Saying good-bye to the Tetons

August 4th already and 2 weeks into this vacation.  Amazing how many wonderful sites we have visited and places we have seen.  We awoke to another fabulous clear blue sky.  This area needs rain as many of the streams and small ponds are low on water.  Tonight we pack up and leave for Yellowstone.  We have spoken with people who have just come from there and tell us to expect more traffic, more construction, and yes, mosquitoes.  We can't check in until 1PM so we won't be getting up at the crack of dawn this time.  I know I will survive the next seven days without electricity.  But if we only had one outlet for the electric blanket that would be so nice.  I know you camping purist don't understand, but I gave up tent camping many years ago!  Today on the trail people had seen a mama bear and two cubs early in the morning.  Later only one cub would be seen.  No bear sightings by us. 

August 2nd:  The Colter Bay area in the Tetons.  Last night it was our coldest night; 48 in the RV. Good thing we had a scheduled move to another campground < ¼ mile away with full hookups. So tonight I can plug in the electric blanket and keep toasty warm (no kidding we do have my mom’s old blanket to use).  No open campfires are allowed so Phil really misses his campfires.  We use a small Weber grill and have to bring it inside every night.  There is a list of "bear" regulations taped to every picnic table. 

We continue to have wonderful weather. There have been minimal to no bugs. Tonight we ate dinner outside and it was so nice. In this campground there are a lot of children riding bikes or running around making lots of noises as they weave through the park.  One evening as we were driving home, there was cars pulled off to the side of the road.  The park rangers were there directing traffic as a bear in the woods could be seen. It was a cinnamon black bear according to the rangers. You have to look close to see the bear in the photo.  A couple on one of our hikes, alerted us to a moose in a pond just ahead. Sure enough by the time we arrived, it was still playing and eating. It was a challenge for Phil to take the shot as the terrain was sloping.

The wildflowers on are hike today were more than I could ever had hoped to see. The plants were much taller, than what we had seen before. The hillside was strewn with purple, white, and yellow flowers. We are trying to identify the flowers, from a reference book loaned to me, but it is not easy. We have seen (or I think we have) Canada Thistle, Lupine, Mules-Ears and Blanket Flowers (sun flower family), Paintbrush, Balsamroot, Spatterdock (aquatic found in a pond), Common Blue Camas, Mountain Bluebell, Larkspur, to name just a few.

Farewell to the Tetons.  Yellowstone here we come!