Teton Afterimages

The past two months have been spent exploring the Grand Tetons.  I am now moving on, but I felt that I should share those photos that best represent what this experience has been for me.  If you have followed my blog, most of these are reruns, but I think they are worthy of a second look.

When I got to the Tetons, they were still locked in the grip of winter.  While the lakes were beginning to thaw at the edges, they were still mostly ice-covered.  The trails - well, I would have needed snow shoes for most.

It wasn't long, however, before the warmth of the sun transformed the area, turning white to green - and red - and yellow...

The rising sun still lit the prairie grasses as gold rather than green, but that was just fine with me.

Life was springing forth anew all around.

As the spring progressed, I was able to get to higher elevations.  There, the first wildflowers, already faded down lower, were just blooming.

In the campground, early mornings often brought visitors, in this case a bull moose in velvet.

My hikes were getting longer, and higher.  Perhaps the most beautiful, at least to me, were the middle reaches of Cascade Canyon.  I had been there before, but never this far in.

The heat of early summer was rapidly melting the snow on the peaks.  That snowmelt became clear, clean water tearing its way over boulders on its way to the Snake River.

The mental image that I think will stay longest with me is that of the trails, winding their way toward these magnificent peaks, drawing me on with each crest and turn.

The day that I left the Tetons, I spent the night at a roadside pull-off, so I could see the sunset

... and the dawn on the range of peaks I was leaving behind.

One final image - my favorite of the entire stay...  I had spotted a barn that I thought would be a good photo subject with the light of dawn.  So, one morning, I arose early enough to get there before sunrise.  When I got there, I found that about 20 others had had the same idea.  I picked my spot for the composition I wanted, and waited.  When the sun reached the barn, the light, and the scene, were all I had hoped for.

If I see nothing else, this summer will have been a treat.