Grizzly 399 attracted an international audience during her long 28-year life that suddenly ended on Highway 26/89 in the Snake River Canyon nearly eight months ago.
Now, an increasing number of the bear’s admirers have been compelled to make a pilgrimage to the place where her story came to a violent conclusion.
Milepost 126, the spot where Grizzly 399 was fatally struck by a vehicle, has been a collecting spot for flowers, stuffed animals and messages since the grizzly’s death Oct. 22, 2024.
A wooden post engraved with the inscription “399” has served as the unofficial memorial for the “Queen of the Tetons.”
People who’ve been there say they’ve found closure at the makeshift memorial. Others have gone there trying to understand a world without Grizzly 399.
“I felt like it's something like I had to see for myself,” said Summer Young of Milton, Kentucky. “She gave me hope in the midst of grief, and I wanted to pay her homage and honor and just let her know what she meant to me, even though we'll never see her again.”
While they find some solace at the spot, whether it’s allowed alongside the highway remains to be decided.
Wyoming Department of Transportation policy forbids private memorials to be set up in rights of way along roads and highways. There is a program to apply for a state-placed memorial, but those so far have been requested to be placed at spots where people have died, not wildlife.
A Place To Grieve
Young’s relationship with Grizzly 399 started with a children’s book, “Grizzly 399,” by Sylvia Medina. A video of her reading the book to her fourth grade class attracted a lot of positive attention from 399’s fans.
“After I posted the video, I heard from people like (famed wildlife photographer) Tom Mangelsen, and it opened up a whole network of people I wouldn’t have met otherwise,” she said. “Sylvia Medina herself reached out to me.”
Young had 11 sightings of Grizzly 399, each of which she vividly remembers, while continuously being inspired and comforted by her from afar.
When Grizzly 399 emerged from hibernation with four cubs in May 2020, Young, the mother of four children, felt a stronger connection to the famous grizzly.
When she lost her grandmother and mother-in-law six months apart, Young saw Grizzly 399 as “an emblem of perseverance and hope.”
“She helped me get through a lot,” she said. “She helped me through my grief.”
When she visited Jackson in early June, she knew Grand Teton National Park would feel unbearably empty without Grizzly 399. She also knew she had to go somewhere she’d never stopped before: milepost 126 on Highway 26/89.
“I had to see it for myself,” she said. “I just had to be there.”
Makeshift Milepost Memorial
The Grizzly 399 memorial in the Snake River Canyon isn’t an official roadside attraction, but Jackson resident Michael Grasseschi knows how it got there.
“I started it,” he told Cowboy State Daily. “Two days after the accident.”
Grasseschi and his friend, fellow wildlife photographer Mimi Saenger, ventured out to milepost 126 on Oct. 24 with three bouquets of flowers. They wanted to leave something behind to commemorate the Queen of the Tetons.
“We drove down there and didn’t see anything,” Grasseschi said. “We thought we were in the wrong place until we saw another guy walking around and looking for something. It was Brad Boner with Jackson Hole Daily, and he was looking for the same thing.”
That’s when Grasseschi spotted it: A wooden post alongside the highway. It was seemingly out of place but “conveniently located” to become a memorial to Grizzly 399.
“It was a fresh wooden signpost with nothing on it,” he said. “We were wondering what was supposed to be there, because it didn't even look like anything had ever been bolted onto it. It was just a piece of wood. So, we tied our flowers to the post, and Brad shot and posted a photo of us doing that.”
That post has become the unofficial on-site memorial for Grizzly 399, with “399” prominently etched at the top of the wooden post. Young and many others have ventured to it since the grizzly’s death.
Grasseschi is surprised that the milepost memorial has endured this long. He and Saenger never expected their moment of mourning to inspire a movement.
“I thought someone else might take over since we initiated it,” he said. “We weren't 100% sure if we were within legal anything to tie flowers onto a Wyoming highway post, but nobody’s taken it down.”
Never Stood A Chance
When Young arrived at milepost 126, the assessment of the area led her to a tragic realization.
“I would describe it as she didn't stand a chance,” she said. “The speed limit was 55 mph, but some cars were easily going 70-75 mph. There wasn't a place, like a little divot, that she could have gotten into to avoid a vehicle. She didn’t stand a chance.”
Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office Patrol Lt. John Stetzenbach told Cowboy State Daily that the evidence collected at the crash site shows that the driver was traveling at or very close to the 55 mph speed limit and was undistracted when Grizzly 399 was hit. According to Stetzenbach, it was “truly an accident.”
The Wyoming Department of Transportation told Cowboy State Daily that the speed limit on Highway 26/89 is unlikely to change in the wake of Grizzly 399’s death.
“Our district traffic engineers are always studying traffic patterns and crash data to identify areas where speed limits may need to be adjusted,” said WYDOT spokesman Doug McGee. “Speed limit adjustments are a formal engineering process.”
Young described being at the scene of Grizzly 399’s death as “very emotional.” She likened the news of Grizzly 399’s death to other collective landmark moments of grief.
“We all remember where we were on 9/11, and those who are older can say where they were when JFK and Elvis,” Young said. “I'll always remember the day and the call when 399 died. Being there brought me back to every moment I saw her over the past five years.
“That’s why I had to see it for myself. Not to make it real, because it was already real.”
Permanent For People, Not Animals
The Wyoming Department of Transportation has a program for people to request permanent memorials for loved ones who have died on highways. The Roadside Memorial Program places a small sign on a wooden post that stands outside the state’s right of way.
“The best way to explain what a right of way is that it's anything inside the fences on each side of the highway,” said WYDOT spokesperson Cody Beers. “We don’t allow anything to be erected inside the right of way.”
Beers said Wyoming's rights of way are kept clear of unnecessary distractions to ensure driver safety. Too many signs too close to the road would be distracting, which could lead to accidents.
The Grizzly 399 memorial post is within the state’s right of way on Highway 26/89, as it stands within 10 feet of the highway with no fence between it and the pavement. Beers said he didn’t know how this memorial came to be but is certain that it’s in a place of concern.
“By WYDOT policy, we do not allow private memorials,” he said, “and I suppose that would be classified as a private memorial constructed and left in the state right of way.”
Someone might be inclined to submit an application for a Grizzly 399 memorial to the Roadside Memorial Program, just as they would for anyone else. However, Beers said that’s a non-starter.
“The Roadside Memorial Program is for people, not animals,” he said. “It helps a grieving person remember their loved one, and we gladly put those up. There are no roadside memorials in Wyoming for animals.”
Weeping At The Fatal Site
Ron Alvarado of Cincinnati, Ohio, never saw Grizzly 399 in person. Like millions of others, he followed her story from afar.
“To me, she was the ultimate for Grand Teton and Yellowstone,” he said. “She was my pinnacle of wildlife and photography.”
When Alvarado went to Alpine to help his sister and brother-in-law build their new house, he ventured into Grand Teton National Park. While there, he decided to go to the Snake River Canyon to pay his respects to Grizzly 399.
“I’ve been photographing Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks since 2014,” he said. “I know she was loved by millions of people, and I just wanted to stop and pay my respects.”
When Alvarado pulled off the highway at Milepost 126, seeing the makeshift memorial in person, rather than online, “hit me harder than I thought.”
“I just wept,” he said. “I claim to be a pretty tough guy, but just the thought of what 399 meant to people around the world, not just here in Wyoming or the United States, was overwhelming. That's when it really hit me. It’s like a piece of Grand Teton National Park is gone forever.”
A Sense Of Closure
After her death, Grizzly 399's body was cremated and her ashes scattered along Pilgrim Creek in Grand Teton National Park. Since then, there’s been considerable interest in creating a permanent memorial for Grizzly 399.
A bronze sculpure of Grizzly 399 and the quads, created before the grizzly’s death, stands outside the National Museum of Military Vehicles in Dubois. The Grizzly 399 Legacy of Love Project is raising $450,000 for another bronze sculpture they hope to have installed in Jackson by Mother’s Day 2026.
Meanwhile, the memorial at milepost 126 has become the unofficial place for anyone who wants to pay their respects to Grizzly 399, and many people want to.
“I've had people as far as way from Austria this week contacting me wanting to know where that memorial is,” Alvarado said. “My wife is coming out to Wyoming in July, and we plan on making a trip to the memorial.”
Grasseschi isn’t sure how long his memorial will be allowed to stand, but believes it’s an oddly appropriate spot for 399’s fans to pay their respects. The highway itself seems premade for people who want to stop there.
“You could say it’s a visual hazard, but the wooden post is at least 10 feet from the road,” he said. “There’s even two pullouts within 100 feet of it on either side of the highway. It could easily become a place for people to safely park and walk to the post. Everything seems kind of perfect.”
When Young visited milepost 126, she removed several bouquets of desiccated flowers and left three wooden roses attached to the wooden post. That was her tribute to the comfort and community gifted to her through Grizzly 399.
“It spiraled from people seeing that I was reading a Grizzly 399 book to my classroom to coming out to Jackson every summer since 2020,” she said. “I formed friendships at the roadside during 399 jams. She helped me build a network of wonderful people. She gave me so much, and the park feels so empty without her.”
Even if the memorial is removed, the memories of Grizzly 399 will endure, Grasseschi said. For those who make a point to visit milepost 126 and spend a contemplative moment at the spot where the grizzly died, the Grand Teton experience will never be the same.
“I think it’s about a moment of closure,” Grasseschi said. “As humans, we want to see the caskets of our deceased relatives or friends as a moment of closure. Anybody who had some connection to her, even if they came through once, will never forget her story. More than anything, it’s about closure.”
Andrew Rossi can be reached at arossi@cowboystatedaily.com.
