Part Seven: Day at the Grand Tetons

We couldn't go to Wyoming without going to the Grand Tetons. Mike and I have spent many hours, days, nights in this amazing mountain range while we were kid-free and living nearby in Utah. It was so fun to take our whole family this time around. The itinerary has changed over the years and instead of waking up at 2am to climb the Grand, we woke up at 6am and drove to Jenny Lake for a boat ride to the trail head of Cascade Canyon. With snacks, packs and kiddos we hiked back about 3 miles in. What a day! It was soooo beautiful!
There's those mountains we love so much.
We even spotted a Bald Eagle as we arrived at the trail head.Lucas is such a good hiker. He had no problem with this trail which after the first section is actually really flat. Great for running if you wanted to do something crazy like that. :)
And the view...AMAZING! If you've never been to the Tetons (Darcy) it is something you must go see! :)Throwing a few rocks is always fun.
Shoulder rides are pretty good too. :)Photos don't give the feel of really being there but we soaked it up as much as possible.
I heard some grunting along the trail so Mike set off to explore while I took the boys further down the trail to keep things quiet. To Daddy's surprise, there was a family of moose. However, they were content to sit down in the shade for most of the time. Daddy was patient and finally got a nice shot.
After Daddy stalked the moose for a few hours while we made bow & arrows, we realized that we only had one hour to get back to the boat. Out came the baby bjorn for Axel and in the pack back went Lucas. Mike and I literally RAN back to the boat...3 miles or so and yes, we made it. Phew! If not, it would have been an extra 2 miles to hike around the lake.
As we were headed out of town, we saw a gaggle of cars at Oxbow Lookout. Again, Mike set out with camera to investigate. Mommy and the boys played with our new bow & arrow and hung out at the car. Wildlife photography and two loud little boys don't really go hand in hand. We made it work because Daddy got some great photos...way more than I have posted.

Mike found a family of moose again but this time the big male was protecting his territory from a younger more handsome "teenage" moose. The Bull was not messing around. He scared the younger one across the river and Mike witnessed the whole thing. So cool.

This is where it started: Teenage Moose sees hot Mama Moose
Oh no, Mama Moose has Big Husband:and he doesn't look like one to mess with.

Here's Mama, Papa and Kiddo Moose:
Young Handsome Moose makes a good choice to swim across the river.
Here he is making sure there is really no way to get to the hot Mama Moose. Sorry dude, she's taken!
Here's Papa proudly standing his ground.
What a treat. Mike has been looking for a Bull Moose to take photos of for YEARS. Great photos Daddy!

Another treat happened as we were driving home. We looked in our rear view mirror to see this...definitely worth an extra stop before heading back to Lander. :) Oh how we miss those mountains!
We do love the Tetons.