The morning after we arrive the photographers in the group head out to Schwabacher Landing for sunrise shots. It's amazing how much difference there is in the temperature between sunrise and the middle of the day. We are wearing many layers, hats, and gloves and there is frost on some of the plants. By the middle of the day we will be in t-shirts and shorts and looking for shade. Although, compared to the heat wave we left at home, we weren't complaining.Anyhow, here you see the mountains catching the first rays of the sun.
On the way back to the cabin we pass a herd of bison behind a fence. They must belong to somebody - I can't imagine that they would choose to be captive. While we were there a tour bus pulled up and disgorged. I thought that the picture of the herd of people was way more interesting than the herd of bison.
There is a wonderful hike around the southern part of Jenny Lake, about 2 miles through the woods. Another hiker told us that he saw moose down by a pond, so we took a detour to look for them. After a while it was apparent that the moose had left and since we weren't sure where this detour path ended up, we retraced our steps back to the main path and continued around the lake. At the end of the hike it is possible to take a boat back to the trailhead and by the time we were getting close, the little kids were wearing out. Imagine our dismay when we got to the bridge and discovered that it was under repair and we needed to detour half a mile to another bridge that was up a steep incline. The smaller children had to be carried at that point. We finally made it to the boat landing and while waiting in line heard that a bear had been sighted not far up the path eating berries. We had been hoping to see a bear, and were disappointed that we missed it.
Next morning it's off to the Snake River Overlook for more sunrise shots. The sun was obscured by clouds so there wasn't much color, but a lousy sunrise in the Tetons is still pretty darn good.
This was the sunrise looking into the sun.
Returning to the cabin we again passed the herd of bison except somehow a gap had opened in the fence and they were all leaving so they could cross the road. Looking into the sun makes for an interesting picture. Too bad that fence is there.
You can almost hear them saying "And what are you looking at?"
Near the Signal Mountain Lodge is an excellent moose watching area. Here is Momma Moose.
And here is Baby Moose. I'm using a telephoto lens and am nowhere near as close as it seems. It is a very bad idea to get too close to a baby moose when momma is nearby.
And not far away is Daddy, at least I think he's the Daddy. He's pretty well hidden in the willow bushes. You can see that the velvet is still on his antlers.
Off in the distance is the smoke from a forest fire in the Teton National Forest. This is the view from the top of Signal Mountain. Part of our group had seen a grizzly bear the previous night from this vantage point so we were hoping he would return. No luck.
The trip home was not so much fun. We flew from Jackson to Dallas where a 3 hour layover turned into a 5 hour layover because of lightening. We finally arrived home around 1:30am East Coast time. Or maybe it was 2:30am, I think I was nearly unconscious by that time. It was good to be home in my own bed.
Today I received the 5 yards of silk dupion I ordered from Dharma and spent the afternoon dyeing it. Will post pictures soon.
