Wyoming, Day 2

Incredibly, the kids and we are acclimating to the altitude and time change really well. I think the kids are sleeping so well because of two key reasons: 1. they are walking, running, hiking from the moment they are awake until they crash at 9pm, and 2. they are playing ALL day with their cousins. Sheer exhaustion works wonders.

Yesterday, everyone but CJ, her cousin (and favorite playmate) Nathan, and her Uncle Tai, went on a river float down the Snake River. It was a three hour tour, but luckily our guide wasn't named Skipper or Gilligan and we arrived at the end successfully. It was a gorgeous experience to see the Grand Tetons from the river and all the splendor of this amazing landscape. We floated in the exact spot that Ansel Adams took his famous photo, "Grand Teton and two bends of the Snake river". Pretty cool

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Our Pictures of the day are below.

We also did some touring after dinner looking for wildlife. Alexander has a checklist of the animals we need to see before leaving. It includes Bear (grizzly or black, or both), a Moose, Beaver, and a Bison. Some are definitely going to be harder than others. While our goal last night was to see some beaver activity in a place called Schwabacher Landing, all we got was a mucky pond, a few beaver dams, and some bugs. John, Zack and I were perfectly content to hang out after sunset and wait for these nocturnal animals to emerge, but alas the rest of the group wanted to set off.

"Seen" Wildlife Counter:
Moose = 3
Elk = 2 (mama and baby)
Bison = hundreds
Bald Eagles = 4 (including an eaglet)
Fox = 2
Porcupine = 1
Osprey = Several
Chipmunks = Several (they are different out here. small, grey and black with fluffy long tails.)