Day Six

At 4:30 am the van was loaded and we were headed for our second sunrise session. This time our destination was Schwabacher's Landing in Grand Teton National Park. We visited this spot a couple of times last year because of the nice reflections in the slow and shallow tributaries of the Snake River. We arrived around 5:00 am just as the sky was starting to gather some color. It was a typically cold and crisp morning in the valley and we waited patiently for the warmth of the sun to light the tops of the Tetons. Our patience paid off as the mountains were temporarily lit with beautiful shades of pink and purple.

We spent the rest of the morning and all afternoon working in the lab and then John Holmgren lectured on his work at 7:00 pm. After John's lecture we decided to head up into the park for a sunset shoot. The light looked promising once again and I decided to head to an area called Mormon Row, which is a cluster of old cabins and buildings built in the late 1800's. At dusk, we were preparing to do some lighting experiments when all of a sudden a thundering herd of bison came storming down the old dirt road we were standing on. There were hundreds of them and the ground literally vibrated as they approached. At first, they dodged our group and we were comfortable holding our positions. Then a second herd came down the road and a giant male bison led them straight towards us. After a brief standoff, we realized he wasn't going to back down. We quickly gathered up our gear and hustled to the safety of the van, our hearts pounding.