Morning Dip in Phelps Lake

If you do not have a morning sunrise tour, go on a hike to Phelps Lake and go swim! Marc and I hiked down to Phelps Lake this morning for a quick dip. It has been really hot the past few days in town, so what better way to get cooled down than swim. And in this case, half-way skinny dip! Don't judge, just do it!

TheChristyBel

White Lined Sphinx Caterpillar (Moth)

Got A Little Bold and Went Topless

Don't Worry No One Was Around

Marc Enjoyed It. Ha!

Snowing in June?

The Cottonwoods are in bloom...well, now they are in seed and are dispersing...EVERYWHERE. Yesterday, on my tour, I was driving on Moose-Wilson Road and it looked like it was SNOWING! The 'cotton' from the cottonwood trees were dispersing their seeds in the wind and it literally looked like little snowflakes were in the air (in June). Super cool.

However, it is not so fun when you have a car underneath these trees. There is a lot of pollen and sap that dripped down all over Little Blue. I had a hard time getting all the sap off her, but luckily it had rained and I was able to get her all clean again!

TheChristyBel

Traffic Jams in Jellystone

Bison in the Road

Just a snapshot of my day (today) and mostly everyday I am in Yellowstone. The bison in these places really do rule and own the parks. They can be in the fields, in parking lots, on boardwalks, off the road, and in the road. No matter where they are, everyone stops for them.

They literally cause huge traffic jams. In this case, Bison Jams.

And everyone stops and captures the moment. Literally. Oh tourists.

TheChristyBel

Two Day Tours - GTNP & YNP

Wildlife Moments from some of my tours this week!

My Beautiful Early Morning Sky as I Prep my Van!

Momma Moose and Calf on Moose--Wilson Road

Four Great Blue Heron Fledglings

Grand Teton Wildlife of the Day

Today's Sunrise Tour Theme was brought to you by the Birds in the Grand Teton National Park. On top of seeing the standard bison, elk, and pronghorn, the guests and I today was a lot of birds including:

1) The BroadWinged Hummingbird at the Willow Flats Deck at Jackson Lake Lodge

2) American White Pelicans & Cormorants at the Oxbow Bend

3) Common Mergansers at Cattleman's Bridge

Hiking Jellystone Tours

Some pictures from my hiking tour in Yellowstone today! Enjoy!

Look at the colors and patterns on this dead conifer!

Grizzly Bear Tracks Next to Clear Lake!

Black Bear on Our Way Home in Northern Grand Teton National Park!

Yogi in Jellystone

Started my week jam-packed of Yellowstone Trips today. Looking into this upcoming week, I will  heading up to Jellystone multiple times this week. It's gonna be challenging - they are long days and lots of driving. However, I am pretty excited to see what animals and things this week has in store for me and my guests. Today, Yellowstone really set the bar high for me and my tours for the rest of the week: we saw a grizzly! Mr. Yogi Bear, himself! It was sooooo stinking cool! We stopped in Hayden Valley and found a huge crowd gathered around one of the overlooks. As we set up the scope and my guests were looking through their binoculars, we discovered the grizzly bear that was playing in the Yellowstone River. As we watched the bear, it sprinted out of the river onto the meadow, rolled around, shook itself, and then proceeded to run more, roll around once again, and shake the water off of him. It was a pure adorable-tender moment! He was just rolling around! Below are some photos of the grizzly that gave us a good half-hour of pure awe!

TheChristyBel

Elk Calves Have Spots

So last night during a scout with Seth and this morning with a Sunrise Tour in Grand Teton National Park to Lupine Meadows. Right now, Lupine Meadows has been frequented by lots of elk herds. Luckily, right now, not only is this area great for viewing elk, but elk babies!

TheChristyBel

Heart is Exploding with Baby Elk!

Looking Good, Teewinot

Cow Elk and Elk Calf

My First Drive In Movie

Last night, Marc and I took his parents over to Idaho for their last night in the Tetons. What a way to spend their last night with us but with drive-in movie at the Spud in Driggs, Idaho! It was also a great way to see Jurassic World. The newest dinosaur movie that has been getting a lot of attention lately. 

Taking the van over to watch the movie was a really cool experience as well. The bed has been completed and so we were able to lay down with some seasoned fries and watch the movie from our bed! Haha. We got there early to get a great spot. We parked next to his parents and were able to hang and chat til the movie started. Since we got there early, we were able to see a great Idaho sunset. And let me tell you, the sunset was awesome! So many pretty colors!

The movie itself was pretty good. I think the movie left me wanting more: more background information and more of a plot. But it was pretty nice to see the Jurassic Park dinos again on the big screen! And it was super cool to see a movie at a Drive-In for the first time!

TheChristyBel

Marc & I on top of the bed in the van.
Please note it is still not finished!

A Beautiful Idaho Sunset

Super Pumped for Jurassic World

Spot and Enjoy the Flowers

Take A Moment of Pause in a Busy Day

Sometimes you need to just get out of the car, stop, and smell the flowers.

This photo was captured when Marc's family and I were on our way from Mormon Row to Colter Bay in the Grand Teton National Park. We saw how pretty the flowers looked and just had to stop during our journey up to the northern part of the park. Enjoy.

Stop . Breathe . Smile

TheChristyBel

Moose 'Ears' in the Arrowleaf Balsamroot
Photo Credit to Marc Sweet

Swarmed by Swallows

Cliff Swallows & Feeding Time

Before Marc, his family, and I headed up to Colter Bay for some kayaking, we stopped at Mormon Row to continue their tour of the Tetons. While Marc and his dad geeked out on photographing the gloriousness and beauty of the Moulton Barns and the Teton Range, I admired all the Cliff Swallows that were constructed with lots of mud along the frames of the infamous Pink House. I did get a little closer than usual to the nests. And when that happened, the swallows started to swarm around me. Marc's mom tried to get a photo of them flying all around me, but it just didn't come out. However, I did get some photos to visually capture how many nests were on this house. There were so many nests with little birds peeking out practically screaming, 'Feed me!' as the adults were flittering in and giving them little snacks of insects. Gross (I know). But it was super cool to get pretty close and observe their feeding session.

TheChristyBel

All Under the Rim of The Pink House

Inspiring Little Naturalists

Remi and I During The Sunset Tour

Working at Jackson Hole Wildlife Safaris has been going pretty well so far. We are still picking up with tours and getting busier by the day. What I have noticed is that I am a guide geared towards the children and families groups. I definitely can allow working in environmental education to take responsibility for my good rapport with the younger people. Let me say, I really do still enjoy working and teaching children. This evening, I had a pair of grandparents and their grandson, Remi, on my Sunset Tour. It was super fun. Remi was making a list of all the animals he was seeing during his trip with his grandparents to the Tetons. And I was beyond excited to help him add a few more to his list during the tour. He was super knowledgeable and really into a lot of the natural history we were talking about and seeing. It was really great to see instant engagement and the conversations that were happening with Remi. He is definitely a naturalist in the making! Enjoy some of the photos from today, something I think I am going to call from now on: "Wildlife of the Day." Enjoy!

TheChristyBel

Osprey on the Nest Near Moose-Wilson Road

A Bull Elk Playing Peek-A-Boo

A Sweet Jellystone Trip

Bison and Bison Babes

This week, Marc's parents came to visit him here in the Tetons. To give them a Teton welcoming, Marc asked me to give a tour up in Jellystone for his parents. I mean, if i get to be in Yellowstone, how could I say no!? I mean, also, it would be a good first impression to provide a little private tour to the parents of the person you're dating right?! Haha. But anyways, back to the tour, the day was really good, in fact it was great! I practically did the same tour that I give my guests - a view of the Lower Loop. But it was filled with so much fun. We saw a bunch of wildlife, a bunch of hydrothermal features, the Falls at the Yellowstone, and of course, Old Faithful! In between little tidbits of Yellowstone information and facts, of course there were a lot of questions and getting to know me, telling of stories about Marc from the parents, us telling them stories we had experienced together, and just a lot of catching up. Overall, the trip was super awesome. We saw bison super close to the road and practically on the boardwalk at Mud Volcano Area, some fantastic views of the falls and Old Faithful, and we even had a viewing of a grizzly bear! Success! How awesome is that?!?! Marc's parents had 1) never been to Jellystone and 2) to see a grizzly on their first trip is pretty lucky! Below are some photos from our pretty awesome Jellystone Day! Enjoy!

TheChristyBel 

Being a Bear at the Grant Village Gift Shop
(A Little Hoping We See a Bear Later in Yellowstone)

Gibbon Falls

Yogi Bear, Himself, Out in Hayden Valley
(Sure Enough We Did See a Grizzly!)

Marc, His Parents, and I at the Lower Falls at the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone

Sur-Reality - Teton Living

I just wanted to take this opportunity to express some gratuity of where I am in life right now and where I am living. This place is incredibly beautiful (yes I know I have already spent a year here in the Tetons...but...to not be stressed with school and to just to embrace this place at my own pace and in my own style has been so incredibly refreshing and wonderful!). Also, even though there are days where I miss teaching children and my students, it has still been a wonderful and awesome experience taking people of all ages around this place and sharing a love for the Tetons with them.

Yes. I am Happy.
TheChristyBel

The Arrowleaf Balsamroot in front of the Tetons

Hiding at Hidden Falls

Summit Pose at Jenny Lake's Hidden Falls
Elevation: 7,602 feet

Since a fellow guide, Seth, and I had the evening off from sunset tours, we decided to go scout Hidden Falls. Hidden Falls is a pretty popular hike for the tourists to do while they stay here in Jackson Hole and the Tetons. It's a pretty good hike. Only open during the summer time, this 100-foot fall descends from Cascade Creek in the canyon. Since neither of us had ever hiked to Hidden Falls before, we decided to try it out so we could give more information about this hike. You can get to Hidden Falls a few ways. In our case, we parked at the South Jenny Lake Junction parking lot and proceeded to hike on the southern part of the Jenny Lake to the Cascade Canyon trailhead that meets on the opposite side of the lake from the parking lot. You can do the Jenny Lake loop all the way around the lake; it takes about 3-4 hours and 7-miles to hike all the way around. 

However, if you wanted to cut your hike up, you can take the Jenny Lake Boat across from the South Jenny Lake Junction for about $9 each way to the Cascade Canyon Trailhead then hike up to Hidden Falls and Inspiration Point. It's about 2.5-3 miles to the falls area from the Boat dock.

Seth and I had a great time chatting, looking at a variety of plants, taking photos of them, and identifying them. I am really enjoying getting to go on hikes in the parks to scout and gather additional information for guests. If it gets me outside and out of a vehicle, I am down for anything!

TheChristyBel

Living in Jellystone

The past few days I have been leading some Yellowstone National Park trips. I have literally done 2-3 trips in a row now! I am gaining more and more confidence as I do these tours! I really do enjoy these tours, although they can be pretty long. We drive about 2.5-hours from the town of Jackson to get to Jellystone, spend most of the time driving around and visiting a bunch of 'hot spots' and areas in the Lower Loop, then drive back to Jackson. These tours are about 12-hours! But let me tell you, I get to know my guests really well and by the end of the day when I return them to their hotels, I have made some wonderful friends and shared many stories and moments with them!

Below are some of the things I have shown some of my guests and shared some amazing and maybe some slightly terrifying experiences with! Enjoy!

TheChristyBel

The Graham's at the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone
South Rim Drive

Bill Overlooking the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone

Overlook of Yellowstone Lake

Before We Drove Up to Jellystone
We Observed Momma Moose and Twin Calves

Great Fountain Geyser Eruption (and Superburst)

My First Time Seeing This Geyser Go Off!
Photo Credit to My Guest, Ruth

Mr. Bison & I Had an Intimate Moment Turn Almost Deadly
He Almost Gored to Van as We Drove Past Him
I Luckily Accelerated Just In Time Before His Horn Impacted My Vehicle
Don't Worry Mom, TheChristyBel & Guests are OKAY!

Mommy and Me in the GTNP

Momma Moose & Calves
The Second Twin is Hiding to the Right of Its Mother in the Bushes

Here is the second edition to the Grand Teton Babies. I am really enjoying this month of tours: there have been lots of sightings of new life here in the park. Enclosed in this entry is just pure cuteness, it will make your heart explode, pure jealousy of my life, and some amazing views of what this park has to offer.

Come Visit!

TheChristyBel

Osprey On Nest

Lupine Meadows Fox Den
Multi-Colored Kits Playing With Each Other

Beaver Creek Fox Kits Cuddle with Momma

Beaver Creek Fox Kits Morning Playtime

SandHill Crane Colt at the National Elk Refuge

SandHill Crane & Colt at the National Elk Refuge

Momma Moose & Calves

Some Highlights from a Full Day in GTNP

Today I had a Full Day in Grand Teton National Park with two couples from Malvern, Long Island, New York. They were such a great group of people spend the day with! Not only were they great company, but we were able to see some really awesome animals!

Check It Out!

TheChristyBel

Grizzly 610 (and Her Hidden Cubs)
Pilgrim Creek, GTNP

Broad-Tailed Hummingbird
Jackson Lake Lodge, GTNP

A Fat Coyote
Lupine Meadows, GTNP