Tag Archives: Tetons

Can’t Get To Heaven

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CantGetToHeaven7628

Cue blues riff: slow steady, talking blues style, capo on third fret

Bring bass up: There, right there

Cue singer: 5 4 3 2 ….

          Well, You can’t get to heaven

            On 287

            But you can get as far

                   As you can get by car…….

I’ve mentioned this blues song* before in a previous post but it was brought back to me this morning as I was traveling up highway 287 in my Yellowstone portfolio looking for an image for today’s post. I was cruising along noticing that the grass was going golden as it always does this time of year, seeing the images change as I drove through Fort Washakie towards Dubois working my way up towards Togwotee Pass, hoping to get there in time for the sunset over the Tetons. Dark was coming on fast and I knew I wasn’t going to make it in time.

The clouds were building  over the mountains and there was more than a hint of snow in the air. I wasn’t looking forward to running Togwotee in the dark in a snow storm so I put the hammer down and thanking the traffic gods for not having a Wyoming State Trooper in sight, hauled my keester down the road at a very high rate of speed.

But as they say, the best laid plans of mice and photographers oft-times get screwed up. Just when I thought I was going to make it I looked over and saw the sun breaking through the clouds, highlighting the mountain and I knew I was doomed.

As a shooter when you see light like this you have to stop and take the shot. It’s the law. You have no choice. If it means running Togwotee in the dark, in a snow storm, which I did, you have to. These things don’t happen every day. Every time is unique. You miss it you lose.

Later as you’re squinting through the windshield wipers into the driving snow, exercising fully every descriptive phrase you learned in the Navy, your headlights fully illuminating the highway 10′ in front of the truck, you think about the wisdom of what you’ve chosen to do. The trip over the pass which would normally be about an hour takes three, but you know you wouldn’t have done it any differently.

Fortunately I can review this image now, sitting here in my bathrobe, drinking English Breakfast tea, knowing I can see this sight on my screen and I won’t have to drive Togwotee in the snow. Plus you get to see it too. See, cool things are happening all around. 2015 is going to be a good year.

* I attended a concert one time some years ago and the singer talked about a singer/songwriter friend of his that was writing this song. He may have mentioned his name but if so I’ve long forgotten it unfortunately, but I never forgot the lyrics.

Things That Make You Go ‘Oh Man….’

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YS-NP 2005-0052-EditClick to enlarge

I think it is safe to say that there are sunsets and then there are sunsets. This is a sunset. One evening I was behind schedule trying to make it to Jackson before all the motel rooms were gone and I was having a tough time getting over Togwotee Pass because I kept stopping to shoot one thing or another. It was getting late, I was tired and rather than push in I stopped at the Togwotee overlook to drink some tea and have a sandwich.

There was thunder rolling in from the distance and a huge storm front was moving over the Tetons heading south. It was pretty dark and it didn’t look like there would be a photo op because the sun was setting faster then the storm was moving, but never say never in this business. Just as I was packing up the clouds broke and lifted enough that the sun could stream through the break and this is the result. It only lasted moments then the sun was gone and so was this view.

I have been through this area dozens of times since and have never seen another sunset like this. The Tetons themselves are so beautiful that you can’t imagine anything making them better, but every once in a while Mother Nature says “you ain’t seen nothing yet” and does something so spectacular you can’t believe you saw it. Photographers have a saying “Shoot it when you see it, it’s not likely to come around again”.