My recent adventure to the US was nothing short of exhilarating. My son, Dimitri, was already in the States for a conference, and I joined him a few days later. This was my first time traveling alone on a continental flight, and the excitement was palpable.

Day  0: Traveling to the USA.
I embarked on my journey from Brussels, with a layover in Amsterdam (AMS) before heading to Salt Lake City (SLC). Unfortunately, my flight from AMS to SLC was delayed, causing me to miss my connecting flight to Jackson Hole (JAC). After a five-hour wait, I was rebooked on the next available flight. The original plan was for Dimitri and me to fly together to JAC, but plans changed. Nevertheless, Dimitri was there to pick me up at the airport, and we drove to our hotel the Elk Country Inn.
LINK TO ALBUM - DAY 0

Day 1: Tetons National Park.
The next day, we started early with breakfast and set off for Tetons National Park. On our way, we were thrilled to spot a moose. We stopped to capture some beautiful photos of this majestic creature. As we continued our drive, we noticed a cluster of cars off the road. Curious, we decided to investigate and were pleasantly surprised to find a herd of moose. We spent a considerable amount of time there, taking numerous photos.

Our journey continued as we captured images of a famous barn and the stunning landscapes that surrounded us. The beauty of Tetons National Park was truly breathtaking, and it was a photographer's paradise.

As we drove deeper into the park, I was amazed by its beauty. After a while, we got very lucky. In the distance, we saw some cars parked by the road. We decided to stop and quickly prepare our camera equipment. To our delight, we spotted a female grizzly with three cubs in the riverbed. They were already moving into the woods, but some locals mentioned they might come out a little further away and cross the road. We moved to a clearing down the road, but they didn't appear there. Instead, they came out near the previous spot. I quickly took some pictures of them crossing and thought it was over. As I was packing my gear, someone shouted that the bears were coming out of the woods near the clearing. I quickly grabbed my camera and started taking pictures freehand. The bears came within 50 meters of us, which was very exciting  We stayed there, capturing photos until the light was gone.

We drove tired towards the hotel, but first, to satisfy our hunger, we stopped at Bubba's Bar-B-Que Restaurant, which was conveniently located close to our hotel. We enjoyed a delicious Mixed BBQ meal. After that, we went to bed quite early, as we had an early start planned for the next day to head to Yellowstone National Park.
LINK TO ALBUM - DAY 1

Day 2: Yellowstone National Park
We had another early breakfast at 6:30 AM and left for Yellowstone right after. We drove straight through Tetons National Park to arrive at sunrise and explore some sights. Then we went to Norris Geyser Basin, where I took some nice pictures. We tried to find some wildlife, but unfortunately, it remained with landscapes.
We spent the night in Yellowstone at Canyon Hotel.
LINK TO ALBUM - DAY 2

Day 3: Yellowstone National Park
Again, we were up early to catch the golden hour. We tried to find wolves and climbed a hill, but no luck—just some beautiful sunrise pictures. We drove a bit further and saw many cars parked. Far away on a hill, we noticed a group of people. Dimitri quickly went to check it out. There were 24 wolves to spot there, but I didn't go myself because the terrain felt too uneven, and I didn't want to risk back pain. While everyone was focused on the wolves, a coyote suddenly walked by, and I managed to take some nice pictures.

We spent the rest of the day in the geyser basin, where we visited the Old Faithful geyser and another basin, though I can't recall its name. At the end of the day, we drove back to Jackson and enjoyed a nice dinner.
LINK TO ALBUM - DAY 3

Day 4: Tetons National Park
We were up early again, but this time we didn't have breakfast at the hotel. Instead, we enjoyed a hearty meal at a real American diner Virginian Restaurant, complete with bacon, eggs, and French toast. After breakfast, we headed back to Tetons National Park. We visited several sights, including the Visitor Center, Jackson Lake Dam, and Jenny Lake, which resulted in some nice pictures.

The highlight of the day was yet to come. As we were driving, we saw a lot of cars parked in the distance at the riverbed where we had seen the grizzly a few days ago. And yes, there they were again, playing in the riverbed. Unfortunately, the pictures weren't that good due to the heat haze in the riverbed.

Later that day, we were driving around and saw cars in the distance again. We went there and followed a local person who mentioned that a male grizzly might come out of the bushes a bit further. That person turned out to be Greg Balvin, the authority on filming grizzlies in the Tetons and the filmmaker of a documentary about Grizzly 399. (Grizzly 399 had died a few days before we arrived in Jackson, killed by a car.)

We stayed talking to Greg until the sun was behind the mountain. Greg told us some amusing stories about his encounters with 399. I never saw 399, but through Greg's stories, I will always remember her.

We drove back to Jackson and had a nice steak dinner at Gun Barrel Steak and Game House. This was our last night in Jackson.
LINK TO ALBUM - DAY 4

Day 5: Tetons National Park & return home
We got up early, eager to try and photograph some wildlife. We had time until about 11 AM because our flight to SLC was at 2:36 PM. Unfortunately, we didn't find much, just an elk in the distance. We then drove to JAC airport and returned the car. Our flight to SLC included a layover of a few hours, followed by a 10-hour flight to Amsterdam, and finally, a 2.5-hour train ride to Brussels.
LINK TO ALBUM - DAY 4

Summary:
This was a super fun trip. I have to thank my son Dimitri for the invitation and for being my guide in Tetons & Yellowstone National Parks. I hope you can enjoy the pictures.

Until the next adventure.

Equipment used on this shoot:
  - Nikon Z50 + Sigma 150-600mm F5-6.3 Sport + Nikon FTZ II Adapter 
  - Nikon D3500 + Sigma 18-250mm F3.5-6.3
  - Tarion Pro PB-01 Backpack