Grand Teton National Park

The WINs moved on to Grand Teton National Park, and I was happy to go with them. This is one of my very favorites. And my favorite hike is the one to Taggart Lake. It seems like you are walking right towards the Tetons!

There she is - Taggart Lake!

On the way there, and on the way back, you go over a wooden bridge over this gushing stream.

Then on the way back to camp, we came upon this cute little moose!

We stayed at Gros Ventre campground, which is right along the Gros Ventre River. Seems like there should be some moose there, but we went over in the evening and didn't see anything.

But the next morning, there were some deer walking right by my campsite!

We then took a ride out to Mormon Row. On the way, I had to stop to take some pictures.

Mormon Row is a very famous place to take pictures of a beautiful barn with the Tetons in the background.

There are actually 2 very photogenic barns. Unfortunately, while I was busy shooting, I fell into a gopher hole and sprained my ankle. So no more hiking for me for a while...

On the way home, we stopped to look at the Cunningham Cabin. Not very impressive -

But boy, what a view!

On another evening, 4 of us did a jam for the rest of the group. I played my baritone ukulele.

Some of our audience. Since I was taking the pictures, I'm not in the pictures, but you may be able to see Jerry's video of our new theme song, with words by Paul, here.

More Fun at Flaming Gorge

One day, we took a road trip over to the Red Canyon Visitors Center, where we got a great view of the Reservoir.

Along the way, we saw some Mama and Baby Bighorn Sheep. One of the Mamas had a radio transmitter around her neck. I felt sorry for her...

Our main goal was the Flaming Gorge Dam.

The elevators were working (apparently this is rare), so we got to go to the bottom and see the generators.

Looking up from the bottom.

There were lots of Turkey Vultures flying around in front of the dam.

And lots of fish right in front of the dam, because they know this is a "no fishing zone."

On another day, 8 of us rented a motorboat to go through the canyon. We look pretty happy before we left -

But it got pretty cold when we were speeding down the canyon. (This was the beginning of June...)

The colors were gorgeous!

Thanks to Captain Kurt and Navigator Andy - great job, guys!

There were some places where the geology was unbelievable!

This looked like bricks stacked by hand!

After a while, the sun came out and we warmed up. It was a great day!

Moving On to Flaming Gorge

We next moved on to Flaming Gorge Reservoir. This is a very remote part of Utah/Wyoming. There was a beautiful view coming over the mountain, descending to the water.

We stayed at Lucerne Valley Campground - gorgeous, and right by the lake.

One of the best things about it was the abundance of Pronghorn wandering around the campground.

This hunky male had quite a harem.

This one had some really weird horns. They look backwards!

Check out those eyelashes! A clear clue that the Pronghorn are related to the Giraffe, and not the Antelope.

There were lots of Western Tanagers flying around our campground.

And these cute little gophers.

And an osprey nest right in the campground!

One Saturday when we were there was a free fishing day in Wyoming, and then the next Saturday was a free day in Utah. Since we were on the border, we scored 2 free days. However, there's a reason they call it "fishing" and not "catching."

On another day, we went on a drive on the Sheep Creek Geological Loop. And we saw some elk!

We had intended to Spirit Lake, but the snow was too deep... (This was almost a month ago...)

Lots To Do in Dinosaur Land!

Dinosaur National Monument has a lot to offer! I did several hikes. My favorite was the River Trail that leaves right from the campground, which you can barely see in the distance.

It follows the Green River up towards Split Mountain.

The colors were gorgeous!

I saw some fauna -

And flora -

Sometimes both at once!

Look at this cute little guy!

On another day, we did the Desert Voices Trail, which starts where the River Trail ends.

And then we did a trip to Moonshine Arch. The road was a bit challenging, so we walked the last little bit.

Found it! It's 8 miles outside of Vernal, Utah, and is 85 feet in length and 40 feet high.

The view from underneath -

And from the backside.

And then on our final day, I did the Fossil Discovery trail. There were actual dinosaur bones embedded in the rock that you can see from the trail!