Don't have much time to write, spent too much time on Landon's christmas gift. If you all could be so lucky.
Enjoy the Instructable, and vote for us in the "Home Made Holidays" contest found here.
Homemade Tauntaun Bag (Sleeping Bag Mod) - More DIY How To Projects
There is nothing about Wyoming that you can't love... All I heard as we passed under this arch of antlers was "Oh, all those poor animals, that's horrible!" Every town in the state has one of these collections, which might be a bit too "western" for certain people from England.
Passed plenty of the local wildlife on the way to the park. We learned that not all of the animals in Wyoming end up on a wall or in an arch.
Arrival after 6 hours in the car.
There is a Grey Wolf and a Bald Eagle in this photo, see if you can spot them. We also learned that telescopic lenses for cameras are good.
Tamsin found a Grizzly Bear on our first day. Despite our best attempts, we never attracted one to the campsite with our cooking.
I decided on a North American version of the Big 5: Grizzly Bear, Wolf, Elk, Bison, and Moose. We finally saw this Moose and calf on our way out of the parks.
Another first for Tamsin: Canoeing on Jackson Lake in Grand Teton National Park. The view was pretty super neat.
Which is mostly thanks to her navigator/paddler/native guide Brandon
The biggest Elk we saw, doing his best to cause a traffic jam. Apparently, large antlers attract Japanese tourists which probably explains the arches in the towns on the way. Touche Wyoming, very crafty indeed...
Seriously, the best trout fishing I have ever experienced. We found a quiet little stream in the middle of the park where, as you can see, the wildlife was up close. The fish were also very cooperative...
Tamsin caught her first (trophy) fish! Here is how it happened, Tamsin was getting bored after a few minutes and just flicking her line into the stream, when suddenly I heard the ZZZZZZZZZZZZ of her line going out followed by screams of panic. Screams that continued as she jerked the fish out of the water. By this time, cars were stopping on the nearby road and I am sure the park rangers received several reports of a bear attack. Apparently when I was teaching her how to fish I had forgotten to mention what to do when she actually caught a fish. But check out that monster Brown Trout. Of course, she wasn't quite as experienced as me, so obviously I caught the bigger fish on the day...
OK maybe not, but it's quality that counts right?
Doesn't that Bison realize that a double line indicates a no passing zone??
Tower Falls is one of the more famous attractions here, very impressive.
I may start birdwatching as my new hobby, there were a lot of them to be watched. Here is a big Sandhill Crane nesting.
I really had the urge for a mud bath. Steamy mineral water and hot mud pools?
This picture was taken while I was arguing with a tourist and self proclaimed "experienced wildlife observer" from Manhatten who was trying to convince me that this was a wolf. Notice the long, slender snout, overly large triangular ears, and black tipped tail. Clearly a coyote. After our brief exchange, he followed up by making loud comments to his kids like "Look at the pretty WOLF" and "That WOLF looks so majestic in its natural environment." Apparently purchasing a Nikon D90 at Costco qualifies you to be David Attenborough
This picture was taken while trying to quiet down an overly excited tourist from San Francisco. He thought he had just discovered an extremely rare river otter and was shouting to the other 27 members of his tour group. This ruined the quiet wildlife observing by causing a stampede to the banks of the river for a mangy muskrat. How I knew it was a muskrat; it was smaller than the loons I was trying to photograph. I told them it wasn't an otter but the excited guy told me "No way, the guide book says there are otters in the park. I don't see anything about muskrats in here." Interesting note, this tourist was also wielding a Nikon D90. Is their something about this particular model that causes douchiness? Another lesson learned: Buy a Canon.
Rounding out our Big 5, the American Bison. Doesn't he look so majestic in his natural environment (next to the Old Faithful parking lot)?
Again, Yellowstone = Nature's Spa
Here is Tamsin in front of the #1 tourist attraction, Old Faithful. He was right on time, as always.
This is the Beehive geyser erupting and, due to an unlucky shift in the breeze, soaking a tour group. Kind of like the splash zone at Sea World except boiling lava hot.
Our cooking did attract plenty of chippies but sadly no bears
Dutch oven potatoes and Nandos Peri-Peri kebobs.
Preparing fresh Utah peach cobbler in my anniversary presents. Check out the official Lodge fire gloves, worn by such professional dutch oven chefs as Lori Stephens.
One more nature girl shot...
And that was our trip! I think the best part of the trip was that Tamsin got up way earlier than she wanted to in order to go fishing with me on our anniversary. It was during that morning on the river that I realized even though we have only been married two years, I am married to a wonderful woman and can look forward to many more anniversaries to come.This is Bramsin caving into the blog police and posting updates:
Tamsin left Brandon for three weeks and went back to see Tegan and the rest of the fam in England. Babies tend to be much cuter than husbands so it wasn't a hard choice to make.
(Picture taken at "Spur", the American themed South African steakhouse in England)
I assume that they got bored without Brandon
Yes, babies are cuter than husbands
