Yellowstone Trip - Day 3

Day 3 dawned early - 6:00 a.m. by driving to McDonalds for breakfast.  I still had not gotten ahold of the young man who was getting me on one of his wildlife tours (he is a co-owner).  Finally, I got the call at about 6:45 and found out where to meet the group.  It was several miles up the road from where I thought he said it was, but made it in time, and joined in.  There were two couples who were absolutely delightful and fun to be with.  They were traveling together, and both the men were named Jim, so it was Jim 1 and Jim 2 (however, they both wanted to be #1).  We headed off to a back road into Grand Teton, and two of us had park passes, so that covered all of us.  We drove up the road that was used by the Rockefellers for their personal home, a bumpy, dusty road, but when the Rockefellers gave the land to the Park Service, it was with the stipulation that the road never be paved, and it isn't.  We passed by a beaver dam that the Park Service thinks should not be there, and has destroyed the dam several times in an effort to get the beavers to move.  Well, it hasn't worked, and the beavers rebuild the dam in the same place.  The know what they want, and where they want it.  Absent moving the beavers, this war will go on for some time.  Saw some elk in the forest, but they were not close enough to get a good picture.  A little ways after the beaver dam, there was a cow moose beside the road, and her calf not far away.  Further on, we saw the bull moose that was in the Snake River yesterday, but he was in the sagebrush area.  We stopped, and he eventually moseyed over near us, and crossed the road in front of us....right through a very congested area of people, cars, and businesses.  People were trying to get up close and personal, and our guide, Ashley, was telling them to stay back.  He was a magnificant animal, and really gave us a show.  We headed into the sagebruse region where we were treated to pronghorn antelope, American Kestrals, Swinson's Hawk, Magpies, Sage Grouse, and Buffalo (who were too far away for even my telephoto lens to make much of a difference).  The Tetons, however, were much clearer today, and we were treated to a really good view of them.  After I got back, I went to the Snake River Brewery for lunch, which was very good, then back to the motel where I parked and walked to a craft fair across the road, then walked downtown to the Town Square, and meandered around downtown and in the shops.  Tomorrow is another early day, because I have to be at the Ranger Station at Jenny Lake by 8:00 a.m. to meet up with the Ranger led ferry across the lake to the other side, and a hike to Hidden Falls, and Inspiration Point.