We did in fact start early this morning! Up at 5.45 a.m. and out at 6.30 a.m. It was very cold, 34°F (1.11°C) and there was ice on the windscreen. ❄️ We decided to dress in layers as we knew it would get warmer in the afternoon.

When we arrived at Schwabacher Landing it was as we expected, packed with cars and people. When we come in April/May, we just turn up, park the car and walk down. Not today. One good thing was a lot of the people stopped at the start of the trail, thinking that was the best spot for photographs, but we know differently and walked to the middle of the trail before walking on to the end.

We had arrived at 6.50 a.m. and although it was a very foggy morning, we could still the top of the Grand Teton. We set up the tripod and waited for sunrise. Alas, it didn’t happen. One minute we could see the top of the mountains and the next, the clouds had descended and stayed. 😔 We stayed for about an hour as the sun started to move round but then decided to give it up as a bad job.

Even though Si didn’t get the photographs he was hoping for, I think these are still very good.

This what we were hoping for, or similar, without the snow. This was taken on an earlier visit.

Although we didn’t see the elk, we did hear them bellowing. If you listen carefully, after the plane flies over, you can hear the elk bellowing.

We did meet some interesting people though and spent time chatting. One lady is travelling around in a camper on her own. Brave lady indeed! I don’t think I’d like to be camping out at night on my own.

One man told us that he had arrived at about 5.50 a.m. and it was dark. He had to go back to his car to get something and when we came back down the path he heard a growl and there right next to him in the water was a huge elk. He stopped in his tracks, they looked at each other and the man went slowly on his way. Sadly, that huge elk did not return.

Another man told us that he and his wife had lost their way to Schwabacher but had managed to get a magnificent picture of the sun over the Tetons before the cloud descended. It’s all about being in the right place at the right time!

One surprise to us was how low the stream was. As it’s the end of summer, it’s all evaporated. Usually birds nest there but not at the moment. That’s a Spring thing.

It’s been like that all day, one minute the clouds are low, then they rise high. It’s very dramatic.

Oxbow Bend was on our way to our next stop so we stopped once again for a photograph. You can never have too many photographs of that lovely place.

A lady told us that all the yellow leaves on the trees at Oxbow Bend had disappeared overnight! These are the trees today. 

Now that we were chilled to the bone, even though we were wrapped up warm, we went again to The Pioneer Grill at Jackson Lake Lodge for breakfast.

Si had eggs, bacon and breakfast potatoes and I had a Kid’s meal of scrambled eggs, sausages and breakfast potatoes. That all set us up for our onward journey. We also bought a cinnamon roll as a treat.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Again, we sat next to a very interesting couple from San Diego, California. The lady told us that a couple of days ago, she had been up Signal Mountain and saw a large group of elk. We decided we should return there to see if we could have any luck.

The drive up to Signal Mountain is long, lots of curves and very narrow. It wasn’t too busy today. We didn’t have any luck at the top, but on the way down we saw two large elk. By the time we had stopped the car and jumped out, they had retreated into the woods. So, once again, no chance to get any photos. During our quest for pictures of elk we have discovered one thing, they have very pretty little bottoms. 🤭

Some photos from our trip back this afternoon.

For dinner this evening, we will attempt to get a table at Pizza and Pasta here at Dornans. It’s been another long, busy day so we don’t really want to have to drive too far.

It wasn’t very busy and we found a table easily.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We didn’t eat it all of course, so brought some back with us.

Si took this video inside of Pizza and Pasta with the magnificent view of the Tetons.

While we were eating, there was a sudden commotion and everyone jumped up from their seats and raced to the windows and doors. There was a large bull moose chasing a female right past the restaurant.

When we left, we were told that they were down by our cabins! We gingerly approached the cabin and others were out with their cameras and sure enough, the bull was right in front of our cabin. The cow and baby had retreated to the back of the cabins.

We didn’t manage to get any decent photos of the cow and calf. Fingers crossed for tomorrow. 🤞

Zoya, the manager, came out and told us the bull had arrived at the cabins at 8.30 a.m this morning and had spent a lot of the day lying in front of the cabins. We missed it of course, as we were down at Schwabacher being disappointed!! 😂

She said he will do a loop and come back in the morning.

Tomorrow will be another early start, as we want to drive to Snake River Outlook for sunrise. 🌄 This will be a first for us at that location.

Once again, thanks for taking the time to join us on our adventures. Tomorrow is our last full day here in the Tetons 😔 before we start our journey back to Las Vegas, so will try to make it an interesting one. 😀