CREATURES BIG AND SMALL

June 29-30, 2013

Yesterday we went to the Menor's Ferry area of Teton National Park.  The settlement was built by one man in 1894 for the purpose of establishing a ferry to allow people traveling west to cross the Snake River.  The original cabin he built along with a general store he added later are still standing.   We were there early and since there were no other visitors when we got there, we spent quite a while just talking with the docent guide.  Turns out he spends the winters in Yuma and the summers in Teton.   

After visiting there, we took another drive along the northern loop within the park.  As you can see from the pictures, spring brought an abundance of babies to the wildlife living there.  In addition to seeing lots of baby buffalo, we were lucky to catch a glimpse of a mother moose and her baby in the shade by the river.  

Mom and baby bison

Mom and baby moose

There are lots of buffalo in Teton and they go wherever they want.  But there were areas where there were fences and we were wondering how they were able to get around the fences and cross the roads as we had seen them do.  Well, we figured it out when we saw several of them just jumping over the fences.  They don't seem all that nimble until you see them do something like this.  We also saw one running full speed across a field one day toward the road.  We were wondering if he was going to run straight across the road.  There were cars coming and it looked like it would be hit.  But he actually was charging at a couple of women who were walking into the field to take pictures of the baby buffalo.    The women started running and then he stopped.  But he got within 15 feet or so of them.  So, it may look like these big guys can't move, but they can move fast when given a reason.  I took my pictures from a distance with a zoom lens.

Don't fence me in

Today is Sunday, June 30th.  We left Teton this morning to head south.  We just pulled into our campground in Heber, Utah.  This area is famous for fly fishing in the summer and snow skiing in the winter.  Not sure what we'll do here.  We will be here for two nights and then head to Moab, Utah.