We visited the Oxbow Bend turnout in Grand Teton National Park on a lovely day, and I was able to capture a couple of pretty nice photos. If only I’d been content and left it at that, I’d have been just fine; but, the sight of some pelicans and cormorants up the river was just too much to resist. Of course, they were too far away to photograph with the lenses I have, so I took a hike.

With no trails and some pretty steep and overgrown banks along the way, I walked on the road for a while and then cut back to the river once I got past a swampy looking area. Needless to say, I was on the lookout for moose, since they seem to enjoy standing in the water and eating — as I was lucky enough to capture this one doing. It was quite a thrill to see him because the wolves and bears have driven almost all of the moose out of Yellowstone and we were hoping our chances would be better in Teton.

My trek proved rather fruitful as I closed on the river and saw these three pelicans come in for a landing. They continued swimming my way, and then eventually took off and soared away. I also captured a couple of cormorant and thistle photos that you can see in the album titled 09-01 Grand Teton National Park at the right.

Eventually I began working my way back south, and, not wanting to get too far away from the wildlife action on the river, I pushed a bit further before turning back to the road. With no trails, I was relying on the sounds of cars on the highway to give me a general sense of direction, and, after a bit, I found myself looking across this swamp. The reedy grasses hide an array of dry land fingers interspersed with wet areas and small streams. The willow bushes are very thick along the ground and nearly impenetrable. Everywhere there were moose prints, sometimes sunk 3, 4, or more inches into the soft ground.

After a couple of unsuccessful attempts to retreat, I moved gingerly toward the sounds of traffic. Finally, I came across what appeared to be a last little stream, this one a bit better formed than most. I worked my way toward it’s apparent source and what seemed to be some firm ground at the edge of a willow patch. “One wet step in the stream and I can reach the other side,” I thought.

With camera and tripod on my shoulder I took the plunge — and my foot just kept going down into the muck. Quickly I took the next step and tried to pull free, only to leave my shoe buried about 18″ deep as my second foot sunk into what felt like quicksand. I lunged for a piece of log with the stocking-clad foot, and, as I pulled myself onto it, I nearly pulled my foot out of the other shoe as well.

Needless to say, there are no pictures of this part! I capped the lens and did my best to keep the equipment out of the muck as I balanced on that log and tried to think my way out of the mess. Slowly I was able to push one foot back into it’s buried shoe and then very gradually pull it free. With both feet on the log, I could reach back and pull the first shoe free. Once I put it on, you can bet that I tied the laces very tightly and doubled the knots!

From there I was able to stay on dry ground by hacking a path through the willows and a short while later I finally reached the road. Susi was good enough to “record the moment” as I walked up to her painting spot.

Was I scared through this little adventure? Well, not really, once I realized that the log would support me and the sounds of cars were not far away. I sure did wonder, though, what possessed me to take a few thousand dollars worth of photo gear into the swamp?!?!