Again, I thought we were up early enough to get out for the morning light, but I was wrong. It was too late to get to Schwabacher Road in Grand Teton National Park. I opted instead for a catch basin where a Ranger had said there were many moose. It was just a mile down Moose/Wilson Road behind the Craig Thomas Discovery and Visitor Center. There was only one other car there, but no signs of moose.
We hiked a pathway along the water and stood quietly for 10 to 15 minutes at each spot before moving on. We heard some wild sounds that I think might have been turkeys (certainly not sure). We saw a blue heron doing some early morning fishing and we caught a fleeting glimpse of the backsides of quickly retreating elk in a far off meadow, but no moose sightings.
The early sun casts a pink glow across the slough.
After an hour and a half, hunger was starting to become more important than seeing a big, old, ugly moose anyway, so we headed back to the coach. While Joani started breakfast, I took Sam out for his morning walk. Not more than a half dozen sites from our coach was a big cow moose and her calf.
I had finally learned to always have a camera with me, so I was able to snap a few pictures. Sam had no idea what we were doing since he could not see over the brush. If he had, he might have barked and frightened them away. A small crowd gathered and the moose seemed oblivious to the paparazzi.
After 20 minutes, or so, Sam and I headed home. I asked Joani if she wanted to try and see them and we headed back out. They had only wandered maybe 50 yards from where I had last seen them and we were able to get some very nice shots (from a respectable distance, of course).
The moose just casually meandered amongst the campsites munching on leaves and grasses. At one point, a guy was backing out of his tent and I asked if the moose woke him up. He turned to me with a sleepy, half awake look and said "what?". I pointed to the moose six feet on the other side of his small tent and he jumped a little and then quietly called to his wife to take a look out of the window. I bet that was a morning they will not soon forget!
The Motorcycle Mini-Mate Camper, seen behind the moose, is adorable!
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