Snake River Overlook

One of the iconic views in Grand Teton National Park, the Snake River overlook is the location of one of Ansel Adams most famous images photographed over 70 years ago. It provides a spectacular view of the Snake River leading up to the Grand Teton mountains. Beautiful year around, autumn is particularly picturesque due to the many deciduous trees along the Snake River.

Bighorn Sheep

Approximately 160 bighorn sheep reside in Yellowstone National Park, with adult rams weighing 175-320 pounds and adult ewes weighing up to 130 pounds. Bighorn sheep feed primarily on grasses and forage on shrubby plants in fall and winter.

Panther Lacewing Butterfly

Often found in tropical and subtropical regions of the world, the Panther Lacewing butterfly is considered one of the most beautiful butterflies in the world. The distinguishing characteristic between the Panther Lacewing and the North American Monarch Butterfly is the zig-zag white stripe on its wingtips.

North American Elk

Elk abound in the Rocky Mountains and are a common sight in Yellowstone National Park. This big bull was photographed in autumn in the northern sector of the park.

Grand Teton Scenic

Grand Teton National Park is part of the Rocky Mountains, with its mountains rising from the floor of Jackson Hole without any foothills along an active fault mountain system 40 miles long by 7 to 9 miles wide. The area is considered to be one of the most picturesque places in North America and is home to moose, coyotes, black bears, badgers, bald eagles, elk, martins, squirrels and several species of trout.

Red Fox Kits

The red fox (Vulpes vulpes) is a shy, nocturnal omnivore, typically hunting at night, dusk and dawn. It is an efficient and lethal predator, due to its acute senses of sight, smell and hearing. These two kits were photographed in early evening before entering their den in a woodpile in southeastern Nebraska.

Eastern Kingbird on Thorny Branch

The Eastern Kingbird is a medium-sized bird that is easily recognizable because of a distinctive white band across its tail. It practices a technique called “hawking,” where it flies out to catch insects and returns to the same tall branch.

Antelope Canyon

Lower Antelope Canyon is located in the American Southwest in north central Arizona. It’s one of two slot canyons on Navaho land, formed by flash floods over thousands of years. Approximately a mile long, it’s essentially a 100-foot deep crack in the ground. When the sun shines down on its swirling sandstone walls a rainbow of colors makes it an amazing sight to behold.

Brown Bear Roars

On his way to the river to catch a prize salmon, this big bruin on the Alaska Peninsula established his dominance with a low adrenaline-filled roar.

Old Faithful at Sunrise

Unlike the billions of typical shots of Old Faithful in Yellowstone National Park, this image shows a golden sunrise behind the world-famous geyser. Even the ground steams as the morning sun burns off the rising moisture. This shot was taken in mid September at the height of the fall colors, when aspen trees paint the forest in shades of yellow, gold and red.

Trumpeter Swan

As the largest waterfowl in the world, trumpeters often have wingspans of seven feet across and weigh 25-30 pounds. They were hunted nearly to extinction in the nineteenth century with fewer than 50 remaining in the United States in the 1930s. Conservation efforts have enabled the regal and stately trumpeter to make a successful comeback in the northern Rocky Mountains.

Bull Elk

Bull elk live along meadows and the forest edges and often weigh up to 1,000 pounds. In September and October bull elk “bugle” and lock antlers during the mating season. The bulls show dominance to gather females during the annual rut.

White Dome Geyser

White Dome Geyser in Yellowstone National Park is named for its massive 12-foot high geyserite cone, shooting steam about 30 feet into the air every 15 minutes to 3 hours. The opening of the cone is only a few inches wide and as minerals build up on the outside, the cone raises. As that happens, the width of the inside of the geyser is reduced, making it possible that in time the cone will seal itself, making the geyser dormant.

Fox Tail

The red fox (Vulpes vulpes) is a shy, nocturnal omnivore, typically hunting at night, dusk and dawn. It is an efficient and lethal predator, due to its acute senses of sight, smell and hearing. This kit was photographed in early evening before entering his den in a woodpile in southeastern Nebraska.

House Finch

Photographed in Wilderness Park near Lincoln, Nebraska, the male House Finch is known for its bright red head and cheerful song. Its historic range is the western United States to southern Mexico, but it was introduced to the northeastern United States about 1940. Its habitat now includes cities, suburbs and farms.

Master of the Hunt

Only hours after a successful hunt, this timber wolf and his pack consumed most of an elk. According to biologists in Yellowstone National Park, an adult wolf typically consumes about one half elk per week. Wolves are near the top of the food chain in Alaska, Canada and now northwest Wyoming and Montana. Persecuted over the centuries, wolves were eradicated in the lower 48 states by poisoning, trapping, shooting and other methods now considered cruel and unethical.

Teton Landscape

Sagebrush and a few solitary trees blow in the southern area of Grand Teton National Park.

Pella Tulips

Thousands of tulips of all colors adorn the town square and other locations during the annual Tulip Festival in Pella, Iowa. Founded in 1847 by Dutch immigrants fleeing religious persecution, Pella is proud of its Dutch heritage as shown by its gorgeous tulips, numerous windmills and friendly citizens.

Grizzly on Alert

In autumn, grizzly bears in Central Alaska roam the tundra searching for berries, roots, ground squirrels and other rodents to eat. Grizzlies are large, nomadic and embody the very spirit of primeval wilderness.

Yellowstone Bison

Prolific throughout Yellowstone National Park, approximately 5,000 bison meander throughout the expansive landscape of the park year around. Yellowstone is the only place in the United States where bison have lived continuously since prehistoric times. In the 1800s, market hunting, sport hunting and the U.S. Army nearly caused the extinction of the bison, and by 1902 poachers reduced Yellowstone’s small herd to about two dozen animals. Bison are true survivors, fending off attacks by predators and the bitter cold Yellowstone winters.

Wing Stretch

The Common Loon is the Minnesota state bird. It has a black bill, red eyes and a spotty black and white body with a black/iridescent green head. The common loon has four calls. The tremolo, which sounds like maniacal laughter, is an aggressive call. The wail is a long, drawn-out sound that people mistake for a wolf. The hoot, a shorter call, is used to communicate among parents and young. Male loons make a yodel sound when guarding their territory. Loons can dive as deep as 250 feet to search for food.

Bull Moose in Autumn

Deep in the Alaska woods, this big bull moose glances back after hearing a twig break. Bull moose are often solitary, except during the fall rut when mating takes place.

Yellowstone River

The Yellowstone River is the last free-flowing river in the lower 48 states. From its headwaters in Lake Yellowstone 670 miles downstream to the Missouri River in North Dakota, the Yellowstone flows in its natural state, undammed and untamed. In addition to the Yellowstone River, many of the spawning streams provide cutthroat trout and other critical food sources for grizzly bears in springtime.

Brown Bear Debate

Taking a break from salmon fishing, these two brown bears played together at the McNeil River Bear Sanctuary on the Alaskan Peninsula. Male “brownies” can weigh up to 1,200 pounds, mainly because of their protein-rich salmon diet during July and August. Although normally solitary by nature, they tolerate each other during the salmon runs due to the abundance of food.

Monarch Miracle

Monarchs are large, beautifully colored butterflies that are easy to recognize by their striking orange, black, and white markings. Living in North, Central, and South America as well as Australia, some Pacific Islands, India, and Western Europe, the wingspan is typically about four inches. American monarchs undertake an enormous migration each year, as millions travel up to 2,000 miles from Canada and the United States all the way to Southern California or central Mexico.

Forlorn Fox

The red fox (Vulpes vulpes) is a shy, nocturnal omnivore, typically hunting at night, dusk and dawn. It is an efficient and lethal predator, due to its acute senses of sight, smell and hearing. As if lost in a daydream, this young kit contemplates his future on top of a woodpile in southeastern Nebraska.

Teton Horses

Grand Teton National Park is part of the Rocky Mountains, with its mountains rising from the floor of Jackson Hole without any foothills along an active fault mountain system 40 miles long by 7 to 9 miles wide. The area is considered to be one of the most picturesque places in North America and is home to moose, coyotes, black bears, badgers, bald eagles, elk, martins, squirrels and several species of trout.

Antelope Canyon

Lower Antelope Canyon is located in the American Southwest in north central Arizona. It’s one of two slot canyons on Navaho land, formed by flash floods over thousands of years. Approximately a mile long, it’s essentially a 100-foot deep crack in the ground. When the sun shines down on its swirling sandstone walls a rainbow of colors makes it an amazing sight to behold.

Winter Wonderland

Truly beautiful when blanketed with snow in the wintertime, Grand Teton National Park offers a plethora of recreational activities such as skiing, snow shoeing, landscape photography and wildlife viewing. While access to certain areas are limited because of snow and ice, most of the park is open to those willing to endure cold temperatures and inclement weather. The tradeoff is a winter experience in one of the most beautiful areas in the Rocky Mountains.