The Afternoon is for Animals

A is for Animals

The animals have been hiding so far. Yellowstone is known for it’s wild animal viewing but so far I’ve only seen one lonely bison. The thermal features are impressive enough that I didn’t feel like I was missing anything. It’s about 3:30 in the afternoon so I thought I should stop my exploring here and start back to Jackson.

B is for Bears

3 bears out for a stroll

Lots of signs along the way remind you that you’re in bear country. My Gaperguide repeatedly suggests bear spray when hiking and not to hike alone. Even so, I’d not seen any sign of  bears so far. That was about to change. I’d just entered Grand Teton National Park when as I approached one of the many bridges that cross the streams and rivers I saw cars lined up along both sides of the road. I had no idea what they were stopped for but I stopped too. Grabbing my camera I quickly headed over to the edge of the crowd. I didn’t have to ask what it was. Right there in plain sight was a Mama Bear and 2 cubs. Big Mama looked black in the afternoon light but one of the other spectators quickly pointed out the hump that identified this bear as a grizzly.

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Mama and cubs paid no attention to their audience as they ambled off to the nearby woods. As the spectators headed back to the cars I overheard one bear watcher say that this was bear 399. Bear 399 was made famous in the book Grizzlies of Pilgrim Creek, a book by photographer Thomas D. Mangelsen and writer Todd Wilkinson. Mama 399 is now 21 years old which is quite old by wild grizzly standards and even more rare that she is still breeding.

 Long Lived and Well Loved

“Every year that 399 has remained alive, raising successive broods of cubs, staying out of trouble with people, has been for those of us who enjoy her presence a gift and a miracle.”

In her two decades of life, 399 has given birth to three sets of triplets, one set of fraternal twins, and two single cubs. Her daughter, identified as 610 by researchers, has also raised four cubs of her own; 17 total cubs descended from 399: 18 total bears if you count her. Pretty Awesome!

Into the woods

Vacation Planning

Anyone who has followed this space for long knows that my goal is to take a vacation in all 50 states.  Obviously that means two or more new states a year or I’ll be 90 or older before I manage to complete that goal.

I’ve gotten a bit side tracked lately because with each upgrade to my time share they’ve given me a vacation that includes airfare. Bottom line is I keep taking the bonus vacations and have gotten off track from my goal.

So I decided to organize my thoughts and future plans.

July is a brief visit to Maine to try to capture an Iconic Puffin Photo. Its only an extended weekend. (and I’ve vacationed in Maine-Loved it)

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I have a vacation to Maui all scheduled, if not completely planned, coming up in November.

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I’ve been to Hawaii twice before. Once to the Big Island and once to Oahu so this will be my 3rd visit to Paradise.

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In January my company will hold their annual convention in Las Vegas. I am seriously considering added a few days vacation on and staying at the Polo Towers. After all, my company is paying for my airfare. I’ve been to Las Vegas for vacation twice before but there are still things I’d like to see.

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February looks like another trip to Hawaii compliments of my time share. I have a choice of the Big Island (Kona side) or Maui.

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Right now I am leaning toward Maui again for the whale watching and snorkeling. February should be peak season for the whales.

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That will wrap up the commitments so far.

So where is my focus after those are done?

Jackson Hole Wyoming and Yellowstone National Park is still top of the list.

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Key Largo (John Pennekamp Park) (Even though I’ve been to Florida more times than I can count)

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Pacific Northwest (Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area)

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Central Idaho ( The Sawtooth Range)

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Channel Islands CA

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Katmai National Park, AK (Brook Falls) (Alaska is another repeat)

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I guess that will keep me busy for a while.

Day at the Zoo

It’s the last day in Alaska and I’m so glad we are spending it at the Zoo. I love zoos. I even went to the zoo in Hawaii.

So we arrived via the Zoo shuttle right to the entrance. When it’s time to leave the shuttle will pick us up right in the parking lot. There’s even a little bench to sit on while we wait.

We bought our tickets and picked up our maps and followed a family of rambunctious little ones onto the paths. The paths cross crossed and meandered so we picked the “must see” animals and figured we’d go there first. Grizzlies were on that list but they were also on the far side of the zoo.

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There was a little deer in an exhibit that was just full of mischief.  A Maintenance worker was  repairing the enclosure and she just followed him everywhere trying to chew on his pants. When he finally shooed her away she took off to  pick on a poor , abused looking turkey that shared her enclosure.

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The tiger was sleeping and wasn’t going to move for anyone.

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The wolves were pretty riled up. They paced along the fence line. A family with very young children were watching. The wolves seemed to be fixed on the kids. Did they think they were prey? A snack? The kids started making howling sounds and the pack joined in.Alaska2013 1009 copy

Once the family moved on the pack dispersed back into the trees in their habitat.

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We saw a snowy owl, one of the birds that winters in MA and that I am still trying to get a photo of in the wild.

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There was a beautiful bald eagle. They are so majestic that it always makes me feel bad when I see them in captivity. On the other hand many of the captive eagles were injured and couldn’t be rehabilitated enough to survive in the wild. I guess being captive is better than the alternative.

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We passed the black bear,  a moose hiding in the shadows, and a pretty little red fox snoozing in the sun.

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We got a close up look at the caribou.

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We crossed a bridge over a pond and watched the swan whose very presence  owned the pond. I’m not a “birder” but I think it was a Trumpeter Swan. We have “Mute” Swans around home and it wasn’t that. The bill was black while the Mute Swans have yellow bills and a black eye ridge.

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Silly me spotted a squirrel and the picture I got of him is one of my favorites.

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There was a good exhibit of the Dall Sheep so we finally got to see this elusive animal up close.

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Finally we spotted the grizzly bear enclosure. They weren’t cooperating any more than the wild ones. One was sprawled in the brook in the shade down in a corner of the enclosure. No good angle for a picture. The other one was in a hollow taking a nap. His big foot and an ear about all that could be seen.

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By now we’d spent more than an hour so we needed to hustle back to catch the shuttle.  We passed the otters and stopped for a minute at the Polar Bears.

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We skipped the musk ox and probably a few other animals but time was now of  the essence. It was harder to find our way out of the zoo than in!

Finally the exit and timing was perfect. The shuttle was pulled up and waiting.

What to do on a rainy, gray day

It’s another cold, wet, gray day with temps in the 40’s.  I had a long list of errands so I met up with Nancy sans children and we headed off to get them done and then enjoy a nice lunch.

In the end I added another member to my little family. You know there’s Smokey

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 and “Editor-in Chief” Rocky,

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we also have Scout.

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Scout’s been on a sabbatical visiting his family in South Dakota.

Well, we made a stop at the local “Build -a- Bear” so now we have a white polar bear joining the staff. The bear is going to be a model as needed for the greeting card line and a traveling consultant when Dusty goes on the road. You should have seen the interview he had to go through with Rocky…He aced it but it was an “in-your-face” interview!

We thought it would be fun to let it stow-away in the luggage and then get pictures at various locations. We’ll see how it goes. In the meantime we need a name.

Now you all know how good I am at naming pets and creatures…after all, how original is Smokey or Rocky???I need help.

So here’s the picture of our adorable new addition.

Any suggestions?