THE YELLOWSTONE/GRAND TETON ODYSSEY OF Ronnie Ryne and Bob Smith Sept. 23rd – Oct.2nd. 2019

Submitted by Bob Smith - Photo's by Ronnie Ryne and Bob Smith.

The objective of our visit to Yellowstone was to see as much of the wildlife in YNP as possible and to focus on waterfalls and other landscape. In particular, we wanted to see Yellowstone’s famous wolves, grizzly and brown bears, moose and the big Bull Elk during the rutting season. Other wildlife such as Bighorn Sheep, Pronghorn Deer, Coyotes and other wildlife would be a great catch.

The actual Odyssey began with our arrival in Cody, Wy. Leaving Cody at 4:30 AM on the 24th we entered the YNP at the SE entrance and immediately observed a herd of Elk (without a Bull). We went over the Sylvan Pass (8,530 ft) and other high peaks all displaying a nice covering of fresh snow. Saw some Tundra Swans but no other wildlife. Not deterred, we began our photographic journey at the famous Artist Point by shooting the iconic Yellowstone River Falls where it drops 308 feet into the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone. Tripods and filters are a must.

Our next stop was the Grand Prismatic Springs, Yellowstone’s largest hot spring with a diameter of 370 feet. Breathtaking and magnificent are inadequate to describe the spring. To see the spring in all its glory, we suggest taking the steep .8 mile upper trail. This places you above the spring where you have a view of the deep blue color of the spring and its rings of yellow and orange colored thermopiles which create the prism effect.

No trip to Yellowstone would be complete without a visit to Old Faithful and that was our next point of interest. It did not disappoint and the weather and light allowed us to get some nice photos of the geyser. Travelling south past Grant Village and Lewis Lake we left YNP and entered the Grand Teton National Park (GTNP), heading to our destination of Jackson Hole, Wy.

Our plan was to photography the Tetons at sunrise so we scouted out several places: Schwabacher Landing and Mormon Row, to select a preferred location for the morning shoot. We took photos at both locations as darkness descended upon us. We decided to head to Schwabacher Landing first thing in the morning.

We rose up at 4:45 and headed back to Schwabacher Landing Sunrise was at 7:15 so we wanted to get set up early. Our scouting the evening before paid off big in that we knew right where we wanted to set up. Prior to sunup the banks of the waterwaywere lined with photographers and more were coming. Our purpose was to catch the sun as it rose and painted the Teton Mountains, the surrounding trees and the waterway. It did not disappoint.

Leaving this site at about 8:40 we heading back to Mormon Row to photograph Moulton Barn and a second beautiful old barn. With the barns in the foreground and the Teton Mountains in the background it results in an especially nice photograph.

Back on the road again, we re-entered the GTNP and headed to Oxbow Bend on the Snake River. There is a particularly good pull off where one gets a nice view of the Teton Mountains with a reflection in the Snake River. We were pleased to see fall colors of gold and yellow in addition to the evergreens. The clouds covered the mountain peaks but it still resulted in nice images.

Heading back to Jackson for some much needed rest we made a stop at the Snake River Overlook. This is a location that Ansell Adams made famous. After a late, late breakfast, we rested for several hours in preparation for a late night/early morning shoot of the Milky Way.

The Milky Way was predicted to make its appearance over the Teton Mountains at 12:07 AM. We headed out at 10:55, knowing exactly where we were going; even the place where we were to set up our tripods. The night sky was so dark you could see “zillions” of stars. Neither of us had seen so many stars, ever. At 12:07 sharp the Milky Way made its appearance. This proves the absolute necessity of having an app that provides such information before going out on a night shoot. We continued to shoot images of the Milky Way until about 2AM, before heading back to Jackson Hole.

The next day we re-entered YNP and headed to West Yellowstone, Mt. Continuing our search for wildlife to no avail, we stopped and photographed the really nice Lewis Falls. They flow out of Lewis Lake and form the very serpentine Lewis River. Had breakfast at the less than 5 star Old Faithful Café and drove the 2.8 mile Firehole Lake loop.

The Parks largest geyser, the Great Firehole Geyser is on this loop as are many features unique to Yellowstone. We missed the eruption of this geyser by several hours.

Our next point of interest was the Firehole Canyon Drive, loop of 1.8 miles. This drive is really nice. Firehole River is a very fast moving river that runs through a canyon of the same name. It is very deep and rugged. There are several real nice waterfalls and several long cascading parts of the river. The lighting was poor so we decided to return to this location the next day. Flexibility is a watchword on your trip to Yellowstone.

Continuing our drive to West Yellowstone we spotted a nice Bull Elk and a herd of 6-8 cows on the north side of the Madison River. They were at extreme range and without long lenses, shots would have been impossible. Arriving at the town of West Yellowstone we noted that it is loaded with accommodations of various types and has ample places to eat. We tried the Slipper Otter and our favorite Pete’s Rocky Mountain Pizza. The best EVER.

After some well deserved sleep we arose and visited the non-profit Grizzly and Wolf Discovery Center in West Yellowstone. Worth a visit as they have bears and wolves in a very natural like environment. These and other animals for various reasons cannot be returned to the wild. Very family oriented.

Returning to the YNP, we retraced our steps back to the Madison Junction area an on the way photographed the very beautiful Gibbon Falls and drove through the Virginia Cascades Canyon area. This drive is very beautiful and rugged but there are limited access points.

We hiked in the area where the Lewis and Gibbon Rivers converge to create the Madison River. Saw nice Bison grazing nearby but no other wildlife so we headed back to West Yellowstone.

While unloading at West Yellowstone we had a mishaps resulting in a damaged camera and lens. We share this to inform club members that the next day we drove to Bozeman, Montana which is convenient to both the West Yellowstone and Gardiner entrances to YNP. In Bozeman we visited the very nice Bozeman Camera Store and met several very friendly, competent and knowledgeable staff.

They are authorized Nikon, Sony and Canon dealers and carry a full line of cameras and related equipment and rental supplies. They were able to help us gear up and continue on our Odyssey. They have a very large supply of just about anything a photographer would want. Montana has no sales tax so that is a plus and they will often ship free. We both highly recommend this store to any of our members who may have need of their services; ONE of us purchased a Nikon Z7!

On the 29th we got up at 4:45 in preparation to a long day in search of wildlife. It was a cold 34 degrees in Gardiner with sleet, snow and wind. Travelling in darkness on slick roads we made our way to Lamar Valley, famous for its wolves and bears. We travelled through LV and the Soda Butte area without seeing anything other than Pronghorns and Bison. We photographed the unusual Barronette Falls and turned to retrace our steps. We spotted a moose at a distant tree line, again at the extreme range of our lens (900mm & 1200mm).

The temperature had dropped to 25 degree with light snow. In the area between Soda Butte and Lamar Valley we did observe 4 black wolves that were on a fresh Pronghorn kill. We photographed them for several hours, again at a long distance, was especially nice to see this. After leaving this location we saw a nice herd of Bighorn Sheep, all females and young and took photos of them.

We drove all the way back to the Madison area and west toward West Yellowstone. We again saw the nice herd of Elk with a very large Bull. We observed them for several hours before heading back to Gardiner, after a 14 hour day.

On the 30th we visited the town of Gardiner and the site of Roosevelt Arch, the original entrance to YNP. We drove into Mammoth and visited Mammoth Hot Springs, a place anyone visiting Yellowstone should consider. A large Bull Elk known as Broken Antler was on the square with a herd of about 20 cows. He had a bad disposition causing security staff to keep a close watch on him.
On Oct. 1st we returned to the Lamar Valley in search of those elusive bears and maybe additional wolves. We did spot another young Bull Elk with a small herd of 6 cows. They seemed totally devoted to him. We travelled the entire route through Lamar Valley and the Soda Butte area, seeing two large herds of Bison, Pronghorns and Bighorn Sheep but no bears, wolves or moose. We visited Tower Falls and using tripods and filters photographed them. We drove over Dunraven Pass and on to Mt. Washburn (10,000 ft) exiting at Canyon Village before returning to Gardiner. We did make a quick detour at Mammoth to photograph the Undine Falls which also a must see for those who like waterfalls.

On Oct. 2nd. we intended to drive to the SE entrance of the Park and return to Cody. Stopping first at Mammoth Hot Springs and photographing this beautiful spot with a nice covering of snow. Here we received a text from the Park Service indicating that all roads south were closed due to heavy snow.
Like all travelers to Yellowstone, one must have alternative plans; so we turned north out of Gardiner to Livingston Montana and east to Columbus Montana before turning south to Cody.

Careful planning allowed this trip to be about as good as it could be from a planning standpoint. Not seeing wildlife was not unique to us. Others were experiencing the same thing. So we shot what was available and enjoyed every minute. Sleep is important but getting up early is more important. It was important for us to eat good meals whenever possible and have wholesome snacks and plenty of water. We had bear spray which we “would have liked to use” – sure! Always being flexible and being willing to push yourself was a key.

Would we return? Absolutely.