July 25 – We had an early departure from our hotel for our 7:30am Snake River float trip with Triangle X Float. Our guide, Alex, was awesome and extremely knowledgable about the whole Teton region, from animals to river erosion.
We saw several bald eagles, a beaver, and a moose who was trying not to be seen, as well as the “rare and poisonous Canadian goose (Alex’s words).” MTP was extremely on edge because she has a fear of small boats (and water). As Alex told us “this ain’t a small boat, this is a 24′ rubber boat”.
And here is the pic to prove who was scared of the boat:
This was one of our highlights of our trip. If you plan a trip out this way, the Snake River float is a must. Here are some more photos from the float:
And here’s the whole gang:
After our float trip we headed back to the lodge for lunch at the Pioneer Grill. I spoke with a person at the activities desk and asked for a hike recommendation. She recommended the “Swan Lake” hike. It was a 5 minute drive north to Colter Bay. This hike would take us to a small pond, full of lilies, a beaver dam, swans, and the edge of Jackson Lake. We proceeded down the trail and came upon the lake and took some great photos.
After taking a family picture we proceeded further down the path towards the beaver dam.
David and I were leading the pack mainly because I’m the holder of the bear spray and we want the kids between us and Briana and MTP. As we rounded a corner I grabbed David by the shoulder and we told the rest of the crew to start backing up. MTP turned and began to run the other way, then stopped and began asking “what is it?.” It was a GRIZZLY, crossing our path, approx. 30 yards from us!!! David and I slowly backed up and as the bear crossed the path it picked its head up and looked right at us. Our first thought was, are there cubs? Our second thought was to run (even though we knew not to). I asked David to hand me the bear spray from my backpack. The bear continued on his way, down to the water’s edge. We stalked him a bit (from a good distance), and got at least this one good photo.
Let’s just say this ended our hike for the day. But with not seeing one bear in Yellowstone this made our vacation. Unfortunately, a little too close for comfort. Especially for MTP who may have soiled herself. MTP herself says she had an epic meltdown (if only we had caught that on camera).
We then returned back to Jackson Lake Lodge to spend the rest of the afternoon watching the kids swim, and ended the evening with a great dinner in the Mural Room, which was excellent.
Tomorrow we venture down into the town of Jackson for two evenings.
Adding to bucket list. looks like the makings of great memories. Enjoy!!