Hollywood and a two-bear day! 5/29/2026

Once we saw our first grizzly bear of the year, we were anxious to return to Gand Teton National Park. Leaving early, we stopped at our usual fast-food place, bought breakfast, and then drove to Moran Junction. Once inside the Park, we headed towards Leeks Marina but no bear jams or bears. Next, we drove toward Moose but didn’t see any wildlife. Returning, we drove by Signal Mountain and encountered a traffic jam, It was the resident elk nicknamed Hollywood, so named because he spends the summer feeding and posing for pictures alongside Teton Park Road. He uses the tourists to keep bears and wolves away while he feeds and grows his impressive antlers!

Even though he is somewhat benign in June he still poses a danger and everyone should stay at least twenty-five yards away. Toward August he will feel the approach of mating season, the rut, and become aggressive! As it was nearing lunch we went to one of our favorite picnic spots. I forgot our bear spray, so trail hiking was out for the day. I don’t keep it in the car as I am concerned that it might get too hot and explode. If that ever happens, I will face Renita’s wrath. That’s something I do not want to endure (again).

After lunch we headed back to Colter Bay and there were cars parked alongside the road, it was a bear jam! Parking safely, you must be outside the painted white line. We walked down the hill but as we neared the crowd of people, they started to leave! The bear had sauntered into the woods. Waiting for a bit, people suddenly began to take pictures and so we headed further downhill. It was the grizzly bear Miracle who moved into an open space and was digging for tubers and worms. Watching, she eventually moved up and towards an area where seasonal workers lived. The show was over, so we headed back to the car. Later we learned that she had been captured and relocated to a place away from the workers and roads. Hopefully she won’t return as that usually ends in a bad outcome for the bear, (a fed bear is a dead bear, never feed the wildlife)!

Renita wanted to go shopping in Jackson and after a brief discussion we headed to the Moran exit. Just before we reached it we encountered another bear jam!

This time we were some of the first to arrive and we found a great parking spot. Getting our cameras out we walked down the road and there was a feeding bear! At first, I thought it was a grizzly but after spotting the triangle shaped ears and lack of a hump, we both agreed it was a cinnamon black bear. It wasn’t bothered by the people and simply kept grubbing.

We both realized we were too close to the bear and backtracked to the car. A park ranger arrived and using his loudspeaker cautioned everyone to get away from the bear. In other words, get in your car! We always keep others between us and any wildlife. After all at my age, I would be the slowest person in the crowd. Sitting in the car the bear moved into a clearing and Renita was able to get some pictures by sticking her camera out the window. That’s ok to do that as long as you don’t extend any part of your body outside, (imagine a fast-moving bear). This includes putting your body above the sunroof, which is never a good idea, (we once took a picture of a person doing just that as three grizzlies walked around their car. I took a picture and posted it on the blog only to discover that I had the license plate in the picture. It turned out to be a law enforcement person from Utah, the picture got lots of comments).

It was a great end to the day, two bears and Hollywood. It was a relief to see that he made it through last fall and winter’s hunting seasons, (humans, bears, and wolves). Clear skies Renita’s shopping was successful

Miracle, A lucky Grizzly Bear and the Jenny Lake ferry

Arriving back home, we had a list of things to do. On the top of the list was to get the rock shop ready, weed the yard, rake leaves, and the list went on. We procrastinated and after a few days headed back to Grand Teton National Park.

We still hadn’t seen any grizzly bears and of course that’s our number one thing to do. Entering at Moran Junction we drove to a road where we have previously seen bears and glassed the area, but nada. The next stop was to check out the dam, sometimes the bears like that stretch of the Snake River for an easy crossing but again no luck. Our next stop entailed a place where we sometimes find Grizzly Bear Tracks and Renita identified two small and old grizzly cub tracks, (she is our tracker while I am scanning the nearby brush for any bear. Leaving we next drove to Pilgrim Creek, where 399 used to show up with her cubs. Other bears also use the area but again no bears were present, No wolves ran out of the forest chasing elk, which we have see twice in that area. We sat for a bit and ate lunch but again no bears, elk, or any other wildlife. Next on our list, was to head to the North Park entrance but we never got there as we ran into a bear jam! The bear turned out to be the grizzly bear nicknamed Miracle because it’s a miracle, she is still alive.

Last year she showed up with two siblings, and her sow 1063. That sow is a grizzly bear nicknamed Bonita. Shortly after that a male grizzly boar found the cubs and killed two of them. Luckily Miracle survived and was later reunited with her mom, but they were later again separated.

No one knew if she survived the winter until this Spring when she returned to the area. This year Her mother also came out with three new coys, (cubs of the year). Hopefully she learned from last year and will be able to keep the cubs safe from any boar grizzly. We both took picture after picture, there were lots of watchers, photographers, but she didn’t seem to be bothered by all the people. She worked back and forth moving grass and rocks and eating her fill of grubs.

The cars all slowed down and she ignored them until a semi-truck filled with cattle drove by. The diesel engine scarred her and she ran over the nearest hill until it passed. Several other loud trucks also passed by and again the bear fled but retuned each time. Finally, she ran into the woods and disappeared. We heard she usually returns but after a while we decided to drive to Leigh Lake and see if we could spot a black bear. It’s early in the season and there were parking spots. After Memorial Day weekend you will be lucky to find one, unless you get there early.

If you ever go there, you can ride the ferrry across the lake and take a hike up to Inspiration Point. If you are fit you can hike around the lake to the Landing where the Inspiration Trail begins.

We still had other places to look but nothing stood out, except for a soaring bald eagle. Tired we decided to call it a day, Besides, we spotted and photographed our first grizzly bear of the year! Clear skies

Part 1 Continued, A bear and a coyote at Grand Teton National Park

From the moose encounter we next headed to a place where our friends had seen a black bear. As we neared the location, we saw a large number of people taking pictures and watching something below by a pond. Parking we grabbed our cameras and looking down could see a black bear munching berries. It would bite on a branch and then pull the branch through its teeth stripping the berries into its mouth. The bear was unconcerned about all the people and moved about the branches. As it neared the top of the small tree it slipped and fell but caught itself and climbed back up.

Nearing the top its head and shoulders were visible, which is a rarity when they are eating in thick brush. Finally filling up for the moment, it climbed down to take a long drink from a small stream below us. After slaking its thirst, it moved toward the people but stopped and decided it would be better off to go back to the first tree and make sure it had gleaned all of the berries. Its typical bear behavior, eat till its stomach is full, then take a long drink from a nearby pond, before returning to fill up.

The bears are all in hyperphagia and will eat for up to twenty two hours each day. Several years back we watched a bear go for a swim before returning to eating berries). This is the time the females eat enough to be sure that the fetuses will grow inside them and emerge as cubs next year. The sows, if not fat enough, will reabsorb the fetuses and will not produce cubs, (by the way the sows will mate with multiple boars and may have multiple fathers in their litter of cubs.

After taking lots of pictures we decided to go looking for a grizzly bear, Driving to Leeks Marina without spotting any grizzlies we saw a member of the wildlife Management team parking at a place where we have seen grizzlies. Pulling in we waited but no grizzly appeared and so we drove to Pilgrim Creek. Nothing was happening and returning to where we had spent time waiting, we saw people rushing to watch a grizzly bear, bear 1063, as it was heading into the woods. Getting back in the car we drove to Pilgrim Creek where the bear might be headed.

The only excitement at Pilgrim Creek was a lone coyote that paraded in front of us. It was wearing a collar which is never a good sign for its survival. Coyotes and Fox are only collared when they start to eat human food, they have been fed! If they continue to eat people food, they will be euthanized. If you feed wildlife, remember a fed critter is a dead critter, be it bears, coyotes, fox, etc. You might as well shoot it, you are not doing any kindness. The last sight of the day was that of a rescue helicopter with two first responders hanging below it on a long rope. If you blow up the picture you can see them dangling far below the copter.

What a ride!It had been a great day watching four moose, a bear, and a coyote. Time to head home. Clear skies

More Grizzly Bears in Grand Teton National Park

Leaving Jen and Eric’s house we headed to our place in Star Valley. A day before we arrived we received an email from Josh who told us or place was all set up, (in other words he had dewinterized hooked up the water, etc). The next two days involved unpacking, cleaning, and checking our rock collections, (they all survived the winter). Deciding we needed a break we decided to visit Grand Teton National Park, hoping to find a bear or two. Soon after entering the park, we drove past the Oxbow Bend and found a huge bear jam.

Our cameras were ready and so Renita dropped me off, found a parking spot and walked back to meet me. The bears were still visible. They were on the other side of a copse of trees and Renita started taking pictures, using the manual focus. Whenever the object is in or behind trees the automatic focus is worthless as it puts the trees in focus and the subject is blurry, (the first pictures were all Renitas).

The bears teased us, as two of the cubs were sleeping. Bear 1063, (nicknamed Bonita), was grubbing. Grizzly bears are diggers. If you look closely, you can see the hump which is not present on Black Bears. The hump is a mass of muscle and bone which provides support for their digging. Finally, the other two cubs woke up and joined Mom and the largest cub digging for grubs and plants.

It always amazes us that grizzly bears graze like a herd of cows. That is until the cow elk calves are born at which time the bears, wolves, and coyotes all hunt the newborn calves.

Several times the sow, Bonita, herded her cubs towards the road, attempting to cross. The members of the Wildlife management team blocked the road, and one drove his vehicle in front of the bears hazing them using his horn, siren, and flashing lights to prevent them from crossing. In past years they were allowed to cross, and we wondered why this has changed, (perhaps because 399 and another of her offspring were hit and killed by cars). Do not speed!.

Bonita was blocked and so she tried to walk around a tree and cross at another place. Again, she and the cubs were hazed and again we wondered why. In the past, bear 399 and her cubs were allowed to cross. One of the team spoke to us and said that they didn’t want them at Colter Bay as there were too many workers getting ready for the summer season.a S

wainsons hawk soared overhead an I managed to get a decent photograph, We decided we had enough pictures, about four hundred, and so we had a picnic lunch at the Jackson Lake overlook.

Calling it a day we drove back home, stopping at Jackson to buy necessities. It had been another great day as we spotted four grizzly bears, numerous elk, and even a yellow rumped warbler. We did use the app Merlin, to record the singing birds, but it was just the usual red crowned kinglets. Clear skies