The first drive was to the section of highway on the northern edge of the Grand Teton National Park that resulted in the closure of the main road - actually, the only road - connecting the Grand Teton National Park to Yellowstone. It was closed for about a week, but the fire continues to rage in areas off the road. These are some shots we took of the fire activity. Beginning with the area where firefighters used as a base for equipment:
And then, the area across the Jackson Lake that is still burning:
The following photos show the damage that occurred when the flames jumped the road:
That is only a sampling of the devastation.
We left this area to drive south of Jackson to check out the damage from the fire near one of our favorite areas. While on the way, we saw the bison herds that were all over this particular area south of the first burn area. They were on both sides of the road and even crossing at one location:
As we continued south, we passed an area where we have frequently seen moose and, sure enough, there were two just doing their thing along the water's edge:
Just before spotting these moose, a black bear and her two cubs crossed the street in front of us. We were not fast enough to get pictures of that activity.
As we drove through the canyon area that was burned a couple weeks ago, it was clear that similar damage had occurred here and that it would also take many years to recover. These are only a couple shots, but a huge area had been burned:
It was an interesting day, to say the least. It will be many years before these areas are once again filled with the beauty we have come to expect. I guess it's nature's way though, as these fires were ignited by lightening strikes, and we have no control over those...
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