Wildlife...

The first of our days off. As usual, we have to go to Jackson on one of the days off, and this was it... banking, a stop at the Post Office, the hardware store, K-Mart, lunch out, and groceries.

The smoke from yesterday's fires was gone... surprising, considering how it dominated the sky last night. But, clear crisp blue sky today.

When we left Jackson, Joan said, “I hope we see some wildlife on the way home. I’d like to see a buffalo, a moose, and a bear.” I hear the same thing from the passengers on my cruiseboat: they want to see wildlife, too.

Just after we drove into the park, we saw a herd of buffalo on a nearby hillside. Check. We decided to take the more scenic route home, and just after turning off at Moose Junction... yep, we saw a Moose. Check. The only thing left was to see a bear, and they are quite “people shy” in this park.


We stopped at the Jackson Lake Lodge to check on a float trip; that’s a raft trip that goes down the Snake River. It’s generally a good way to get to see wildlife. As employees, we can go for free on a space-available basis.

Joan suggested we make tomorrow my birthday, since I will be working a 13 hour shift on Sunday. We booked the float trip for tomorrow morning (best time to see animals), but we could still get “bumped” for paying guests. We also made reservations in the Mural Room, the Lodge’s fine dining, for tomorrow evening.


Then we walked out into the Great Room and out on the viewing patio behind the Lodge. It is a great place to see wildife and a great view of the Tetons. We enjoyed the view, but didn’t see any animals.


Yes, that little bit of smoke in the left center part of the image above is the same fire we saw from the lake last night.

About 2 minutes north of the Lodge, a young grizzly bear ran across the road right in front of us! Check! I had the camera in my pocket and couldn’t get it out quick enough to get a photo... but, Joan got to see all the animals on her list today!