Animal Extravaganza!!

It should come as no surprise that we saw loads of wild animals on our trip through Grand Teton, Yellowstone, and Glacier. We had a badger digging a hole just three or four tent sites down from us in Grand Teton on our first night there, and then the moose that wandered right past out tent the very next morning.

There were a couple of smaller herds of bison in Grand Teton, but nothing prepared us for the many hundreds we saw (and heard) in the Hayden Valley and Lamar Valley in Yellowstone. There were two bison at this pull-off (below), and the one obliging decided to take a dust bath, which I've crudely pieced together. We saw so many bison in Yellowstone in our first full day there that when we would pass them later on, it was like "meh, just another bison. Drive on Jeets".

We saw a fair bit of elk, but mostly mothers and their young ones, but just this one bull elk that was calming laying in the shade while half of the known universe parked their cars (me included) to stop and take photos.

While walking around Swiftcurrent Lake in the Many Glacier area of Glacier National Park, Ian and I came across this red-tailed hawk (we think) that was sitting right over the trail. He kept screeching and when other hikers approached from the opposite direction, he eventually flew off.

Not much longer after that, we saw these two (three really, there was another young bear with this mother) grizzly bears on the mountainside. The photos aren't great because even with a very powerful lens I had to crop in really close to get a good look at these two.

Shortly after that, we met up with the girls again and went to get lunch. This was on Ian's birthday, so you may recall that we waited out a thunderstorm, and then walked to this unnamed pond where we saw this moose eating his lunch.

That night, Leah and I went out to photograph the local lake at sunset. We had head back to camp a bit early, but the upshot to that was this silly coyote. He lost a fight with a white-tailed deer (which we watched) just moments earlier, and then proceeded to trot down the road for quite a ways. Leah and I tagged along beside him for a little bit, but then decided to give him a break. I saw him again the next day, but he was scarred away but some numbskull who jumped out of his truck very nearby in order to see the coyote better. So Wile E. Coyote decided to run off. Oh well.

And finally, the little ground squirrel. These little beggars were very bold in approaching anyone and anything at the Hidden Lake Overlook. I couldn't hardly set my tripod down without one of these creatures coming over to verify I hadn't left some food behind.

Of course there were bald eagles, pronghorn antelope, otters, trumpeter swans, and other birds galore that never got in front of my camera, but we had a good time looking at the different animals. It was a part of the Junior Ranger Badge requirements, so hopefully the kids will remember this fondly.

Cheers!

Marc

Glacier National Park

After Yellowstone, we made our way to a buddy of mine from waaaay back in the day - my old roomie from Battalion. He and his wife have two daughters roughly Ian's and Leah's age, and they have just started a distillery in Ennis, Montana. The facility was beautiful, as was the country around Ennis, and it was great to catch up on what everyone has been doing in the many years since we've gotten out. We had a nice lunch together, and then we headed out to spend the night in a hotel in Helena. That was a much needed break to do some laundry and sleep in a warm, soft bed.

We drove to our corner of Glacier National Park the next day, which was easily the prettiest National Park we've seen (though Olympic National Park does come close!). We got to our camp site, set up our tent, and then went on up the Going to the Sun Road for a little bit of exploring before dinner.

We went to the Sun Point pull out, and hauled out the stove and made a nice dinner there, while we waited for the sun to set a bit (so I could get some nice photos). It was a very short walk from the parking lot/picnic area to the Sun Point point. The camera is set up just next to the plaque pointing out the various mountains. I love the timer for whole family photos!

And this is the view 180 degrees from the photo above, just a bit later in the day.

The next day we went to the Many Glacier part of Glacier National Park. We did some hiking (Ian and I saw a hawk from very close up, some grizzly bears from very far away, and some other less interesting fauna), then caught a nice lunch followed by a birthday-boy ice cream. There was a brief, strong thunderstorm while we ate in a restaurant, which meant we got to stay dry. After it cleared up, we met up with a park ranger for a guided hike, where we met up with this guy below.

The moose was a good bit away, but just on the edge of comfortable. Any closer and we would have been making our way away from him. I took a couple of photos of just the kids and the moose, when another photographer asked if he could take a photo with all of us in it. Sure!

The next day we drove the Going to the Sun Road all the way up to Logan Pass and the continental divide. The kids had completed their Junior Ranger Badge requirements, so we stopped at the Visitor Center at Logan Pass and got the kids sworn in as the newest Junior Rangers. We then hiked to the Hidden Lake Overlook. I had wanted to hike all the way to the lake, but it was closed due to bear activity which was just as well since the hike took a bit longer than expected. The ground squirrels were out in force, as was the stunning scenery.

And the mandatory post-swearing-in ceremony photo with the kids proudly wearing their badges.

Of the many parks we've visited this year, Glacier is easily the most stunning park we've seen. Even Catherine remarked at how beautiful it was! The photo below is from the very popular Wild Goose Island overlook. It was packed the first morning I went, and I was literally never alone here even when Catherine and the kids were "sleeping in" while I was out. It is the kind of place where I'd go back to time and time again - even though I'd like to explore much of the park under a backpack.

Ian asked several times if we could go back to Glacier for his birthday next year, to which I answer with an enthusiastic "YES"! We'll see what time brings, but I don't think I'd ever say "no" to a trip to Glacier.

Cheers,

Marc