After the long travel day yesterday, we let the boys sleep in with a gathering called for 9 AM. Hiking was planned for the day and the weather looked iffy. We all drove over to Albertson’s (a supermarket) to get something for breakfast and a trail lunch to pack for the hike. The rain drops started to fall and then before our very eyes, we could see the exact line right in front of us where it was raining to the left of that line and sunny to the right. Everyone was fascinated by that.
The rain came back and left, came back and left. We drove on into the Grand Teton National Park and stopped in at the visitor center to check out the exhibits and an overview video. From here it was a short drive to the Taggart Lake hike trailhead. At the time, the weather still looked good and off we went.
We had an amazing day for animal discovery. Bennett Slosman spotted a mom moose with her calf and we were only about 75 feet away. It was hard to get a photo because of lots of brush between us and the moose, but the view was fantastic and we were able to observe from a safe distance for 20 minutes or more before we moved on. In all my years of these trips, this is by the far the closest I’ve ever been face-to-face with a moose. Ian Moore did manage to get some pretty decent photos and hopefully I can borrow his memory card to see if he has some to share. We also had spottings of a mule deer, some chipmunks, and at least one pika.
The hike was a total of 4 miles. The trail passed a waterfall, included several great views of the Tetons, and had only a minimal amount of elevation gain. We had lunch down by the lake and the boys enjoyed exploring the area. One brave soul, Cullen Jorgensen, jumped in the lake!
We got back to the trailhead right as the rain started coming down. Our timing was perfect. The temperatures were also coming down. By the time we got in the van around 5:15 PM it was 48 degrees and 43 as we drove back into Jackson. We had a late dinner (they’re always late on these trips) at a Mexican restaurant and watched Ian, a camper from Decatur, GA, take the “name the camper challenge.” Ian picked up some spare cash by naming over 20 campers and counselors by name on this, our second day. Ian came on the trip only knowing two boys, so he amazed us with incredible memory. By the way, those two campers he did know did not count in his total score.
Check out the photos from day 2 with the link below.
www.flickr.com/photos/mindstretch/albums/72157669872200610
The rain came back and left, came back and left. We drove on into the Grand Teton National Park and stopped in at the visitor center to check out the exhibits and an overview video. From here it was a short drive to the Taggart Lake hike trailhead. At the time, the weather still looked good and off we went.
We had an amazing day for animal discovery. Bennett Slosman spotted a mom moose with her calf and we were only about 75 feet away. It was hard to get a photo because of lots of brush between us and the moose, but the view was fantastic and we were able to observe from a safe distance for 20 minutes or more before we moved on. In all my years of these trips, this is by the far the closest I’ve ever been face-to-face with a moose. Ian Moore did manage to get some pretty decent photos and hopefully I can borrow his memory card to see if he has some to share. We also had spottings of a mule deer, some chipmunks, and at least one pika.
The hike was a total of 4 miles. The trail passed a waterfall, included several great views of the Tetons, and had only a minimal amount of elevation gain. We had lunch down by the lake and the boys enjoyed exploring the area. One brave soul, Cullen Jorgensen, jumped in the lake!
We got back to the trailhead right as the rain started coming down. Our timing was perfect. The temperatures were also coming down. By the time we got in the van around 5:15 PM it was 48 degrees and 43 as we drove back into Jackson. We had a late dinner (they’re always late on these trips) at a Mexican restaurant and watched Ian, a camper from Decatur, GA, take the “name the camper challenge.” Ian picked up some spare cash by naming over 20 campers and counselors by name on this, our second day. Ian came on the trip only knowing two boys, so he amazed us with incredible memory. By the way, those two campers he did know did not count in his total score.
Check out the photos from day 2 with the link below.
www.flickr.com/photos/mindstretch/albums/72157669872200610
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