Sagebrush Hell or The Day I Nearly Died and Chuck Laughed at Me

We decided to take a day off during our Grand Teton photo tour - Slept in, had breakfast instead of granola bars, and did a little wildflower shooting on the outwash plain. Then Chuck and I made the fateful decision to off-road on the badly-named River Road. It should have been called the sagebrush-engulfed, cliff-clinging, two-track, endless, dust ball trek through hell.  Chuck, who has no fear of heights or of being lost, enjoyed driving along knife-edge cliffs, in the literal middle of nowhere, looking down into watery death in the Snake River.

 

It started mildly enough, with a light-hearted drive down a rough track onto the upper river plain. We stopped at a little parking area, looking down over the Snake and a little bit of a ranch, pretty and isolated.

Some rafters in the river:

 

 

A panorama of the Tetons, just before we became lost forever. Note the Citadel in the far right side of the photo - giant SUV, you could've bowled in the back.

 

 

We decided to follow the track farther north – it was on the GPS, so we weren’t going to get lost. Hah! Hours of driving, sometimes on the crumbling edge of the enormous cliff dropping down to the Snake, with the passenger side wheels riding half on air.

No landmarks, no idea of how long before we reached pavement, much less civilization and with only granola bars and 4 bottles of water to sustain us.

 

Endless, sunbaked miles of sagebrush hell. Craven coward that I am, I actually got out of the truck and walked in couple of spots that were entirely too close to a crashing plummet ending with the Citadel crumpled and us crushed at the bottom of the river.

 

 

Chuck, my best beloved, had the decency not to start laughing until the track veered away from the river. But laugh he did, the rat.

 

 

When we finally got back to pavement, we were about a mile and a half from where we started and ten minutes from refreshing beverages at Signal Lodge.

I would have sucked at being a pioneer…

Grand Teton Outwash Plain

Just what it sounds like - rocks, dirt, water washed off the mountain and out onto the Snake River plain.

The earth is gravely and poor, but in June, when we visited, covered with wildflowers. The silvery grey shrub is sage brush and the brilliant yellow flowers are yellow balsamroot. There are plenty of smaller flowers hidden in the sage.

This is a panorama of the Tetons from one of the pull outs, ten shots stitched together. The file was roughly 48 inches wide after processing. 

The sky is incredibly blue, even in the middle of the day. Underneath the snow, the mountains look raw and new. Gorgeous, huge, wild, very unlike the sweet rolling hills of Ohio.

Back to the Tetons

The National Park Service built a turnout on the place where Ansel Adams made his iconic photographic of Mt. Moran. I stood in the same spot overlooking the Snake River's Oxbow bend, fired off 400 shots, and didn't come close. Nor did any one else there. I hope wherever his spirit is, he understands we were there to honor him, however poor our efforts.

Anyway, I'm posting all of these because I like them, I loved the view and I love the Snake River. When I hit the lottery, I will be back in the Tetons, camera in hand, in every season.

Mormon Row, Grand Teton National Park

We crawled out of bed at 3:30 am so we could be in place for the 5:09 sunrise. Thank you, Hampton Inn, for having a coffee maker in the room. And thank you, Chuck for being a total trooper on this trip!

Love the way the sun caught this cottage's façade.

Same cottage, the evening before the sunrise shoot - 20 seconds later, it was pouring rain and we dove for the car.

Lonely buildings, just at the edge of Mormon Row.

Must've taken a thousand shots of this barn...

This, above, might be my favorite.

The mountains change color as the sun rises.

And across the way, down a little dirt road, the iconic Moulton barn, echoing the shape of the peaks in the distance.

And, finally, the unloved, rarely shot barn on the other side of Mormon Row. I like the way the light catches and outlines the porch.

June 3, 2013

Chapel of the Transfiguration, Grand Teton National Park



Still playing catch up from the craziness of June. These shots were taken the same morning we did Mormon Row. The light was pretty contrasty by the time we got there, but with a setting like this, who the heck cares?

 

The Chapel of the Transfiguration is a tiny church with a breathtaking view of the Tetons. A large picture window frames the alter, so every service is dominated by the beauty of the mountains.

 

 

This doesn't do justice to the view...

 

 

The approach to the Chapel is guarded by a rustic bell tower.

Inside the fence is all sagebrush and yellow balsamroot.

Probably could have composed this better - the brilliance of the aspens is sharply contrasted against the dark base of the mountains.

Here's on one of the Chapel's front door hinges. Look how deeply it's been driven into the wood.

 

A detail of the bell tower.

 



 

 

And the bell itself.

 

Grand Teton

Just a couple for now - this place is breathtaking!

This is Mt. Moran, at Oxbow bend, the location of one of Ansel Adams' iconic photographs. We we there before five am, overcast and raining. Got some nice cloud drama, and then the sun came out, to highlight Mt. Moran.

Top of Jackson Lake, from a little turnout on Rt. 89. More snow on the mountains this year than is normal. Just beautiful!

Both shots are with the iPhone and Snapseed, might have gone a little overboard on Mt. Moran.

Love this place!