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Tuesday, September 28, 2021

5 days in Yellowstone and Tetons with Road Scholar

 This trip, at the end of September, was with Road Scholar but was run by the Teton Science School in Jackson WY. The first snow of the season greeted us and made the Tetons stand out. Our first hike was to Bradley and Taggart lake.


This is the view  from the Teton Science School parking lot that morning.



Just before arriving at the entrance station we saw our only grizzly bear from the bus window. He moved fast into the trees and this is the best shot I got.


This is either Bradley or Taggert lake from early on the hike.







Raindrops on the Huckleberry bushes by the lake shore


mushrooms comming up thru some ground cover, Knikknick?


Fall colors in the bushes.


Trying to get sun sparkle on the lake.


Waterfall in one of the gaps between the main Teton peaks.


Aspens had started to change but got better day by day.






This is a kind of Arnica I suppect.



Snowberrys grow much larger here than on Mt Charleston.



The sun came out at the end of the hike giving us a good view of the range.











An Astor.


Comming to the second day of hiking we  loaded up and took the bus north thru the Tetons to Yellowstone stopping to walk around some of the points of interest. We spent that night in a park lodge in yellowstone.


View from the deck of the Jackson Lake Lodge of the Tetons.



Closer zoom.


Deer from the same deck


Bull elk from the deck also.


Zoomed in view of the mountain with snow.


One of the Giant Ravens common in the park.

We continued up the road by Yellowstone lake and visited some of the thermal features by the lake.


Red grasses (sedges?) by a milky hot pool.






A Killdeer by the lake shore.


















A flock of Goldeneyes.


A common Eider.


Colors in the thermal seeps.


Deep clear thermal pool







Lichens on a log.





We came to a Bison jam.








Wet from crossing the river on the roadside.


Our hike today was through some meadows on the way to the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone. We saw a bison on the trail.


Bison rub on trees and leave trace evidence. A hair.


Small pond on the hike.


Boiling mud pot on the trail.


Walls on the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone.


The falls there.


Wider view of the falls.








Day three. took us to Noris Geyser basin, toward Mammoth Hot Springs resort where we spent our 4th night.

Calcified trees in Noris basin.


Colorful algaes and bacteria in the hot streams.


It was a cold morning and steam formed frost on the grass.





Down the road we came to swans in a lake.









Arriving at Mammoth terraces.


A spruce tree. You can tell spruce from firs by the cones. Fir cones stand upright and are not shed. Spruce cones dangle and are all over the ground.



Aspen


Aspen


Violets


























Elk blocking the trail.






Sleeping elk


Drummer on the hill










On day 4 we went back to the Teton Science School for the final two nights of the trip;

Sandhill Cranes















Common Mergansers



















Old Faithful































Pussypaws ?











Fringed Gentian











































Last day was a ride in a ski lift to a mountain where we could walk up an additional 1300 ft to around 10,400 feet.












Sticxky Geranium









Blue flax







Pika