A Visit

My brother, Gary, and Nan have started their around the world bicycle adventure. On Saturday they stopped in to visit me for a few days at GT park. Saturday and Sunday afternoons they busied themselves with bicycle maintenance, journals, and other useful things while I was working. Gary cooked wonderful meals for us on his stove using the BakePacker device for making bread and other good things. Monday and Tuesday are my days off, so we went off to have fun.
We rented an aluminum canoe and brought my kayak to Jackson Lake for a morning of paddling. The morning was so pretty with the mountains shining and the water sparkling. Common Mergansers popped up from foraging to look at us, and a family of Otters was exploring the shoreline bushes. The 2 young ones were most curious. Nan took some .photos.
Afternoon found us in Jackson Hole looking for a camping site in the nearby National Forest. Jackson is such a heavily moneyed area that the authorities have banned camping the portions of the NF closest to the city.
Tuesday morning we did a short hike up a creek, found a few birds, and returned to Jackson for errands and Internet at the library. Late afternoon we found a wonderful camping site near Mosquito Creek. The mosquitoes are not as bad now, July was worse for biting insects. Wednesday morning we parted company. Gary had found a backroad going south to avoid traffic, and I needed to return to Colter Bay for my afternoon shift at Cabin Office.
.......Over the past 2 weeks I have noticed signs of the end of Summer. Forests are quiet with only an occasional bird calling. Lupine and Coralroot blooms are fading, being replaced by seed pods. All the rayed yellow composite flowers are dropping their petals and Salsify is showing large fluffy seed heads. Nighttime temperatures are dropping below 40 F.
Tourist season is still in full swing. Overnight accommodations are filled to capacity every night.
......Photos of Gary cooking Cranberry-nut bread on his stove for breakfast. The brown building behind is the dorm I Iive in. Photo #2 is Nan in my kayak on Jackson Lake.