My original plans for my June 2011 trip west only had me visiting Yellowstone and Glacier National Parks. Enough people kept asking me if I was going to the Grand Teton National Park – that I finally added a few days in Grand Teton to my itinerary. I’m so glad I did – Grand Teton National Park was probably my favorite park that I visited!!!! And to think – I hadn’t originally planned on going there.

What I loved about Grand Teton was the amazing views of the mountains. From almost anywhere in the park, I had incredible views of gorgeous mountains. It did make driving a bit of a challenge – I wasn’t the only driver who was getting distracted by the beautiful scenery! The view of the barn along Mormon Row with the mountains in the background was one of my favorite scenes in the park. And being a photographer – of course I had to photograph the barn – just like so many thousands (millions, maybe?) of photographers before me have.

The wildlife in Grand Teton was also pretty amazing. I saw my first wild moose there. I got caught in several moose jams at Grand Teton (a traffic jam caused by a moose) – but I didn’t mind. The moose were incredible to see. On one of my hikes I saw four different mother and baby moose! The babies were so cute. If you ever see a mother and baby moose in the wild – be sure to keep your distance – mother moose can be as dangerous if not more dangerous than a mother bear protecting her young.

My favorite part of Grand Teton National Park was the wildflowers!!!!! I found and photographed more types of wildflowers at Grand Teton than I did anywhere else on my trip. The park was enough further south and lower in elevation than Yellowstone that instead of feet of snow – I was much more likely to find patches of wildflowers!!!!

Yellow Bells or Yellow Fritillary – Fritillaria pudica – are a member of the Lily family.

Glacier Lily – Erythronium grandiflorum – is another native lily

Nuttall Violets – Viola nuttallii – were the only members of the viola family I photographed on my trip.

I’ll be posting my photos of the pink & purple wildflowers from Grand Teton in a few days. In the meantime, I hope you’ve enjoyed these photos from Grand Teton National Park.

4 Comments

Pat Perkins on June 9, 2012 at 6:44 am

Hi Pat,
I love all your photos. I was particularly interested in the yellow bell flower which reminded me of a snowdrop except for the color! Are they in the same family? While I visited Grand Tetons, i didn’t spend much time there as I had planned. It was the year of the great fire in Yellowstone Park in the late 1980’s and I couldn’t drive from Grand Tetons up to Yellowstone. I had to go west out of Jackson Hole and travel about 8 hrs around to West Yellowstone. Your notes make me want to go back to the area again to see wildflowers.

I enjoy opening your email each day to see what pretty flower and notes I am going to read!! Thanks for this daily gift!!
hankinslawrenceimages on June 9, 2012 at 7:13 am

Hi Pat

The yellow bells and snowdrop are from totally different families. The yellow bells are members of the lily family – while the snowdrops belong to the Amarayllis family.

Grand Teton was my favorite park from last summer. I”ll be back in Yellowstone, Grand Teton and Glacier in July this year – hoping for more wildflowers – and less snow! I fell in love with all the parks last summer – I think they’re well worth visiting. I’ll let you know how the summer wildflowers are in July

So glad you’re enjoying the Daily Moment of Beauty

Patty
- chris on August 12, 2012 at 10:14 pm
  
  Hi Patty, beautiful photos. I am going to same area next week. Question for you. The view of the famous barn – did u have to hike to it? I am going alone and am basicly very afraid of encountering bears. Is the picture taken from a road (hopefully)?
hankinslawrenceimages on August 12, 2012 at 10:40 pm

Taken from the road. Teton is wonderful for photographing from the roads or from just off them. Have a great trip