A great Day in Grand Teton National Park A face off between two bulls!

We were busy packing when our neighbors Becky and Fred told us about their trip to Grand Teton National Park. They had made a quick trip to the park and in only six hours got to watch two moose and a black bear! The weather here has been crazy with daily heavy rains, but the forecast was for a one-day break before the rain and cold weather returned. So the next day we got up early, at six am, and headed to Jackson for a quick breakfast at McDonalds before heading to the park. Taking the roundabout, we drove towards Kelly and quickly ran into a moose jam. Stopping, we talked with a person who told us four moose had been in an open area but that they had just disappeared into a thicket of willows,

Looking further north we saw people still taking pictures and so we parked, grabbed our cameras and joined the group photographing a huge bull moose guarding a single cow. At one point the bull turned and looked at us but he decided we were not a threat.

A smaller moose calf fed in the willows. Suddenly a small bull moose appeared across the Gros Ventre River.

He was smelling the cow and walked up to the water before the huge bull made an appearance.

The much smaller bull seemed to lose interest, and the large bull decided the challenger wasn’t worth the effort and the cow laid down for a siesta. The young bull decided the time was right to try and sneak across the river as the smell of the cow in estrus was driving him wild.

It’s rutting time and it was the first time we have ever seen two bull moose squaring off over the cow. The young bull started to wade across the river. It would take a few steps and then paise looking for his opponent.

Slowly he approached the south bank of the river when suddenly the huge bull stood up and appeared on the bank.

We have never seen a moose move as fast as the young bull as it splashed away to escape the massive rack.

Discretion can be better than valor. The young bull decided to leave the area and disappeared in the willows on the north bank of the Gros Ventre. What a start to the day

. Clear skies In spite of the government shutdown, the park was open, but without any services besides the restrooms. The entrance booths were unoccupied, not that it mattered much as we both have Senior Passes.