This is the sixth in a series of posts sharing photos from a 21-day road trip I did with my older brother, this June.
Steve and I had been on the road together for nine days when our time in Yellowstone came to an end. We’re brothers, both in our 60s, and hadn’t seen each other since our mother’s funeral and spent this much time together in 40 years.
But we’d found our rhythm and, to be honest, it had come together rather quickly. We had an itinerary, a schedule of places to visit and hotels to stay in, but we liked leaving the small details to the mood of the moment. Decisions about where to eat, what to do in a park, and when to take breaks were made, casually. There was no pressure to be at a specific place, doing a specific thing, at a specific time. That part was comfortable.
What was uncomfortable was the knowledge that we may never have the opportunity to spend time together like this, again. We’re both in good health. That’s not an issue. We’re also both in the long shadows era of life. We also live 2,000 miles apart, which means our daily routines don’t normally involve each other.
We never spoke of this but I think we both, in our hearts, understood it. We had another 12 days together and there was an unspoken agreement that we would just live in the moment, enjoy the adventure and each other’s company. We’d take advantage of and be thankful for the time we have on the road trip.
In short, we were pretty chill about the whole thing. By this point in the trip, I don’t think either of us even knew what day of week it was when we made the short drive from Yellowstone to Grand Teton National Park. That’s how you know you’re on a real vacation, by the way, when you forget which day of the week it is.
We had two days of clouds and rain in Grand Teton. Although we never saw the Tetons as they’re meant to be seen – the mountains were always at least partially concealed – it didn’t much matter to us. We were enjoying our time together doing whatever struck us as fun to do. That included a trip to the Moose, Wyoming visitor center, driving Hwy 89 North from Jackson to check out the Blacktail Ponds overlook and Schwabacher Landing, looking for moose along the Moose-Wilson Rd, and an afternoon in Jackson visiting the photo and art galleries surrounding the historic town square.
I didn’t have many wildlife or landscape photo ops during our time in Jackson, Wyoming. But I didn’t get skunked, either. Here, are a few photos from our time at rainy Grand Teton National Park.
The Grand Tetons stand enveloped within summer storm clouds. (6-exposure panoramic stitch)
Seven goldeneye chicks, with Mom in the lead, cruise a tributary of the Snake River in Grand Teton National Park.
An Audubon's yellow-rumped warbler enjoys a perch in a tributary of the Snake River where she can bathe and drink. [edited to show correct ID]
A female common goldeneye and her seven chicks take a morning swim in a tributary of the Snake River in Grand Teton National Park.
A lupine field along the Moose-Wilson Rd in Grand Teton National Park.
