Grand Teton's

  We made it to the Grand Teton's today, the 13th of July. I will say we were a little slow on the move today, soaking in a much needed nights sleep. The bummer about leaving later in the day to a National Park your not doing yourself any favors in hopes to see wildlife as the optimal times are Dawn or Dusk, not after lunch.  The other downside today was that it was cloudy making me yearn for the sun to come out as the peaks were shrouded in clouds.

   It was odd. We expected the Grand Teton National Park to be much larger. I mean after spending two days in 2.2 million acres of amazement, we wanted nothing less going forward. As expected, we didn't see too much wildlife. We did see some deer. Also, the Bison didn't disappoint. However, after many attempts to grab the Teton Mountain Range in all its glory but feeling denied by mother nature, I told Dale we need to  take in at least one good hike. It has been a tough proposition as Luke has dictated how far he wants to walk these last few days, some good, some not so good. We told him he could be he leader and we would go where ever he wanted. We chose Tarrget Lake. It was a small hike, 0.6 mile. I guess you could call it a stroll. However, it had a fork in the road and like every young adventurer, he chose the path less traveled which was 2.2 miles.
  I was excited as I wanted, as mentioned before, to go on one "good" hike. We get about a mile in and Luke is done, I mean meltdown done. I was determined to continue on. We got another 1/2 mile in and Luke drew the line in the sand. It was starting to thunder and rain was imminent. This time Dale took charge and onward we went. We were like .2 miles from our intended target and everyone in a mile could hear Luke tell us in no uncertain terms he was NOT happy with any of us now. I was ready to let Dale, Tim and Craig go on and I would start back with Luke. Tim came to the rescue, lifting Luke on his shoulders. It would so happen that we ran into a steep incline. We made it to Tarrget Lake, 3 miles up from where we started. It started to rain but it didn't matter, it was a breathtaking view even with the clouds covering the peaks. As Tim took a picture of Dale and me, we saw a Bald Eagle soar above.
  Tim carried Luke down the second part of the circled loop. We stopped. We saw a Black Bear 50 yards from us. It was a cub. We watched it for a bit until it disappeared into the brush and ventured on. About half way to the bottom, we saw a Moose and its baby grazing. They were 20 yards from us. Again, we gazed in wonderment.
  We finished our 0.6 mile trek that became a 4.8 mile hike in the Grand Teton Mountain range seeing a Black Bear, a Moose and a Bald Eagle. So glad we kept going. Another Great Day in the state of Wyoming.