18th May:

We had another late start today …….. 10.30! This is becoming a habit!😴

Although the day was warm there was a definite chill in the air and there was a strange cloud-like cover on the mountains all day.

We had quite an exciting start to the day when we discovered one of Si’s sunrises had been published in the Wyoming Cowboy State Daily, a digital newspaper. I subscribed to it when we were here last year and I noticed everyday they published a sunrise of the day. I decided I would send in one of Si’s he took earlier in the week at Schwabacher Landing. I couldn’t believe it when I saw it had been published this morning! 😱was my reaction.

Today was our last full day in the Tetons so we decided to check out the wildlife one last time. We were quite successful ………. apart from Grizzly 399. We went back twice today and while the road was still packed with people we don’t know if anyone actually saw her  but we certainly didn’t. It appears she must have crossed the road at some point with her cub as all the photographers were on the opposite of the road this afternoon.

We went to check out where we found the bison yesterday but they had moved on, there was not one to be seen. When we drove back 45 minutes later there was a whole herd of them. Where they had been hiding goodness only knows.

Likewise with the elk, apart from two lonely ones off in the distance, the whole herd had vanished too. Something strange’s going on with the wildlife we thought!

However, on our drive out this afternoon we saw this fine chap right on the side of the road. We drove round the corner and bam, there was an elk jam. Air bags were very nearly deployed!! 😱

We did mange to see a moose in the Gros Ventre area.

In between chasing wildlife we came back to the cabin for lunch. A big shoutout here goes to Stefan and Stephanie in the cabin behind ours. Stefan used to be a chef and last night they brought round two plates of pork chops with the best sauce ever, mashed potatoes with corn, carrots and gravy. Well, to say it was fabulous would be an understatement. Si said it was the best meal he’s had since we arrived in the Tetons. 😀 I told Stephanie that we would adopt Stefan and take him home with us. I would never need to cook a meal again! 😂

They have both had a few very difficult days as their beloved dog Lola, aged 13.5 years, has been very poorly and sadly today, she passed away. All the pet lovers reading this will understand how heart-wrenching it is to lose such a well-loved best friend. Even though they were going through such a bad time they were still thinking of others. Another kindness shown to us. 🥰

We went back to check on the Sandhill Crane this afternoon and although the eggs haven’t hatched yet we did manage to catch the bird standing up and if you look carefully at the bottom of the photographs you can just see the eggs. 👏 At one point she seemed to be moving the eggs around in the nest.

We don’t know what was going on in Jackson today but there were dozens and dozens of cyclists on the cycle paths. We assume it was a charity ride. There were all ages and many different types of bikes.

Jackson has great cycle paths that people use for cycling and running.

A couple of days ago I put on a photograph of a bird that we didn’t know the name of so just called it a flycatcher. Today however, Si was chatting with a young lady who knew the correct name ……. it’s a Yellow Crested Warbler. You learn something every day.

Tomorrow will be a driving day as we leave to overnight in Salt Lake City before driving to Las Vegas for our flight home on Sunday.

I’m sure you’ll be pleased to know that I’ve done a practice pack today and am pleased to report that everything fits in nicely so no need to purchase an extra suitcase this year for the flight back home. 👏

We’ve had the most fabulous time in the Tetons. It’s such a beautiful place. We weren’t able to do all the hiking we wanted as a lot of the trails are still closed either because of the remaining snow or bear activity. It’s at this time that the bears come out of hibernation with their cubs so it’s a very dangerous time for us humans. 🐻😱

Please join us tomorrow in Salt Lake City!