The visit to the Grand Tetons was outstanding. We rented a Condo in Driggs, ID thru Home Away for 3 nights. A childhood friend of mine and his wife who now lives in Boise, ID joined us for the 3 nights. We had a great time sightseeing and hiking the Grand Tetons as well as just visiting. We couldn't have asked for better weather; little to no mosquitoes, minimal rain and warm temperatures. The Laurance S. Rockerfeller Preserve, 4 miles South of Moose on the Moose-Wilson Rd. was a sight to see. In addition to hiking trails there was a very modern structure that housed a number of exhibits relating to nature. The slide show, below, has a photograph of a mountain scene which looks a little out of focus. This actually was an exhibit in the Rockefeller Preserve Bldg which was almost floor to ceiling tall. The following photo in the slide show shows this image was made up of numerous images of nature; wildlife, scenery, etc. 

Jenny Lake was a very nice place with hiking trails that went all the way around the Lake and waterfalls on the West side of the lake. This is were we observed the 2nd beaver on the trip; He was sitting on a rock overlooking his home. The unusual house at the end of the slide show was in Driggs. The house looked like it was falling down when we first drove past it. Later, under closer observation, it was apparent that it was a design that I have never seen before.

The morning we left Driggs, ID to head home, I went out to pack some items in the car at about 05:45 am. In the parking lot I saw my 1st Moose of the trip. She (I presume it was a she) promptly trotted off into the woods. 

I hope you enjoyed the Blog/photos of our 15-day vacation to Yellowstone/Grand Tetons. This Blog concludes the last images from the trip.

Our final night in Yellowstone was spent at the Lake Yellowstone Hotel. The images in the below slide show were taken between our departure from Mammoth Hotel until we left the park headed to the Grand Tetons the following day. We saw a black bear with 3 cubs but since bears were included in yesterday’s Blog, no bears today. As we were cresting Mount Washburn (Elev 10,243') about 06:50 am, a fox with his/her breakfast was running parallel to the car; I had my camera in my lap and was able to capture the fox's image without driving off the road! Annie & I hiked down a path about a mile to the 'Brink of the Lower Falls'. What a view!! I thought we went back up the same way we came down but I swear it was 3 miles back up and the escalator was not working. There is not a square inch of Yellowstone that is below 5,282' and we were considerably higher than that; it was quite a hike returning to our car.  Annie found an occupied Osprey Nest that was somewhat down into the canyon at Grand View on the North Rim Drive (of the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone river). A tour guide in the area told us the bird was sitting on 3 eggs. She stated she watched (with her spotting scope) the previous day as the parent turned the 3 eggs over. We then went to the Brink of the Upper Falls. The Yellowstone Lake Hotel was the nicest of the three park hotels that we stayed in. Restaurant menus were all pretty much the same at all the hotels as they are run by Xanterra. We left the following morning about 06:00 am and once again it was foggy which presented the opportunity for some great landscape photos and an image of a beaver out for his/her morning swim. We also captures some foggy pictures in West Geyser Basin. We did not see Bigfoot!

Stay tuned for more . . . Tomorrow I will cover our 3 days in the Grand Tetons where we had an absolutely fabulous time . . . . 

Our 3rd and 4th nights in Yellowstone were spend in the Northern region of the park - Mammoth Hotel. This part of the journey took us East through Lamar Valley where we saw our first black bears with cubs. We were on the road at sunrise . . . about 05:45 am (as we were every morning). Early morning fog and low lying clouds painted pictures that were a joy to photograph. We exited the park briefly through the NE entrance and had a wonderful breakfast at the Log Cabin Cafe in Silver City, MT; $8 bought a full breakfast with a slice (1.5” thick) of Montana Ham. Couldn’t ask for a better breakfast. On the way back to Mammoth thru the Lamar Valley we stopped along side the road where a number of people with spotting scopes were looking into the fields about a 1/3 of a mile away. We found out there was a den containing 8 young Coyotes out playing; too far away for my big lens but we could see them with the binoculars. However, one of the people there noticed my ‘Canon’ camera. He had a spotting scope with an attachment for a Canon Camera and connected my camera to it. We got several photos but the distance was still too great to provide sharp images. These images are not included in the below slide show. We did get one photo of a coyote with my big lens which is included in the slide show. At the Calcite Springs Overlook we were able to spot Big Horn Sheep along with their newborn. They were across the canyon and quite a distance from my viewing position. While at Mammoth we also went out the North Entrance into the town of Gardiner. This entrance is were the Roosevelt Arch was constructed in 1903; Teddy Roosevelt symbolically place the cornerstone of the arch which then took his name. The top of the arch is inscribed with a quote from the ‘Organic Act of 1872', the legislation which created Yellowstone, which reads, ‘For the Benefit and Enjoyment of the People’. The roadway going through the arch is now under renovation. Another exciting event witnessed (about 150’ away from our bedroom window) by my wife, Annie, during the first evening at the Mammoth Hotel, was the birth of an Elk calf. The grounds around the Mammoth Hotel were filled with Elk. Unfortunately I did not get any photos of this event as I didn’t have my camera with me; it was in the car.   :-[   

Tomorrow I will continue the Blog with dialogue and photos from our trip from Mammoth Hotel to Lake Yellowstone Hotel where we spent our last night in Yellowstone before heading off to the Grand Tetons National Park.