Jackson Hole WY

Hello Everyone,

     It’s been a busy couple of days but really great.  We spent Saturday getting all the needed chores and errands done that are unavoidable :) After enjoying a nice cookout at camp we decided to go over to explore one of the amazing views by the Snake River.  We drove there in Eileen and Dave’s rental car which made it a bit of an adventure going past a certain point when the road turned a bit rough and was marked ‘four wheel drive recommended’. However, we made it through without bottoming out the vehicle and were rewarded with fantastic views of the Tetons, the Snake River and lots of wildlife!  It was getting near dusk which is when wildlife become very active.  

    We saw a very large beaver maneuvering through the water and witnessed several nighthawks circling overhead. At one point I was viewing the nighthawk fly through the sky with my binoculars and was thrilled to witness him cross over the white of the full moon!  Then we were treated to watching a moose bring her calf out of the heavy bush cover to graze out in the open.  As we were enjoying this show an eagle came into the scene and landed a short way from them.  Since it was getting very dark we needed to exit the road while having enough light to get out safely.  As we were exiting Doug saw movement in a high tree and we quickly pulled over.  There on the top of the pine was a Great Grey Owl!!  It was an amazing sight to see this rare view up close and personal. They are huge; 27 in long and have a wingspan of 52 in!! 

    The next morning (Sunday) we woke early and headed out to do a short hike at a trail called  Death Canyon Trailhead; now that’s an inviting name!  However, there are many sections of trails and many are very manageable. It was a great hike with lots of changes of habitat from woodland to meadow to rockface.  There was a spectacular overlook of Phelps Lake which was worth the hike all by itself.  there were many birds singing along the trail and we’ve put it on our list of trails to go back to during peak birdwatching times.  

    Since we were under a time limit (we were going to the local camera store to replace my broken Nikon) we headed back to camp.  On the way back we stopped along the side of the road to view a moose grazing just off road.  The ride back through the Tetons was spectacular.  There were many beautiful homes along this route; what a place to live!

     After purchasing our new camera, we came home to finish up last minute preparations for the guys to head out on their backpacking trip.  It’s incredible the sheer size of the packs they have to carry as well as the weight (Ron’s is about 50 lbs).  I made a hearty meal to fill everyone up since the guys will be living on dried and prepackaged instant food for the next week. 

     We woke at 4 this morning to prepare for them to leave at 5 AM for their trip.  Once out of bed we heard a racket outside our windows.  There were 3 barn owls screeching their heads off and landing in the trees and on the power wires.  I saw one take flight and it’s simply amazing to see that movement with no sound; they are truly silent in the air!  

      The guys left for their big adventure and girl week begins...  I went to town to get a quick tutorial on the new camera.  I walked home from the camera store and I’m so excited to try it out.  It’s sure to be a great improvement over my old one since it’s going from 10 megapixels to 24.1 megapixels!! This is my last post with Ron’s camera and then we’ll switch to mine.....