DAY SIX: Moose spotting!

We drove back from dinner in Moose, WY, searching near and far for the elusive moose in the areas where the locals suggested we might see one. You would think that Moose would be abundant in a town called "Moose", but not so. Our rafting guide said he hadn't seen many this year, and had not seen a buck in about a year. I was pessimistic and down-trodden as usual.
It was nearing dark and we had almost given up when Dave decided to turn down one last road. "Oh well, maybe next time", I sighed, when all of a sudden Sabrina yelled "DADDY! MOOSE!". There, out in a marshy pond we saw him - a BUCK moose, with velvetty antlers. He was laying down with only his head showing and could have been easily missed, but Sabrina's keen eyes spotted him in the distance. We got out of the car and just watched him. We weren't sure if he was standing, stuck in the bog, or laying down. We made all kinds of racket (grunts and howls) to get him to move, but he stayed still other than his ears moving when we would make noise.


Finally, just before it was almost too dark to see him, he stood up. What a mammoth creature, with the sweetest eyes and beautiful dark fur and fuzzy antlers. He didn't seem interested in us at all, and made his way closer to where we were, grazing on the grass around him. He was about 20 feet from us at the closest point, and we stayed there until it was too dark to see him, and for the camera to pick him up. This made our day and our trip complete!

DAY SIX: Jackson Hole/Snake River Rafting Trip

We had our cobbler dessert at Dornan's in the teepee

Morning fish on Flat Creek with a big catch!

Sabrina was not quite sure about this whole "chuckwagon" concept - that's my girl!

Dornan's Chuckwagon in Moose, Wyoming

Beef stew, mashed potatoes & carrots cooked over the fire

You couldn't beat the view at this place!

Scenery on our Snake River float trip

Lunch at the MANGY MOOSE

View from our hotel across from Flat Creek where Dave was fishing. Sabrina said she wanted to enjoy her "coffee on the porch" (hot chocolate)

Saturday night arrival back in to Jackson Hole after a gorgeous drive through Idaho.

After having our drive through Idaho on Saturday (with dinner in Driggs), we drove over the Teton Pass and back into Jackson Hole for our last two nights. Sunday we had a relaxing morning at the hotel (see view from our room) while Dave spent a few morning hours fishing for the last time. This time he caught 8 fish! He really learned a lot from his fishing lesson with Sydney & Erik back in Montana and the fish were a little more cooperative this time!

We had lunch at the MANGY MOOSE in Teton Village, and then spent the afternoon on a "Scenic float" trip on the Snake River for a few hours. Nate was a bit concerned at first, but by the end of the trip he was ready for some whitewater which he will be eligible for when he's 6. We saw 9 bald eagles and some cows, but no moose yet. Since we had seen the buffalo, antelope, elk, deer and bear, we were still holding out for the moose.

We had dinner at Dornan's Chuckwagon in Moose, WY which has been there for 62 years as a popular spot for those traveling between Grand Teton National Park and Yellowstone. I had read about as having a spectacular outside dining view with mediocre food - strangely enough, we were sold! It was the old chuckwagon style, cooked over a fire and not exactly my kind of food, but it was a whole "experience" and the view was worth it!

DAY FIVE: Big Sky, MT/Drive through Idaho and back to Jackson Hole, WY

Mountain Man Rendezvous, West Yellowstone, MT

Mountain Man Rendezvous, West Yellowstone, MT

Mountain Man Rendezvous, West Yellowstone, MT

Idaho Farmland

Back to Jackson Hole for our last 2 nights

We stayed at the River Rock Lodge in Big Sky, MT

We woke up this morning to discover our car had a flat tire, so that delayed us a bit and we didn't get to see much around Big Sky before heading back south to Jackson where we are spending our last two nights. After passing through West Yellowstone, MT, we came across a the "Mountain Man Rendezvous" right on our way out of town which turned out to be a fantastic find with real cowboys, arts and crafts, tamahawk throwing, candy shooting out of guns for the kids, animal skins, bones, fur, coonskin hats, etc. The kids had a ball!

Our drive through the Targhee National Forest in Idaho was gorgeous, even though it rained on & off throughout the day. The landscape changed to farmland with rolling hills and velvetty green carpets. We made two more stops for some roadside fishing on the Gallatin near the Yellowstone National Forest and again near Hebgen Lake, had mexican for dinner in Driggs and drove into Jackson Hole right at sunset.

DAY FOUR: Bozeman/Dave's fishing trip

We had a relaxing morning at Chico Hot Springs in Pray, MT with a morning hike and a little fishing for the kids before headeding back towards Livingston, and west to Bozeman where we were to meet up with some friends of a friend who were taking Dave out fishing. He had an amazing day fishing first the Gallatin River, where the movie "A River Runs Through It" was filmed. Since the fish weren't biting there, they then took him to Spanish Creek which is actually on Ted Turner's property (on public roads), 20,000 acres which he said was just breathtaking. He found success on Spanish Creek, and caught 4 brook trout. YEAH! All this fishing with no catching was getting a bit discouraging! Along with enjoying the process and success and company, Dave learned a lot about fly fishing - there is a lot of strategy, technique and skill involved in this sport that he is new to. He loved the whole day, and they fished until after dark!

After walking around Main Street in Bozeman, the kids and I went to the Museum of the Rockies which has an amazing dinosaur exhibit and some interactive learning experiences for the kids, as well as a "Living History Farm" showing what life was like in years past. Funny how showing the kids things like washboards, water that you have to punmp, woodburning stoves and non-electronic toys are so hard for them to imagine! Then we went to the Sweet Pea festival, an arts & crafts festival in downtown Bozeman. After meeting back up with Dave, we headed to Big Sky, about 45 minutes south of Bozeman for our last stay in Montana.

DAY THREE: Yellowstone Part 2 / Dave's Bday

Fishing the Madison River, a 2nd fishing stop that morning.

We saw another bison today, as well as elk, another bear and an antelope too!

The kids fed the ground squirrels who were so cute and friendly!

The boiling river - this water was HOT!

The "Grand Canyon" of Yellowstone

Elk

Trail ride near Livingston

Mr. Miley reading us his cowboy poetry

My Mountain Man!

Mr. Miley made our cowboy supper over the fire

They even had a birthday cake for Dave

Happy 40th Birthday, Dave!

Dave's birthday started in West Yellowstone, Montana and then back into Wyoming where we first stopped for Dave to do some fishing on the Madison River (still no catch!) while the kids fell in love with and fed the ground squirrels who were very tame and friendly, squeeking all around our car looking for food. Then we toured part of the upper loop, visiting some falls and the "Grand Canyon" of Yellowstone.

We also went to the "Boiling River" which was recommended to us by our friend (Kim Ragenovich who is from Bozeman and traveled with us on the Mississippi and Mozambique mission trips) as a hot spot that's not listed on the park map. It is where the Gardiner River meets one of the hot springs (Mammoth?) and you can literally stand with one foot in hot water and one foot in the cold river! It was a mile hike with the kids and we only got to spend about 10 minutes there as we had a reservation for the trail ride we had to meet. We can now see why they say it takes a week to see Yellowstone, since we barely skimmed the surface in 2 days.

We exited the park's north gate near Gardiner, MT and headed north towards Livingston where we took our trail ride through Montana's beautiful meadows and mountains. As we arrived, the sky opened up and it started pouring down rain, but it only lasted a few minutes and we were cleared for take-off. As they prepared our horses, the kids played with the barn kittens and the dog (Lacey) who attached himself to Nate who is not really a dog-lover but won him over. It was Nate's first time on a horse, and Sabrina's first time without being lead by another horse as Nate was this time, by Kaitlyn (from Kalamazoo, oddly) who is out working on the ranch for the summer for her Uncle, Mr. Miley. Montana has such beautiful scenery, we just looked around as we traveled from scenic spot to spot.

When we returned back to the barn, Mr. Miley had ourcowboy supper ready consisting of strip steak, beans, potatoes, apple cobbler (all cooked over the fire) and lemonade. While we ate, he read us his own original cowboy poetry and then brought out the birthday cake they had prepared for Dave. For Dave's 40th, I wanted to do something really special, and somehow having dinner at a restaurant just didn't seem like enough. Dave said it was his best birthday and birthday meal ever, so I think he was happy with the choice.

From Livingston we drove south to Pray where we checked into the Chico Hot Springs Resort which was also recommended to us by our friend Kim. Apparently it's a "hot spot" (no pun intended) for locals and celebrities for their hot springs pool which looks like a normal swimming pool but is water pumped in from the hot springs and ranges in temps from 98-103 degrees. Though it was late, we took the kids to the pool since it is their most favorite thing in the world these days. All in all, a wonderful day and a happy bday for our Daddy Dave. Thanks for all the bday calls and e-mails, sorry we missed some of you as our phone service has been very spotty in the mountains. Until next time...