The Tetons are teasing me (again)

Another grey day in the Tetons. Story of my sad and pathetic life. Above are 3 photographs, reading top to bottom: Sunrise Wednesday, Sunset Tuesday, Sunrise (or lack thereof) Thursday. With the exception of the top photo, the Tetons have been teasing me and are now telling me it's time to leave.

When we rolled in on Tuesday afternoon the cloud deck was very promising. Scattered but thick clouds with a break on the western horizon that would allow the sun to reflect off the underside of the clouds and color up the Tetons. But just before sunset the cloulds just magically disapated. They just went away! There was some nice late light on Tiwinot but mostly it was a fizzle.

Sunrise Wednesday was really nice but not spectacular. Again, some clouds adding atmosphere to the shot and a break at the horizon that would allow the clouds to color up but alas, just before the sun came up some clouds must have formed at the horizon. I got some awesome light on the peaks as you can see but the clouds never did display any color. On a scale of 1-10 I'd rate this one an 8. Some more colorful clouds and less wind to spoil the reflections would have made it a 10.

Finally, this morning. I planned to be at the barn on Mormon Row when the sun came up at 5:45 and knew it was a 30 minute drive to get there. When I rolled over and looked at the clock it was 4:59 and I knew I was going to have to hurry to get on location. It was overcast when I got outside but there were some breaks near the horizon (are we seeing a theme here?) and I thought it might be one of those magic times when everything gets some blazing color. Blazing down the highway, hoping not to T-bone an elk or moose or bison, I came to the realization that I wasn't going to make it to Mormon Row so I quickly pulled into Schwabacher's Landing. Put the camera together, get the gradient neutral density filter holder mounted on the lens, and hike the 2o0 or so yards to the beaver pond hoping the color on the eastern horizon would spread to the rest of the sky now that I'm in place. Sadly, another fizzle. The sun just barely kissed the top of Tiwinot for about 15 seconds before the clouds on the horizon closed in and everything went grey.

So today is the day Heather and I have to head home and the Tetons are making sure I don't forget that. But before leaving, I was standing by the beaver pond at Schwabacher's grousing with a couple of other shooters about the lack of light when 2 things hit me:

1. Nobody likes a whiner. So what if the sunrise was a drag...there are so many other things to see and do here that any day is a glorious day. Remember: Your worst day on vacation is better than your best day at work.

2. These mountains are so freakin spectacular to look at, any day you're here seeing them is a great day. Besides, leaving on a grey day means I have to come back. Next time I'll plan the trip a bit differently. More time in the Tetons and less time in Yellowstone. Maybe that way I can trick the weather and it will be nice while I'm here.