Tetons - Day 2

It's a bit sad that we will be leaving the Greater Yellowstone Area tomorrow and heading home.  We will do some fun stuff on our way back, but nothing will be quite like the last week.

Today was such a fun time.  We started the day with a nature hike up Lunch Tree Hill at Jackson Lake Lodge.  We spent an hour with a naturalist, and heard more of the history and geology of the area.

You can see the roof of Jackson Lake Lodge in the background.  The Tetons and Jackson Lake are to the right (out of the picture)

After our walk, we boarded a bus and headed for a 2 hour float trip down the Snake River - named not for the abundance of snakes but for how it meanders through the valley.

The trip included lunch with grilled hamburgers and hotdogs at the river's edge, and then we boarded the rafts.

Zoe as photographer

lunch/ picnic site

the kitchen

our raft

Once we were given all the safety instructions and what would happen to us if we fell out of the boat, we were off.  We floated for 2 hours from north to south along the East side of the Tetons.

The kids had a blast (and we did too).  We were lucky to get one of teh smaller rafts that only fits about 8 people.  The guides are always entertaining.

we saw 4 bald eagles along the way

And at the very end of the trip, the guide noticed lots of people looking at something off a nearby bridge.  He said, "gotta be a moose"   He was right.  We beached the boat and all RAN to see it.  Ian said the one animal he wanted to see on our trip was a moose.  Moose are getting rarer in the area as their populations decline.  We got lucky.  It was a big bull moose on the river side eating.  It made the whole trip!

Tomorrow we leave Jackson Lake Lodge.  If there is anything I can say about it, it is that to days here is not enough.  Jackson Lake Lodge has so much to do.  It's like a big summer camp for families.  Hiking, raft trips, horseback riding, wagon rides, a pool...it is little camp-like resort, western style.  

morning view from the great room at Jackson Lake Lodge

The view the whole time you are in the Tetons.