Yellowstone Day 2

We had an amazing day in Grand Teton National Park. We were out the door by eight o’clock because we wanted to do our favorite hike to Moose Ponds. On the drive down we saw a herd of around eighty elk on a dead run. We quickly pulled out and looked behind them. Sure enough there was a mother grizzly and her two cubs nearby. They weren’t the least bit interested in the elk, so the elk finally stopped and looked back. We watched the three bears for quite a while, but it was pretty far away.

There were a ton of elk in this meadow. We saw them both days.

The grizzly and her two cubs were far away but still distinguishable. 

We spotted this pronghorn right by the road down to Jenny Lake.

We never name this as one of our favorite National Parks, but it is!.

Our motto is Moose Ponds never fails, so we were really excited for the hike. We had the Webbs and Ferlans with us, so we went pretty slowly, and for the first time we didn’t see a single thing on this hike. There was a western tanager that was pretty, and Dax spotted some elk about a thousand yards away far up on the hillside. That was it, though. Still, the hike was nice, and the Tetons in the background were beautiful. 

There were a ton of hikers!

Jenny Lake is always nice and peaceful.

The wildflowers along the trail are Mom's favorite. 

Pretty reflection at Moose Ponds.

All the kids hiked in one long line.

We didn't see anything, but we still enjoy this hike.

Dax and Seth really searched hard for a moose.

After Moose Ponds, we met with Grandma and Grandpa at the dock on Jenny Lake. We rode the boat over to the Hidden Falls trailhead. Then all seventeen of us (including four sisters, ten cousins, Grandma and Grandpa, and Dad) hiked to Hidden Falls. We didn’t see any really cool animals, except a marmot and the osprey Seth spotted from the boat, but with the wet spring we’ve had the waterfall was really roaring. It took quite awhile to complete the hike, but we were all together, and that was what mattered. 

It was so fun to have Grandma and Grandpa and Britt on this hike. 

The kids were great hikers.

More pretty wildflowers and Randy spotting something!

Seth found a comfy resting spot.

Mom snapped a picture of this beautiful swallowtail.

There were a few bridge crossings along the trail.

Dax is ready to see the waterfall.

He found it!

We haven't been to Hidden Falls since Seth was a baby.

We were only missing Tiff on this trip.

Daniels family picture by Hidden Falls.

Mom and Dad love hiking together.

The big boys loved playing with Kate.

Seth found a slide. 

Mark will probably end up living in a national park.

When we got back across the lake we spotted a cedar waxwing and then had lunch in the van. Then we caravanned down toward the town of Moose. There is a side road that heads off to the right, and we drove down to a great spot to see moose in the river. There was a beautiful cow and her calf on our side of the river, and we could see them really well. We were excited as we drove through the town of Moose and we say another cow and calf off the bridge on the north side of the road. 

We saw this momma moose pretty well.

Then the baby stood up. We had no idea she had been laying there the whole time.

It was a great sighting!

Next we continued up toward Schwabacher Road, which is our favorite spot in the Tetons. As we walked the short nature trail, Mark spotted a phalarope and a gadwall. A little farther down Dad saw a snake swimming in the river. It swam right over to our side and climbed up the bank, so everyone got to see it. Then Mom spotted a beaver swimming toward its hutch right on the tiny pond. Not everyone got to see it because they were spread out on the trail, but our boys caught just a glimpse of the beaver as it went inside.

This spot is so pretty. It's our favorite place!

We love Grand Teton National Park.

We watched this yellow warbler sing for awhile.

Dad likes teaching the nieces and nephews things on the trail.

Our first buffalo sighting...many more to come!

This marmot was waiting next to the line into the park.

We had a new hike to do called Christian Pond, and it was only a mile out and back. Even though the kids were worn out, they made the hike without many complaints. Surprisingly, the boys spotted four yellow and black snakes right on the trail. They scattered when our group approached, but it was fun to see them head off into the grass.

Dinner was in the Jackson Lodge, and it wasn’t very good. Everything was overcooked. The boys wouldn’t eat their pasta and Mom and Dad got through most of their food. Only the brownie and ice cream were any good.

Dad is leading the little ducklings along.

Christian Pond was a fun little hike.

We didn't see much, but we enjoyed the views.

The boys got fun dinner hats at the restaurant.

There was a mountain man presentation that we wanted to see back at Colter Bay. As we were pulling into the parking lot we spotted a fox running along with a mouse in its mouth. We were so excited because seeing a fox is one of our favorite things. As we were watching the mountain man program, which completed our Junior Ranger requirements, Stephanie walked up. She’d seen FIVE baby foxes at the Laundromat right in Colter Village! After the program was over, we headed up to find them, but none were around. 

We barely caught a photo of this fox as it ran down the trail. 

It was nearly eight o’clock, which is the perfect time to see animals, so we headed down to Oxbow Bend. We really like the short gravel road there, and we saw a great blue heron and a spotted sandpiper. Someone told us a beaver had a brood of babies in a thick fallen tree, and sure enough she came out and swam right along the bank. Then she climbed on shore and started to feed. We kept a safe distance, but we could easily see her munching on small twigs. After about a half an hour, we drove to the highway side of Oxbow Bend. There we spotted four more beavers sitting and eating twigs across the river. We couldn’t see them nearly as well, but we couldn’t believe how many there were, either!

The Great Blue Heron wasn't scared of us at all.

The beaver swam right near us.

It was fun to see it close!

We followed it along to where it was eating.

Oxbow Bend is a great spot in the evening. 

We saw so many beavers across the river.

It was the best beaver sighting night ever!

Beautiful!

It was nine o’clock, but there was still plenty of light when we got back to Colter Bay. We wanted to check on the foxes one more time. There were three tiny kits pushing and tackling each other right on the side of the building. The mother (or father) walked back and forth checking each side of the taped off area, watching for trouble. At one point she came within ten feet of us and sat down, looking very much like a dog. She merely watched us while the kits played a respectable distance away. Then suddenly she let out a loud bark! She hurried toward the door of the Laundromat because someone had arrived with a small dog. She barked again and all the kits ran straight down the burrow. She ran with a snarl toward the trembling little dog. The man who owned the dog was forced to pick it up and put it back in his truck. Then she followed the truck as it left the parking lot. We were slightly frightened, slightly amazed, and very impressed! This little fox was not putting up with a dog near her babies. We all agreed that this would go down in Ockey history (along with the tortoise, bobcat, and drinking snake) as one of our greatest sightings! 

The little kits were running all around.

Dad was very protective of the foxes.

We were so close to them. 

It was the most adorable sighting ever.