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Tag Archives: Outdoors
A Morning Camping…
While camping in Grand Tetons, we were able to see this mighty Bull Moose, I’ve posted other pics of him here…
Before spotting him though, Mark and I were outside, blissfully enjoying our first cup of hot coffee for the morning, It was one of the more cool mornings we had at Gros Ventre campground. A car stopped beside our trailer and parked on the road. It was a bit strange because the road was closed just a bit down the road. The guy finally got out with his camera and gear, which perked my interest! We grabbed our camera’s and woke up our oldest and let her know we were going on a walk. In just a couple of steps up and out of campsite and to the other side of the road we could see what made the other guy stop…
What we thought were two mule deer bucks, ended up being three!
We hung out for a while there and noticed another guy walking right past the deer, with a huge camera. We decided to follow him just a little ways which led to…
This is what we came back to at the campsite…
The kids roasting mini-marshmallows around the fire… 🙂
What a wonderful way to start the day!
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Little Calf…
Falling…
We are enjoying the vibrant colors of fall this year! For some reason it seems to be especially spectacular…
Aspen leaves are my absolute favorite!
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Macro Monday
Today’s Flowers
21 Yards…
Guess who we got a close-up of? In the pouring rain.
Actually too close for comfort… She was ranged at 21 yards. A grizzly can cover 50 feet in a second!
This big, sow grizzly bear…
Luckily, she was hungry for berries and not something with a little more protein…
The grizzly bear is a North American subspecies of the brown bear.
These awe-inspiring giants tend to be solitary animals—with the exception of females and their cubs—but at times they do congregate. Dramatic gatherings of grizzly bears can be seen at prime Alaskan fishing spots when the salmon run upstream for summer spawning. In this season, dozens of bears may gather to feast on the fish, craving fats that will sustain them through the long winter ahead.
Brown bears dig dens for winter hibernation, often holing up in a suitable-looking hillside. Females give birth during this winter rest and their offspring are often twins.
Grizzly bears are powerful, top-of-the-food-chain predators, yet much of their diet consists of nuts, berries, fruit, leaves, and roots. Bears also eat other animals, from rodents to moose.
Grizzlies are typically brown, though their fur can appear to be white-tipped, or grizzled, lending them their traditional name.
Despite their impressive size, grizzlies are quite fast and have been clocked at 30 miles (48 kilometers) an hour. They can be dangerous to humans, particularly if surprised or if humans come between a mother and her cubs.
Find more info here…
What she’s hunting for…
The delicious huckleberry!
Vaccinium membranaceum Douglas ex Hooker, known as the black, big, or thin-leaved huckleberry, grows throughout forested areas in Idaho, western Montana, western Wyoming, Washington, Oregon, and British Columbia. Small disjunct populations occur in Utah, California, Arizona, and Michigan. This species is sometimes called the globe huckleberry in Montana and some taxonomists identify plants in the eastern Rocky Mountains as Vaccinium globulare Rydberg. In 2000, Idaho designated huckleberries, of which black huckleberry is by far the most common in Idaho, as the state fruit. This species served as an especially important source of food for Native American peoples throughout western North America and the dried berries were used for winter food and trade.
Vaccinium membranaceum is found at elevations between about 2,000 and 11,500 feet, with many productive sites located between 4,000 and 6,000 feet elevation. This tetraploid is commonly found along forest roads and in clear cuts and burns about ten to fifteen years old, often growing among true firs (Abies sp.), hemlock (Tsuga sp.), and bear grass (Xerophyllum tenax Michx.). Vaccinium membranaceumgrows from one to six feet tall and produces flavorful berries up to one-half inch in diameter. Color ranges from glossy or glaucous black to purple to red, with rare white berries. Vaccinium membranaceum is, by far, the most widely commercialized western huckleberry used for fruit and is harvested extensively from the wild.Vaccinium membranaceum is adapted to cool, short seasons and high elevations. When grown at low elevations, the plants often deacclimate during winter warm spells or early spring and are damaged by subsequent freezes. The early-blooming plants are also susceptible to late spring frosts. Vaccinium membranaceum is rhizomatous, has a sparse root system, and mature plants seldom survive transplanting.
Find more info here…
Off in the distance…
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Waterton Bull Moose…
On our recent trip to Waterton, Alberta we were lucky enough to spot this guy two separate times…
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Fuzzy Flowers…
While in Waterton, Alberta, Canada this past weekend we spotted several of these “fuzzy” wildflowers. The bees seemed to love them! I can’t seem to find what they are though, so if you happen to know give me leave me a comment! 😉 Please!!
The wildflowers were at there peak. It left us breathless viewing the open prairie or hillsides full of these different beauties and then the mountains jutting up behind them.
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Macro Monday
Today’s Flowers
Under the Pier…
On our last day of our trip to La Jolla, CA a couple of years ago we drove south for a bit and spotted this beautiful scene…
We had to stop and investigate!
Passing ship…
Then under the pier…
Not much left holding this one in place!
I am unsure of what type of bird this is but it sure was neat seeing it walk up with waves…
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A Taste of Spring Sunshine…
There is nothing better in the cold, dark, dreary days of winter than for the days to start feeling a bit spring-ish. We spent a wonderful, warm day on Lake McDonald in Glacier Park with the sun warming our backs.
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Kings…
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