Ashton to Yellowstone

Sunday we left Ashton, ID and headed to Yellowstone NP via the West Yellowstone entrance. I think this Campanula is C. rotundifolia. It was one of the most prolific blooms throughout the park. (along with the Asters.)
Once we got into the park, we pulled off at the trailhead for Harlequin Lake to stretch our legs. An Osprey was calling from a nest along the Madison River. I was excited for wildlife, so I was scanning everything with my binoculars, when I looked at the dark green bulrush patch in the center of the picture.
Amazingly, two moose (calves?) were hiding in the bulrushes. Their flicking ears caught my attention first. One raised its head up for a brief moment.
A nice view of Harlequin Lake. No Harlequin Ducks, though, which are supposed to breed at the park.
We took a detour to see Firehole Falls on the Firehole River. Waterfalls were a guaranteed stop on our trip.
A Raven at our picnic spot. The crowds were not bad at Yellowstone. Of course it was busy at the main attractions, but we usually could find a picnic area to ourselves.

Golden-mantled Ground Squirrel

Gibbon Falls

Moose!

Joy and I had a great time exploring Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons. Look for more blog posts here shortly as we process our pictures.

While staying at the Grand Teton National Park, we took a hike around Jenny Lake to Hidden Falls and Inspiration Point. To get back down from Inspiration Point, we took a less traveled trail towards the boat dock. I had just thought, 'Lord, open my eyes and show me something incredible', when I looked up and saw a moose standing there about thirty feet away!



Joy was up ahead of me on the trail a short bit. I called her and she came back and we watched as the cow started lumbering towards us. We stood still and just watched as she crossed the trail and nonchalantly headed off down the hill.

Some mammal pictures from our recent trip to Ontario

No bears, wolves, or porcupines on our Ontario trip, but we still got to enjoy ourselves. We visited Algonquin Provincial Park for a day and got to see beaver and a moose. There were beaver lodges all around Horn Lake (near the cabin), but at Algonquin we got to see a beaver up close attempting to fix his dam.

The sound of rushing water attracted the beaver. When he saw us nearby, he decided to wait for later. I am sad to say that someone else made the breach in the dam just to attract the beaver. Nothing permanently hurt, though.

Here a piney (red squirrel) tests a mushroom. He was not very shy, but he didn't seem to want anything from me, either.

The view from the nature center. I kept scanning the bogs and woods for moose. People were reporting them all over the park.

We found a 'small' moose along the road on the way back. He posed for a couple minutes before heading back into the woods.

More of a landscape view of the bog with the woods in the background.

Chipmunks remind me more and more of rats, and I appreciate them all the more for it.

Bull Moose

Anyone see a moose?

Here is a picture from our recent trip to Ontario, Canada. We went canoeing in Algonquin Provincial Park on Hailstorm Creek, off Lake Opeonga. We had a great time and saw six moose.