hal_davey

Bob; My wife and I have visited the Jackson/Tetons/Yellowstone many times over the last ten years. If you like fewer people around go in the last week of May and catch the Frontier Days in Jackson. Everything is freshly painted, and the help is not yet surly. I personally like spring better in the Teton valley. The animals are not yet spooked by the hordes of summer and there are many young animals to photograph. If you stay in Jackson it is an easy drive at four AM to Oxbow Bend to catch the morning sunrise. Nothing beats sitting quietly by the bank and watching the bever swim past a couple of feet away, the Moose and her calf swimming across to your side, coyotes stalking through the grass near by. But of course the mosquitos dine on you while you are silent. I burn film from pre-dawn to about seven when the dumb noisy tourists show up and scare everything away. You need to look for wildlife at sunrise and sunset - during the day they sleep out of sight (and so should you.)

Hal Davey

Inspired by Galen Rowell, I bought a Tiffen 3X split - neutral density filter for my yearly trek to Grand Teton. In May there is usually so much snow on the Tetons that the contrast between the foreground and the mountains is almost not printable. But the 3X filter rendered a clear blue sky into an almost thunderstorm gray! I will try a 2X this spring.

Simon; Schwabacher Landing is a major raft launch site on the Snake

river, so I can't believe the NPS would close it. Having shot many

pictures there the last four years, I can tell you that it is not

difficult to get to, but I would recommend a SUV to avoid high

centetering a car on the dirt/gravel access road. If you would like I

can scan some of my pix and a chunk of a map and e-mail them directly to

you.

Yours, Hal Davey email-> haldavey@metronet.com