Three Months in Jackson Hole: A Photo Story
A sign reading “Howdy stranger, yonder is Jackson Hole, the last of the Old West” sits atop the Teton Pass highway just before the Idaho border. Photo by Danielle Johnson
Any journalism major at Northwestern knows going on their journalism residency is a big deal. You spend a whole quarter preparing your resume, answering application questions and, most importantly, deciding where to go.
When I got the list of sites for my fall residency last summer, a local newspaper in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, caught my eye. Not only would I report on daily news in the lively region, but I’d “live at the gateway to Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks.
I was beyond amazed that no one from Medill had ever gone to this site, but I eagerly packed my things, triple checked that I had my camera for whatever adventure was in store and drove 23 hours across the country in September.
Jackson, Wyoming, is a town of around 10,000 people, and Teton County is a little over 20,000. The county is unique in that 97% of the land is public, providing amazing opportunities for outdoor recreation.
And naturally, with that much public land, animals are aplenty. Moose, grizzly bears, black bears, elk, mountain goats, pronghorn, bighorn sheep, mule deer and bison are just some of the critters who call the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem their home.
A female moose wades in Moose Ponds in Grand Teton National Park in September. Photo by Danielle Johnson
The sun sets over the Tetons and Jackson Lake in late October. Photo by Danielle Johnson.
True to its name as “The Last of the Old West,” the region is home to many ranches, including some within Grand Teton National Park itself. A recent estimate puts the cattle count at 1,270,000 in all of Wyoming, compared to its human population of around 580,000, making it fifth on the list of state cattle to human ratios.
Horse graze at a ranch in Grand Teton National Park in late September. Photo by Danielle Johnson.
If you’re lucky, you can also hear the elk “bugling” in late September to early October. It’s a high-pitched screech that sounds like a squealing pig or screeching brakes on a car. The bull elk make this sound to ward off other males from their “harem” of females that they’ll mate with before winter. This mating season is called the “rut,” and sometimes the bugling can lead to antler-to-antler combat between the males.
An elk bugles in Grand Teton National Park during rutting season in October. Photo by Danielle Johnson.
Hidden Falls can be reached by a hike of around 2.5 miles from the trailhead in Grand Teton National Park. Photo by Danielle Johnson.
Grand Teton Park is only a few miles north of the town of Jackson. It includes about 310,000 acres of land. For a long day trip or multi-day camping experience, Yellowstone National Park is about 60 miles north of Jackson. It boasts around 2,220,000 acres and holds the title of America’s first national park. It includes many hydrothermal features like hot springs and geysers, including Old Faithful.
Old Faithful, named for its fairly predictable eruption schedule, is one of Yellowstone’s most well-known features. Photo by Danielle Johnson.
A pronghorn, a type of antelope, wanders among the sagebrush in Grand Teton National Park in October. Photo by Danielle Johnson.
A squirrel sits atop a tree trunk and screeches in Grand Teton National Park in October. Photo by Danielle Johnson.
Yellowstone is also the only location in the United States where bison have lived continuously since prehistoric times. They were hunted to near extinction by the 1880s, the population declining from an estimated 30-60 million to just 325 in the United States and only two dozen in Yellowstone. The park now has around 4,700 bison, and 362,406 are estimated to roam North America today.
A herd of around 50 bison graze along a hiking trail in Yellowstone in October. Photo by Danielle Johnson.
Snow covers parts of Yellowstone in October. (Yes, I said October). Photo by Danielle Johnson.
Another unique mammal popular to the area is the bighorn sheep. They like the buttes of the National Elk Refuge but often come down to the road in an attempt to lick salt off the cars. Allowing them to do so can spread disease, however, so passersby are encouraged to keep it moving.
A female bighorn sheep wanders along the road through the National Elk Refuge. Photo by Danielle Johnson.
The Tetons are backlit by the setting sun and passing clouds. Photo by Danielle Johnson.
Though wildlife photographers are aplenty, other landmarks, including many barns, catch the eye of locals and visitors alike. The T.A. Moulton Barn in Grand Teton National Park is known as “the most photographed barn in America.”
A Teton sunrise offers a beautiful backdrop to the T.A. Moulton Barn. Photo by Danielle Johnson.
The snow makes for beautiful photos of both the buildings and animals. Leaving town on my last day, I happened to see my first bull moose walking through the park as the snow fell. It was a fitting end to my stay in Jackson Hole that had started with the moose in the pond. Believed to be the biggest moose in Grand Teton National Park, “Shoshone” and his fellow animals show how nature can thrive when we make an effort to protect it.
“Shoshone,” believed to be the biggest moose in Grand Teton National Park, walks through the snow in December. Photo by Danielle Johnson.