Daryl L. Hunter - The Hole Picture's photostream  

Cutter Races, Jackson Hole Wyoming. Each year, the Jackson Hole Shrine Club hosts two days of cutter races, an event that delivers the essence of the Roman Empire. The races raise money for the Intermountain Shriners Hospital in Salt Lake City, which provides free health care to children in need. The festive, even chaotic event rivals the Snowmobile Hill Climb for the title of best tailgate party, with 3,000 spectators cheering on cutter teams, imbibing, betting and carousing at the races.

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It is wonderful how a mundane landscape can come alive with a change of the sky. As a resident of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem I have a front row seat to all its grandeur. My tour guests often ask me if I get used to the scenery then take the grandeur for granted.

My answer: When the light is dull on the landscape I pay it little attention but once it lights up by one or another of natures lighting phenomena, magic hour, thunderstorm etc. my attention is drawn to it like a magnet.

Photographer's eager eyes are always on the lookout for grandeur big and small!

What brought me to this spot on this particular day is by chance in Jackson I met Debbie Argel Bastian and her husband who were killing time waiting for a ride to Absaroka Guest Ranch in Dubois Wyoming the following day. Debbie is a Blue Star Mom who lost her son Derek Argel in Iraq and because of her efforts working with the Special Operations Warrior Foundation the Absaroka Ranch comped her a guest ranch vacation to bring a bit of beauty to her life.

Debbie asked what there was to do around town for an afternoon and I suggested they take a drive into Grand Teton National Park. They said they didn’t have a car nor were they going to get one for an afternoon drive so I decided to take them into the park myself.

That is how I got this photo

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I got an e-mail from Scott Joshua Dere a tallented shooter and flickr buddy from New York that wanted to get together and do some shooting so I met him and his wife Tina in Jackson and we went out to see what we could find.

It was early afternoon and I kept my camera in its bag most of the afternoon as I didn't see anything I didn't already have. Scott seemed concerned I was putting time into the field and not shooting. I told him the camera would come out of its bag when it was time.

Late afternoon after watching the goats for a while a snow squall came through and my camera came out of its bag. It became time!

If I hadn't been sharing the highlights of Jackson Hole with my flickr friend I wouldn't have gotten this shot. It all goes back to a article I wrote in way back in 1990 = The Search for Serendipity

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Cave Goats are a close cousin of the mountain goat but they are rarely seen as rarely emerge from their caves during daylight hours. Cave Goats are often mistaken for Mountain Goats when seen during the day. Of course I am telling tall tales but this photo called out for one.

This was a fine day at the goat cliffs as I got to see many of my flickr friends. In attendance were, Joy for it, Idaho Bill, Teagden, and Woody 50.

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Bull Moose sniffing for pheromones. Pheromones are a secreted or excreted chemical factor that triggers a social response in members of the same species. Pheromones are chemicals capable of acting outside the body of the secreting individual to impact the behavior of the receiving individual. There are alarm pheromones, food trail pheromones, sex pheromones, and many others that affect behavior or physiology. This guy is keyed in on the sex pheromones, that is why he is smiling :D

This prime breeding Bull Moose is in Grand Teton National Park. This particular morning Idaho Bill introduced me to Big Sky Ross. I meet more and more of my flickr friends all the time :D