Thursday, June 11, 2009

What I've Been Up To

So I haven't hiked in over a week because the weather has been cold, rainy, and snowy all week. Yesterday and today the sun finally came out a little, but it has been chilly and windy. Today is my Friday (I work 10 hours M-R and have a three day weekend) so I am hoping for good hiking weather all weekend so I can get out into the backcountry. 

After work yesterday, Erica and I drove through Dunraven Pass which connects Mammoth and Tower. I had not yet driven on that road and I was not disappointed. We saw tons of wildlife, including buffalo, elk, deer, coyote, and most exciting, a moose! There was a bit of a "moose-jam" along the road where the moose was standing in a pond eating. I am pretty sure this is the first moose I have ever seen, and it was really close to the road. It made me wish Colin's mom, Cindy was there to see it, as moose are by far her favorite animal. We stopped and observed the moose for about 20 minutes before continuing on down the road. 





We also stopped at Tower Falls and it was really beautiful and dramatic. From there, we drove to Canyon, in the hope that the outfitter store there would be open. I really need rain covers for my hiking packs, as it has been raining a lot here. Unfortunately, the outfitter was closed, so we got some ice cream to cheer ourselves up and then headed back towards Mammoth. The drive between Tower and Canyon was really beautiful, climbing up and over a mountain pass. There was still lots of snow along the road and in the mountains and it was even more beautiful to drive through that area as the sun was setting. 

Tower Falls

The beautiful pass between Tower and Canyon


Beautiful sunset


This morning I noticed a beautiful sunrise and took some pictures. Today definitely started off on the right foot. Today at work we drove all around the park to pick up a Moran journal from a courier and modify an exhibit in Fishing Bridge. To read more about this in detail, check out my internship blog here. We did stop for lunch at the beautiful Old Faithful Inn and watched Old Faithful erupt from a second story porch before heading to Fishing Bridge. 

The sunrise this morning

The lobby of the Old Faithful Inn

Old Faithful getting ready to erupt

Old Faithful begins to erupt

2 comments:

  1. Since there was some question as to whether that critter we saw outside madison was in fact a moose, I'm glad you have your first verified sighting. Great photos, especially the sunset. Enjoy your weekend.

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  2. You know who else would be excited to see that moose... Moose!

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