That’s good to know. I won’t schedule as many days in GT. Thanks!
I was in Estes Park and Rocky Mountain NP last October. There were TONS of elk there, bugling and wandering around, even in the town. I probably won’t take that many elk pictures.
Using my “bump” card, as my trip draws closer. Thanks.
If you are driving in from the East, consider going through Red Lodge, Montana to get to the Northeast entrance. The drive up Beartooth pass is amazing, and a bit scary at times if you are afraid of heights.
Just because I can, I’ll point you towards my summer road trip blog. Yellowstone is still on the first page (bottom), the Tetons are on the second. I was lucky enough to have about 9 days (total) scheduled for those two parks.
You do have - and carry - Bear Spray, right? And you make noise when you hike, yes? ESPECIALLY when you hike alone, correct?
(Sorry, had to get that out of the way.)
Just to be a bit different, I hiked for a day in the Teton Canyon, to the west of the Tetons. Waaaay fewer people that way. But, in all honesty, that’s not where the great views are. If you’re a photographer, you’ll want to visit Moulton Barn along Mormon Row at dawn. I think it’s a law or something that photographers have to take pictures there.
Just on the edge of Jackson (going north) is the Jackson Hole & Greater Yellowstone Visitor Center. The folks inside are quite knowledgeable and happy to talk to casual tourists and hardcore backpackers alike. They’ll know what’s happening at the moment (where the elk are, etc.)
I divided Yellowstone up into the four quadrants (NW, NE, SW, SE), and spent about a day in each. I recommend this as a start.
In Yellowstone, if you’re on the road leading to the NE entrance, keep a look out for wolf watchers. When I was there, there were a couple of guys in particular that routinely get out to watch the wolves in that area in particular. They are extremely cool guys. One even carried a small step stool just so that he could let kids look through his scope. Speaking of which, you might want to get a spotting scope, if you don’t have one. Most of the critters are pretty blase about humans, but wolves remain wary. I had a 1500-1600mm film equivalent lens* one my camera, and my pictures aren’t so much of wolves, as they are pictures of blurry-wolf-shaped-dark-blobs. Those scopes have a way better magnification.
One of the things I wanted to do more of was to explore out rt 212 (Northeast entrance) more. I made it about one hour out, and then came back in. I also made it probably 99% of the way up to Lulu pass, which is where either my FWD or FWD-ing skills crapped out. You won’t really need FWD, unless you’re specifically planning on going off road.
Also, if you’re along the Yellowstone canyon, go to Artist’s Point at dawn (even if you’re not into photography). The crowds any other time of day just aren’t worth the hassle. Also, bring your scope. There are raptors (birds of prey, not dinosaurs!) that nest on top of some of the cliffs. Again, even my fancy schmancy camera didn’t help as much as a scope would have.
Now that I’ve been there in the summer, I am jealous of you going in a couple of weeks! Best of luck!
*My best magnification comes from a 170-500mm lens, with a doubler, and the 1.6x multiplier from the half-size digital lens. It loses focus really quickly; in fact, it’s pretty useless for getting anything other than fuzzy pictures. I almost never use it.