a few more adventures

Wednesday I used my day off to go hiking in Cascade Canyon. I hiked here 3 times last year and took alot of photos (last year).  The mountains are still spectacular and melt water from the snowfields is rushing down the mountainsides to tumble into Cascade Creek.  Moose are a staple in this canyon, but I didn't see any that day.  Yellow-bellied Marmots were out sunning on rocks, while Pikas were busy gathering grass and plants to create their "haystacks" for winter food supply.
      I also had Thursday off and took advantage of an employee discount.  The aerial tram to the top of Rendezvous Peak carried visitors to nearly 11000 ft in about 12 minutes.  Last year I photographed many alpine tundra flowers.  This year the flowers are fewer because the earth so dry.  Less winter snow made less snowmelt water to feed the flowers in the Spring.  Warm temperatures have evaporated remaining soil moisture. 
Photo,  looking west from the top.

    Clark's Nutcrackers squawked from the top of spindly Fir trees, and Pink-sided Juncos squeaked from under the broad skirts of Fir branches close to the ground.
    Its been unusually warm, the Park doesn't see temperatures in the 80's until later in July.
I took the kayak to Two Ocean Lake yesterday morning before work.  The winds were calm and the water was smooth.  Two Ocean Lake is ringed with willows and alders in the riparian, with conifers and aspens further back in the forest.  I was in the middle of the lake and put my binoculars on a large brown lump. 
    A female Moose !!  I watched her for a few minutes, and noticed a small rusty brown calf coming out of the willows.  A little Moose calf !!   Watching the little one for a few minutes I realized there was another pair of ears behind it.  2 little Moose babies !!   Twins are unusual in the Moose world.     Mama Moose continued feeding on aquatic plants and decided I was not a threat.   Too far away for photos,  but what an amazing thing to see.

This photo was taken one morning I was out looking for birds when 2 deer came out of the Aspens and walked across the sagebrush.

 The bird list is on ebird, if anyone is interested.
A light haze has come across the mountains today, giving them a misty look.

Wandering around the Park

Employees were offered the chance to go on the Chuckwagon Breakfast Ride for free.  This was a sort of  "shakedown cruise"  for the corral people and the wranglers to have everything right before the event is offered to the guests.  Would I like to ride in the wagon or on a horse ?   On am horse, of course !  The brown horse in the photo is Gopher, who was born into a wild horse band on land managed by the federal government.  Each year the wild horses are rounded up and some are sold at auction. The rest are released back into the wild. 
     Friday morning before work I launched Dolphin into Oxbow Lake. It was a beautiful clear morning and I saw 22 bird species.  I did not bring the camera with me.  Mama Ruddy Duck had 8 ducklings,  Mama Mallard had only 2 little fluffy ones.  The female Bufflehead did not have any ducklings with her, nor did the female Goldeneye.  Swallows swooped, Sparrows sang from the bushes as did Yellow Warblers.  
     Twice I heard a great splashing behind me, turned around, and watched a Moose trotting across a shallow area to another willow clump. 

Bison photo from Kelly Road the morning I was out looking at birds in the sagebrush.
  
  Sunday morning I joined a Ranger-led Bird Walk. She doesn't do this event very often so I was lucky to find out about it.  We walked from Moose Visitor Center past the Murie Cabins to a side-channel of the Snake River.  Birds were good.  While the group was watching a House Wren I turned around and saw a Red Fox not far away.  Everyone had a good look at it.  2 minutes later the group leader spotted baby fox kits near a cabin.  The den was under the old cabin.  We watched (thru the tall grass) as 4 fox kits romped and played in the sun while Mom was hunting for breakfast.  Truly an amazing find.
     Several touring cyclists have come by Cabin Office looking to spend the night.  The first man was from Scotland who had lost his job.  His wife gave permission for him to come to America and ride for 3 months cross-country.  A few nights ago 2 riders from the Great Divide Bike Route or Tour Divide came by asking for a cabin.  The route starts in Banff Park in Alberta and ends at  Antelope Wells, New Mexico. The route avoids all paved roads.
     

Today's hike

more photos:   from the kayak on Monday,  Calypso Orchid,  Phelps Lake with reflections

Beauty all around

Monday I took the kayak out for the first time this year.  The lake is full and the mountains are glowing with their fresh coats of snow.  I saw 3 Spotted Sandpipers in different places along the shore.  A Sandhill Crane had come down for a drink and walked away slowly as I paddled by.

Tuesday afternoon Colter Bay had partly cloudy skies when a few strong wind gusts blew through the village.  5 miles to the south an intense thunderstorm cell had produced hail and lightning.  A lightning strike on a few power poles knocked out electricity to all of Teton Valley for 5 or 6 hours.  The important guest revenue areas have emergency generators, the restaurant, the grocery and gift shop, and Cabin Office.  Guests were not happy as electric lights in the cabins did not work.  Around 9 pm the power was restored and the generators were turned off.
     Today was my one day off this week.  I drove to LSR Preserve and hiked up to Phelps Lake.  What a beautiful blue sky day !!  The mountains were shining, birds were singing and I found a little purple Calypso Orchid along the trail.  Exciting birds were Black-headed Grosbeaks, a MacGillivray's Warbler, Warbling Vireos, and Western Tanagers.  Chipping Sparrows were most numerous, while the Golden-crowned Kinglets won for most vocal species. 

    Coming back from grocery shopping I stopped at the Elk Refuge pond.  Redhead ducks and Ring-necks are mated, Yellow-headed Blackbirds were  "singing" and a pair of Trumpeter Swans foraged together across from the viewing platform.  4 species of Swallows zipped around catching insects:  Barn, Tree, Violet-Green, and Cliff.
     Update on the Bear families.  The older female, tagged # 399, is alive and well after an encounter with a male grizzley who tried to kill her yearling cubs.  These 2 yearlings are now on their own and doing OK.  The photo from 2 blogs ago is of a younger female, tagged # 610, and her 3 yearling cubs.  When bears are feeding within sight of the road, park rangers enforce the  "stay 300 ft away" rule.
Photos of a Mama Moose whose week-old calf was sitting in the willows nearby, and a few peaks in the southern Tetons.