.

The barns along Mormon Row are quite popular with photographers.

We stopped at a couple of the main viewpoints along the way, including Willow Flats, but they yielded nothing in the way of wildlife. Scattered deer along the road were turning this into a repeat of my last trip here. I was anticipating good things at Oxbow Bend... alas, it was dead quiet with the exception of a few pelicans. Quite a view though.

We followed our very basic map south until I swerved off the road at the tiny Schwabacher's Landing sign. We rumbled down the dirt road until reaching the first of two parking lots. I kinda wanted to check out the view from the next lot, but this one was less crowded (one lone woman painting) and we needed to find a place for lunch. We walked down to the river and spread blankets in the shade and had a picnic lunch... nice and relaxing if not for the big black flies buzzing about.

After lunch, I dragged everyone with me to Mormon Row, to find the famous barns. Bison were scattered along the plains... sure, we had seen plenty of bison, but the wide, flat plain seemed so different from anything in Yellowstone. The juxtaposition between the smooth grasslands and the neighboring rugged mountains truly make the Tetons a unique place.

We visited a couple of the barn sites... the midday light wasn't the best, but it was nice to finally photograph these popular, overly-photogenic buildings.

This cinnamon black bear's just realized that his mate ditched him.

We continued south a bit to the visitor center in hopes of getting a bit more info on any other moose hotspots. We were told that the view from the Jackson Lake Lodge almost always produces moose sightings around 6:30pm or so. Alas, I knew there was no way I could keep everyone in the group around until then, and had the sinking feeling that we'd be out of luck on this trip. A couple stops on the way back north at Oxbow Bend and the Lodge yielded a very brief moose sighting from a distance, but that was it. Those of us who were staying a few more days decided we would return at the tail end of the trip for one more shot at spotting some Teton moose.

We returned to Yellowstone and our camp site. A bit of relaxing, and then out for evening wildlife viewing. The second carload decided they actually wanted to see Rosie this time, so the search was on. Unfortunately, we didn't spot her or the cubs anywhere. Just past Roosevelt though, we had to stop as a black bear came out of the woods directly to our left. There was time for a couple shots through the windshield as it quickly crossed the road and disappeared down the embankment on our right.

We kept moving uphill, deciding that we'd check out the Petrified Tree area and could return to this bear if we didn't spot Rosie. Luckily, there were cars parked on the Petrified Tree drive and I knew we had another bear sighting. I spotted a cinnamon black out in the meadow beneath the road... as we walked further, we saw an accompanying black bear. It looked like a mating couple, quite possibly 2 of the threesome from last year.

Eventually, he lumbered off to find her.

While the black female lumbered up the hill and out of sight, the cinnamon male stayed behind, content munching on flowers and plants. He made his way through some deadfall, alerting the lone bison that was grazing nearby. A showdown of some sort would've been fun, but these bears seem to have a pretty good idea when they're outmatched.

The bear pulled a quick U turn and headed back to look for food in a safer area.

He must have finally realized that his lady had taken off without him, as he at last worked his way up the hillside to follow her.

We were almost apologetic to the second carload that this encounter wasn't more exciting, but they enjoyed it quite a bit, pointing out that they'd hadn't seen any bears up close like that on the trip. Good thing they didn't turn in early this time!

On the way back to camp, we pulled out just past the Dunraven Pass lot (no, the second carload didn't stop). Folks had spotted two bears, a couple of cinnamon blacks we had seen in the same area the previous afternoon. They were working their way across a meadow below us... soon they started running through the trees, just as they did the day before. As I moved into a different position to take some pictures, I spotted one of the bears... and then another... and then another.

Wait a second... Then I realized why the pair was so skittish. There was a third bear approaching them! The duo, both a very dark brownish color, kept glancing back and backpedaling. Soon enough, the third bear came into the clearing. It sported a very light coat, basically tan. It was pretty hard to distinguish whether it was a grizz or another cinammon black. The light coat was a bit deceptive, but it didn't have a noticeable grizz hump and the nose and face indicated it was another black. It couldn't have been any bigger than the other two bears, who both looked thick and healthy, yet they were still easily scared away. The newcomer paid them little heed and went on its merry way... as did we.