Did you know that on September 10th, there was the Big Cottonwood Canyon marathon? I didn't! And I made plans to go up to Silver Lake that day. Sooo... we were stranded in the car, about a mile away from the mouth of the canyon, for a looooong time on Saturday morning.
It was worth it, though. The weather was perfect and we saw a lot of wildlife. Everything from caterpillars to MOOSE.
This baby wandered behind us when we stopped for a group picture, and it was amazing. She just sauntered over like it was no big deal. I asked the kids to whisper, and told them to play dead on the ground if it charged us. Aspen pretty much lost her mind after that.
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| Baby moose at the base of the tree line. |
When we continued on our way, passersby kept telling us there was a bull moose down the trail, and another female. We lucked out and saw all three!
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| Mama moose getting a drink at the shoreline by the dead pine above Aspen's head. |
Linc kept calling them deer and I was like, DUDE THESE ARE SO MUCH MORE EXCITING THAN DEER! I'm glad we were able to watch these animals eat for such a long time.
I'm grateful we made it safely around the lake, too, because I know moose are freakin strong and can destroy a car. Growing up in Maine I was always worried about hitting a moose with my car and being killed if it came through the windshield. I have a healthy fear of their size!
When we finished the walk around Silver Lake, I looked back and could see what appeared to be the female adult making her way up the mountain (bottom right photo, just above the shadow created by the pines). It was so beautiful!
It was peaceful and so quiet at the lake, even with both kids yelling and enjoying themselves. Linc loved throwing rocks into the "pool" and Aspen helped stockpile a huge collection in the stroller. We stopped for snacking in a few places along the path, and saw a lot of squirrels. We saw some hawks circling about, too. Other walkers kept commenting on how it was like being at Yellowstone since everyone got a good view of some wildlife. I'm so glad we didn't give up on Silver Lake when we got stuck behind the marathon runners. It was definitely worth waiting in that long line of cars, and then being waved through by an officer who may not have realized there was only way lane ahead, and a line of cars coming at us.
Definitely an adventure! Sophia and Jose had never been to Silver Lake before, so their first visit was an awesome one. It's one of my favorite mountain places, and I'm glad we could share the day with them.
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My friend lives in Anchorage, and recently I was chatting with her on the phone as she made her way home from work. Mid sentence, she said, "oh shoot!" And then started to giggle. Jokingly, I asked her if she had almost hit a moose. Imagine my surprise when she replies, "yeah, almost. Didn't see it there!" 😳
ReplyDeleteSNEAKY MOOSE.
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