Hey Folks

Today’s my mum’s birthday! Happy birthday, mum! Mum refers to October as her ‘birthday month’, meaning she celebrates her birthday for the entire month of October.. which translates to ‘whatever mum wants goes for the month of October’. Pretty nifty deal, for her, I spose. Anyway, it’s all OK, because she’s mum. Happy birthday, mum – Love you!

We’re winding up our trip together now. We spent one evening in Grand Teton National Park, and returned to Yellowstone because the weather down in the Tetons wasn’t so conducive to a great birthday .. rainy and cold and cloudy skies meant we couldn’t really get to see those mountains in all their majesty, though the fall color was, as usual, quite the spectacle. The Tetons are awesome, and we did enjoy the place, but felt that with overcast skies, with a low ceiling, we may as well head back through Yellowstone and enjoy the wildlife there. Not a bad idea, as it turns out, because we saw a bunch more elk, mule deer, black bear, and had a herd of bison walk right past us along the road – it’s a neat experience watching a bull bison weighing over a ton saunter past you from about 5′ away, giving a little sideways glance out his eye as he goes by. Bison rock.

We also got see a nice young bull moose in Grand Teton National Park, right by, appropriately enough, Moose Junction. I got some decent images of him, with great fall colors from the cottonwoods along the Snake River in the background. It would’ve been great to see him walk across the road in front of the Moose Junction sign, but such wasn’t to be, today. As always, it was cool getting a nice good look at a wild animal, and the bull was very tolerant of us, allowing a great experience. Later, we saw a bull elk herding his cows, a harem of over 30 female elk, towards Lamar Valley in Yellowstone National Park. That was very cool, hearing him bugle and call to all who would listen that this was his moment. Elk in the fall are one of my favorite animals to be around, and this was an evening we’ll all remember for a long time, I’m sure. We camped at Mammoth, and had a nice early dinner, then off to bed. Another great day with my parents and the Rockies for company – not too shabby!

Happy birthday mum – I hope you enjoy your present!

Cheers

Carl

PS – Hey Folks

A special note before my dad reads this and makes the obvious comment. The photo posted above is NOT of my mother, rather it’s a young bull moose who lives in Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming. My mum was in the vehicle on the road behind me, about 100 yards away.

Here’s a photo of my mum:

And here’s a photo of my mum and dad:

Both photos were taken at the overlook above Peyto Lake, Banff National Park, Alberta, Canada.