Chris Roams



Travel, Adventures, and Photography

Through the Parks

Waking up I headed into the thick of it, riding north out of the campground and up Mormon Row, where Mormon settlers built their farms in Jackson Hole at the base of the Tetons. Now inside the park, the dirt road and the structures along it are maintained pretty much s they were when they were in use 100 years ago. I crossed over to the inner road up past Jenny Lake and the still snow-capped peaks of Grand Teton, Mt Moran, and the rest of the range. Dropping down out of the park on the Rockefeller Parkway all too quickly I spied a large heard of something (elk?) in a meadow off to the left. Searching for a way to get closer I found a number of free National Forest campsites along a dirt road that aren’t marked on the map. I’ll have to remember these for the next time I’m in the area. If people don’t know they exist then they may be empty when all the other spots are full.

Unable to find a way to access the meadow I jumped back on the Parkway and continued north into Yellowstone. Almost as soon as I entered the park I encountered the most famous Yellowstone phenomenon: the traffic jam. Whenever an animal wanders near the road the entire world comes to a halt as giant Winnebagos jockey for the best position take pictures. In some cases rangers were assigned to babysit the animals because, as one ranger guarding a sleeping bear told me: “If I wasn’t here someone would try to touch it”. After witnessing a car accident I went off to the more remote northeast corner of the park where wolves were known to live. I say “were” because the Yellowstone pack populations have plummeted in recent years after wolves were taken off the endangered species list. Hunting is banned inside the park but the wolves don’t know where the boundaries are and wander outside the park where they can be hunted and trapped. This being early in the season, baby pronghorns, moose, and bison abounded and there were a few black bears (which happened to be brown) but, as expected, no wolves.
Grand Teton - galleryDSC03711 - galleryT. A. Moulton Barn - galleryDSC03730 - galleryDSC03745 - galleryDSC03750 - galleryDSC03753 - galleryDSC03754 - galleryDSC03769 - galleryDSC03774 - galleryDSC03775 - galleryDSC03787 - galleryCrossing the Divide - galleryDSC03792 - galleryDSC03794 - galleryDSC03798 - galleryDSC03806 - galleryElk Bulls - galleryGrand Canyon of the Yellowstone - galleryCinnaBear - galleryBaby Bison - galleryPronghorn Sprint - galleryMoose - galleryLamar Valley Sunset - galleryLamar Valley Sunset - gallery