Elk

Crowds and employees are thinning out. Now, the elk are the source of entertainment each night.

This is elk rutting season and the males are gathering their harem of ladies. The crowds gather to watch and listen to the elk bugle and chase each other around. I gather to watch the Rangers try to keep the crowds away from harm's way...

Bull elk will fight each other and it causes quite the scene...

Even the guys at Juniper dorm get caught up in the excitement...

Teton Village

The season is winding down. Rebekah and Kim have completed their contracts and are ready to roadtrip home. Before they leave, we all headed to Jackson, WY for a weekend. We stayed at The Hostel at Teton Village.

We had dinner at Teton Thai in Jackson. The next morning, we had breakfast at the Village and then drove the Moose-Wilson Rd. We stopped at the new Rockefeller Preserve.

We hiked out to Phelps Lake:

A perfect place to relax...

Drives

This year, I have explored outside the park a little more. Most of it has been in Montana. On days off from work when I have no plans I will often jump in the car and go for a drive. Today was one of those days. I headed to Livingston where I took I-90 East to Big Timber. At Big Timber, taking Hwy 191 North towards Harlowton, you have a great view of the Crazy Mountains.
Our first snowfall came a few days ago at the end of August. On this particular day, it was snowing on the mountains which makes them even prettier. I felt like I was trying to out run these clouds all day.

Along Hwy 191, I saw one of the largest hay fields I have ever seen:

I couldn't capture all of the r0ws of stacked hay rolls in one shot...

Big Sky Country...

At Harlowton, I took Hwy 12 West towards White Sulphur Springs. Mostly, it was more of the same - hay, cattle, mountains - but there was some other sites like the sheep on this ranch:

At White Sulpher Springs, I headed back South towards the Park on Hwy 89. I just missed the wheat harvest:

This prairie church is in Ringling, MT. Jimmy Buffett summed up this town pretty well in his song "Ringling, Ringling".

The total mileage for this little day drive is 326 miles!!!