Moose Moose

Sept. 19: I was out early for a walk on our second day in Grand Teton National Park catching the first sunlight on the peaks.

It was quite cold, but refreshing, and the view was breathtaking. A bit later I saw a bull moose and four females, but too far away for a picture.

Our morning adventure today was a float rafting trip down ten miles of the Snake River through the park. Here the raft is being put in the water by the guide and his assistant. It holds twelve passengers with the guide steering from the center, but we only had ten this time.

Ellen and I thoroughly enjoyed it! The air soon warmed to comfortable temperatures, the scenery was magnificent, and the river ride fun. No whitewater, but the water is shallow this time of year, and there were rocks and trees to steer around, which our guide did well.

Along the banks Cottonwood trees were brilliant gold, along with a few Aspens, against the dark pines and firs.

The mountains framed by the river in a view made famous, we were told, by photographer Ansel Adams.

There weren't a lot of birds around, but we drifted under several Bald Eagles…

…and saw Ravens sitting on the shore or flying overhead. There were also Common Mergansers in the water, an Osprey overhead, and a few others.

Our guide, Reed Finlay, pointed these out, and told us lots about the natural and human history of the river, all while steering us out of trouble.

Here's a Beaver lodge with a tree right above it recently felled.

We didn't see any Beavers, they come out in late afternoon or evening and work at night, but did see lots of their handiwork.

We were sorry to reach the end of this three hour floating tour, and would highly recommend it.

Back on land in the town of Moose, we were alerted to close wildlife by a gathering of cars and people with cameras. A short walk brought us to close views of this Bull Moose, probably the same one I'd seen earlier, placidly lying in the bushes chewing his cud. There are indeed Moose in Moose!

In the afternoon we drove about an hour north to Two Oceans Lake, hoping to see more birds and wildlife in this remote area. We saw some, but the afternoon sun was burning hot, and we didn't walk far. It's unseasonably warm here, and I'd brought mostly warm clothes expecting it to be cooler. While in the shade it was perhaps 75 degrees, in the sun it had to be at least 85.

Another good place for wildlife is Oxbow Bend, where the main road runs beside a section of the Snake River. Again you can see smoke from that fire. "Proscribed Burn, Do Not Report," signs in the area say.

In addition to another Moose there were a family of five Otters we enjoyed as they played on the bank and then swam upstream past us, but not close enough for a good picture. You'll have to take my word for it that this is three of them.

We stopped for dinner at a lakeside restaurant, and I took this picture afterwards as the scun descended.

We took a brief walk and Ellen heard a soft tapping in a tree beside the path. We looked up to find a Red-Naped Sapsucker just above our heads, tapping away, and he seemed to be listening into the hole he made as well. This is a new species for us, always a happy event.

As we headed home in the twilight we once again saw that collection of pulled-over cars and photographers that signals wildlife near the road. We stopped and saw a small herd of Elk quite close; it was a huge bull with massive antlers and his harem, which he was guarding carefully, periodically bugling his ownership, and being answered by a distant reply. It's Elk mating season, so there might have been a fight in the offing, but we left without seeing it. Too dark for pictures. Got home quite late and went gratefully to bed.