“January: Winter Wonderland”
January 1, 2017 : Sunday
New Year’s Eve Fireworks Display at Teton Village: I made it to Teton Village at about the time the first fireworks blasted into the night sky. Skiers with torches had already make it down Apres Vous slope to celebrate the new year.
Mountain Goat: I started my first day of photography for 2017 in the Snake River Canyon. Four Mountain Goats were reasonably close to the road, and with a few fresh flakes falling. Nikon D5 and Tamron 150-600 mm G2 Lens.
Mountain Goat: Nikon D5 and Tamron 150-600 mm G2 Lens.
Winter in the Snake River Canyon: At this time of the year, Mountain Goats are occasionally seen along the roadway in the Snake River Canyon near Alpine Junction. Out of curiosity, I checked my Lightroom catalog. My first Mountain Goat photos were taken there in 2006. For the first several years, they were seldom seen December and January, then became were common in February and March. A Game and Fish official told me there were around 165 Mountain Goats in the area…that was a couple of years ago. It is still a bit of a roll of the dice to drive down there in January, but you might get lucky on any day! Nikon D5 and Tamron 150-600 mm G2 Lens.
Portrait: Some of the Mountain Goats are clean and white, while others are still mud stained. Some still have matted fur and a few have ear tags and tracking collars. Nikon D5 and Tamron 150-600 mm G2 Lens.
Quick January Notes: At least for the first few weeks of the year, watch for Bighorns still in the rut on Miller Butte. Consider a Sleigh Ride on the National Elk Refuge to get up close and personal shots of the Elk. People are reporting seeing Wolves and Coyotes around Kelly, the Gros Ventre, and on the National Elk Refuge. Most Bull Moose will have already lost their antlers, but watch for a few bulls still sporting them. Most have move off the sage flats and are now back in the river bottoms or have moved towards town. There are at least 25 and possibly up to 180 Pronghorns on the National Elk Refuge. This is also the time of the year to keep an alert eye for smaller critters such as Foxes, Badgers, Coyotes, Pine Martens, Ermine, Weasels, Otters, and Mink.
Best of the Tetons Notes: I’d like to extend a special thanks to all regular readers and posters! I hope to keep making the posts regularly throughout the year. During the middle week or so of January, my wife and I will be heading to Costa Rica for some time in the sun. During that time, I won’t be able to do daily reports from Jackson Hole, but will try to add a few photos from there, and I hope to have a few Feature Posts ready to fill in the voids. Thanks again! Mike Jackson
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