Grant Tetons of Wyoming

Somehow I always seem to be lagging behind on our hikes and walks

because I stopped to take a picture or two (or three or four.) I am surrounded by photo opportunities that I can't pass up.



Lupine in the morning sun





Elk calf with Mother. There are huge herds here.

There was so much snow in the mountains this winter. The rivers are booming!

Wyoming Grand Tetons

We meandered our way to Wyoming up through Utah and a tiny corner of Idaho and are now in the Grand Tetons. Weather conditions have been ideal, hot summer days and cool nights. We will only be here for two nights so we have tried to see the major sights and hike a couple of popular trails. We managed to see some interesting wildlife as we were out and about.

This bear came lumbering across the parking lot at the Jackson Lake Lodge! Bit close, I'd say.

This Mountain Bluebird was fearless and let me get very close. Come to find out, she had a nest in the post she was sitting atop and wasn't about to leave it.

Another day in Grand Canyon

One last look at the amazing Grand Canyon. . .

and some of its interesting fauna and flora.


Clarks Nutcracker




Hermit Thrushes singing their flute-like tremolo everywhere.

A couple of very worried Canyon Wrens!!

Broadtailed hummers liked my feeder.

Cactus in bloom

Grand Canyon North Rim

Views from the North Rim and the Grand Canyon Lodge

We have driven all the scenic roads along the Rim and stopped to see the overlooks and points of interest. Couple of short hikes through forests to more points on the Rim like Point Final, Imperial Point, and Angel’s Window at Cape Royal. Checked out the historic lodge and learned about its interesting history. Just can’t get enough of peering down into the abyss of the Grand Canyon. My brain just can’t comprehend the time and forces that created this wonder.

This morning we were hiking the Widforss Trail by 7am while it was still cool enough to need a long sleeved shirt. This trail was listed in the last issue of “Arizona Hiways” as one of Arizona’s best trails. It dips in and out of forest as it hugs the rim for some amazing canyon vistas in the morning light. After our 7 mile trek we rewarded ourselves to lunch at the Grand Canyon Lodge restaurant.

We are always on the lookout for glimpses of a Condor but haven’t spied one in the Park. We did, however, get good binocular looks at one soaring over our campground at Jacob Lake before we got here. That was 50 miles away!

Another specialty is the Kaibab Squirrel, a large, dark squirrel with tufted ears and a bushy white tail that is native only to the Kaibab Plateau on the north side of the Grand Canyon.

Lee's Ferry on the Colorado River

Marble Canyon at Lee's Ferry from Navajo Bridge and the sunset on the rocks above Lee's Ferry

Lee’s Ferry is a historic spot with a National Forest campground overlooking the Colorado River downstream from the Glen Canyon Dam and just inside the boundaries of Glen Canyon National Recreation Area. No hook-ups for the RV but we were able to get a prime spot overlooking the river. In fact we practically had the whole campground to ourselves, except for a couple of fishermen. During the heat of the day we decided to drive up to Page to see Lake Powell and the dam. With so many years of dropping water levels, the lake is now almost full again. We could only see a small tip of this huge lake, you need a big boat to explore its hundreds of miles but we had not been here before and were able to get a sense of how grand it is.

Stopped for a short hike from the main hiway to see “Horseshoe Bend” on the Colorado. It was a no-miss sight, and luckily it was only about a mile long trail in the 100 degree heat. Worth the sweat!

Got back to the campsite and put our feet in the icy cold river water to cool down waiting for the sun to set and bring more comfortable temperatures. Up early the next morning for a hike back up a river trail until it was time to move onto next stop.

A scenic drive along the base of the Vermilion Cliff’s brought us to a cool 8000 feet elevation and Jacob’s Lake where we spent one night before checking into campground at the North Rim of Grand Canyon.

Indian ruins and Flagstaff

Flagstaff is a nice town and offers some interesting options to visitors. Darrell and Melinda and Will and I managed to fill a pretty full day taking in Sunset Crater/Wupatki National Monuments at the edge of town, toured Riordan Mansion, checked out the historic downtown and ended the day at Lowell Observatory with a telescope viewing of some stars and star clusters in the night sky. Great company, great day!!

Flagstaff, Arizona

Its is summer-plus in Tucson with the thermometer heating up to 109 degrees. Time to head for higher ground. How about the higher elevations of Flagstaff. We met up with Darrell and Melinda Steed to enjoy the sites of the area.

It was a serendipitous visit to the Flagstaff Arboretum for a wonderful and informative program about bats. Brian Keeley, an experienced bat researcher kept a large crowd captivated with slides, experiences, and interesting facts about these flying mammals. He ended his presentation by leading us outside to a nearby pond with a "bat locater" to let us see and hear bats in action. It was great.

Doug and Tammy in New Jersey

We spent a long weekend in New Jersey visiting Doug and Tammy (and Mack). Doug is about to leave for Shanghai to start working in China so we wanted to see them before they left. We also celebrated Tammy's birthday, had a great Korean dinner with the Parks, and did some maintenance on the kid's condo getting it ready to rent out while they are gone. We are delighted for this new opportunity for them but sad for us--we miss them already.

more fishing and catching some sun

Fishing for Crappies on "the Lake."