The Grand Tetons

The Tetons were gorgeous and awesome and massive.

We did some hiking and more searching for animals and more relaxing. There was considerably less wildlife (that we saw) here than in Yellowstone, but we did see huge herds of elk, some sandhill cranes, a lot of pelicans, a beaver, a heron, some bison, mule deer, and several cute small birds. Here are some of my favs:

We occasionally ask the kids what their highlights and lowlights were (Carlson tradition) and when we asked Cambria what her lowlight was, she answered, "When we was dwiving and looking at twees." Poor thing thought all this time we were just looking at trees. Who knows how many animals she missed!

We searched and searched for a moose. We got up early and went out late and targeted the swamps (where they like to hang) and were really quiet.

But alas, there were none to be found. So the kids pretended they were moose...

When we were leaving "Moose Pond", there was a mule deer that was curious about us. It started out by peeking over a bush.

Then we started walking back down the trail and she hurried to catch up with us... Funny!

Then she would pretend to be interested in something else and start eating some grass, then when we were on the move again, she would run to see us. She even ran through a short cut to stare at us one last time! Crazy deer! We were laughing so hard we couldn't walk...

Cliff was in his element. He just kept gazing and gazing at the peaks, saying, "It's impossible to describe to someone how great this is!" He was able to go on a crazy fast-paced hike up through one of the valleys of the Tetons. He hiked 16.5 miles in 6.5 hours.

He saw a moose! 3 actually! But they were just laying down in the grass.

Our two families hiked in to Leigh Lake. On the way they found a snake to play with, swam in the glacial water at the base of the tall peaks, dunked their heads in the streams, and enjoyed each other's company.

Next are a couple of pics from another moose hunt...

In the end we settled for a picture of Mason's souvenir moose in its natural environment...

I started to go a little crazy by the end of the trip after getting up at 6 am with Lochlan so many days in a row and the kids went to bed so late every night, that I found it difficult to get any quiet time in. So, my astute husband (it was pretty obvious actually) realized that I might need a little time away. So I went and sat in a patch of wildflowers and put my feet in the stream and read Luke. Then I realized that in several instances it talked about Jesus going away to rest and have a quiet time of his own, so I felt completely fine about checking out for a few hours. It was really a peaceful 2 hours when I wasn't looking over my shoulder to see if a bear or moose was coming near. I did bring some bear spray which was comforting...

Then the next morning Ashley and I were able to go kayaking in Colter Bay at the base of the Tetons. It was honestly one of the highlights of my whole trip. We each had a single one so we could go around wherever we wanted. The water was smooth and reflective. But most of all it was quiet! It made me want to buy a kayak. I LOVED it! We mostly saw birds. But the best bird was (what we think was) a juvenile golden eagle cause it had speckles all over it's chest.

OK! Enough about birds...

On July 11th, we left Tent Village (aka shanty town, or dignity village) where we had been staying, for our long road trip back.

The last part of the adventure will have to wait 'till next time.