Yellowstone and our first moose!

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Jim and I continued to have a great time during our last few days at Yellowstone. One day we stopped off at Daisy Geyser. It's a powerful erruption that happens only about every 3 hours. To get to Daisy, Jim wanted to walk a 1 mile path that would avoid the Old Faithful traffic. At first I was scared. One mile is not a long way, but what if there were bears? It looked like a trail that wasn't used very much. I just didn't feel comfortable. We were about to turn around when a group of hikers started to walk down the path. Ah! I felt better, if there WERE bears, at least they'd eat them first. So, we walked down the Daisy path and watched the water works!

We spent another day in the Grand Tetons. The drive to the mountains was extraordinary, really breath-taking. The mountains were capped with snow and the whole woodsy scene was reflected in the crystal water of Jenny Lake. WOW! Although the scenery was beautiful, Jim and I's main objective was to spot a MOOSE! We had now been at Yellowstone for almost a week with no moose sightings. We were told that the Cascade Canyon trail in the Grand Tetons was a sure bet. Jim and I hiked quickly to the Cascade Canyon trail. The way there took us to some lovely places, like Inspiration Point and Hidden Falls. When we got to Cascade Canyon, we walked a few miles in and rested for a while on a rock overlooking the slow moving river. We were waiting for a moose. We waited, and waited, and waited... no moose. We left feeling a little disappointed.

We still had some time left at Yellowstone so we made the best of it. The next few days we spent hiking to the Lonestar Geyser (definitely worth the small effort!). That geyser went off 3 times. The 3rd time it was errupting for so long, Jim and I left! Sometimes the erruption can last for over 25 minutes!

On our last full day we took a ranger hike to Shoshone Lake. It was a 6 mile mosquito laiden walk. I accidently squirt Jim full in the face with bug spray, whoops! Those mosquitos were vicious! On this walk, these two adults thought it would be a great idea to bring their very small son and daughter. The daughter was about 2 or 3 years old, the son was probably 6. The daughter SCREAMED most of the way to the lake, and slept on the way back. Her dad carried her. As far as wild life, she scared any animal in a 20 mile radius away! We had to keep waiting for them to catch up. Word to the wise, 6 mile hikes are too long for pre-schoolers.

Shoshone Lake was beautiful though and the ranger was very knowledgeable about the park and habitat. We even saw a Bald Eagle when we got to the lake! That was amazing.

Before leaving, Jim and I asked the ranger where we could see a moose. We were utterly disappointed when she told us the Grand Tetons was the best place. Darn.. no luck for us!

But maybe things were looking up... on the way home from Shoshone Lake there was a traffic jam. Jim and I thought, "GOD, not more bison!" We were sick of bison traffic jams. On a whim I said to Jim, "Jim, I'm exhausted. We've seen almost all the animals here except a moose. If this is anything other than a moose, let's just go home and have dinner." He agreed, and pulled the car up next to the park ranger.

"Excuse me, is that a moose out there?" I asked through the car window, completely thinking that she would tell me that it was a bison.
"YES! It is a moose!" she answered. I nearly passed out as I yelled at Jim to pull the car over.
We rushed out with our binoculars and camara. She was right near the road, laying down. This was the highlight of my entire vacation. We had seen a moose, my new favorite animal.

We left Yellowstone the next day. I shed a few tears. I really love this place. I didn't want to leave. It has such an energy and life to it, almost magical. Life is simple and wonderful.

On the way out of the park we passed a coyote and more bison. *sigh* maybe I will miss the bison back-ups.

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Photos

Grand Tetons
while waiting for a moose to miraculously appear

Bald Eagle perched in a tree
Shoshone Lake, Yellowstone N.P.

Another pic of the moose
isn't she a beauty?

Comments

[Cynthia]

Moose!
That is so cool that you saw a moose! The views here are absolutely breathtaking - very country, but that's what I love. I'm so glad you enjoyed your time there. It sounds like your whole vacation was a fantasic experience. We need to hang out soon Beth now that you're home...miss you!