Grand Teton National Park Sept 2024

The Teton mountain range is so beautiful and we're glad this wasn't our first trip because a storm moved in on our second day and you couldn't see the mountains at all for two days. We felt so sorry for the people who came to see the mountains and never got the chance.

We got up early on the first day to photograph the sunrise on the mountains. As we were driving out to an overlook we passed a female moose in a field, barely visible in the pre-dawn darkness. It started to rain while we were waiting for sunrise, but we just put on our raincoats and covered the camera and lens with its own little raincoat. The photos were not quite the great sunrise I was hoping for, but we did get a full rainbow so that was nice. We drove over to Gros Ventre campground area where we have seen moose in the past, but didn't find any. We couldn't spot any wildlife at Schwabacher's Landing either and Moose-Wilson Road was also a bust for wildlife until our last day. We saw a bull and cow moose at the ponds area on Moose Wilson on our last day in the park. We did see six moose total though half of those were from a distance and fairly brief sightings. 

This was our third trip to the park but we had never stopped at Menor's Ferry or the Chapel of the Transfiguration so we pulled in to have a look. Menor's Ferry was actually very interesting to us, we love history and learning about early settlers. The Chapel has a beautiful view of the Tetons on a clear day and is still a functioning church. I found myself wondering how much attention I would give the sermon if I could stare at the Tetons the whole time. 

We considered walking out to Moose Pond by Jenny Lake but it started to thunder, lightning and hail so we decided to skip that. We did stop at a boat landing along the Snake River and saw fisherman and rafters(!) putting in. This was absolutely crazy to me with the lightning strikes coming all the way down to the ground! We also saw two outfits going out on horseback rides in this weather, one group had the long duster coats on but the others just had their puffy jackets which would be completely soaked in a couple of minutes. I imagine they were questioning their decision to ride in that weather, I would be for sure. 

The weather was so changeable on this trip. We had sun, wind, rain, hail, thunder and lightning, and snow! We usually have good weather in September so this was just due to a random storm coming through for a couple of days. Its okay, we just continue on and still have fun regardless of the weather.

Chapel of the Transfiguration 

Rainbow sunrise 

Moose pair

Yellowstone National Park Sept 2024

We love going to Yellowstone! This was our third trip and our main focus was to find wildlife, specifically bears and wolves. We also think the bison are cool and the moose, elk, pronghorn antelopes, bald eagles - it's quite an extensive list really. 

We hired a wolf guide for our first full day in the park with Yellowstone Wolf Trackers. Our guide Quinn was so knowledgeable and we had great conversations about wolves and wildlife management in general. We spent an hour or two watching a young wolf and other animals feeding on a bison carcass. Quinn identified the wolf as a one year old female from the Junction Butte pack. Even though she was the only wolf we saw that day, we still were quite happy because it was the closest we had ever been able to observe one. Everyone is supposed to stay 100 yards away from bears and wolves and everyone at this site was respectful of that limit while we were there. The first time we saw wolves in the park in 2020, they were a couple of miles away and very difficult to see even with a spotting scope so this viewing was definite closer. 

Once the wolf left the carcass some coyotes moved in to feed as well.  The coyotes in Yellowstone are so big and healthy that lots of people mistake them for wolves and these coyotes were big and fluffy. There were also adult and juvenile bald eagles that came in to feed. 

We like to go out to the B Bar Ranch in Tom Miner Basin to watch for grizzly bears. We have never been there without seeing some, sometimes we see quite a few. Viewing is better in the evening and this evening we saw 8 grizzlies -  a mom with 2 cubs at the ranch and then a pair of adult or subadult bears in a meadow near Grizzly Creek Ranch and a mother and 2 cubs not far from those other two bears. You need binoculars or a spotting scope if you want to see them very well. We rented a scope on our first trip to the park but then bought one of our own for the next trip. We have an adapter that allows you to attach your iPhone to the scope so you can take photos and video and zoom in even more. 

We also saw the grizzly known as the Lake Butte sow, nicknamed Raspberry by local photographers. We have seen her on each trip as she likes to hang out close to the road by the Lake Butte Overlook, She was a little farther east this time than we've seen her in the past but the weather had been very warm so a lot of the wildlife had moved to higher elevations to escape the heat. It had just started getting cooler when we were there, so the bears were starting to make their way back down to their usual areas. Raspberry has a new cub this year. It's an independent little thing, always wandering off and exploring.

We were driving east from the lake toward the park's east entrance when we saw a black bear, the only black bear of the trip in fact. It was in some bushes on a hill above the road and then came down the hill and crossed the road to go down the other side. It came relatively close to us and we were not super close to the car so Mike had the bear spray ready but we were happy not to need it. It would definitely be a measure of last resort but you should always be prepared. 

We saw lots of bison of course. We love the way they walk out into the road and just stop there. It's not like you're going to get out and shoo them or anything, they just don't care and you could end up getting hurt. We just sit and wait until they're ready to move on. They're so huge and make the funniest noises, it cracks me up but I have huge respect for how powerful they are and make sure I don't get close to any when we're out waking around.  

Black Wolf

Black Bear

Raspberry and cub

Coyotes

Staying stateside this year

 We have decided to stay a bit closer to home this year - lots of family stuff going on. We decided to go back to Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons because: 1) we love it there  2) tons of animals to see  3) great scenery  4) easy to drive there in a little over one day. We were originally thinking of going to the eastern US to tour Civil War sites but nature and wildlife won the toss. 

Next year we plan to visit Switzerland. Mike will retire next year so we need to go while we still have money haha - Switzerland is expensive! I'm currently working on our itinerary and will book our airfare as soon as the dates become available. 

I'm not sure I've ever mentioned this, but I always buy trip insurance for our international trips. I like knowing that if we get hurt, our medical expenses will be covered and even evacuation back to the US if necessary. It also covers things like lost luggage, hotel rooms if we had to cancel in an emergency, tour reservations, etc.- anything that was canceled that was beyond our control. 

I also always opt for all the additional insurance on our rental cars.  I like knowing I can turn it in and walk away without having the nasty surprise of a charge for (supposed) damage on my credit card the next month. The travel pages and forums are full of folks who didn't get the extra insurance and thought that the insurance coverage included in their credit card would be enough. They find out that you need an itemized bill for your credit card insurance and you may never get one from the rental company, especially one that has an itemized statement about the repair charges. Then you're stuck being 5,000 miles away, thirty days after you get home,  and trying to contact someone who speaks English and can actually help you try to get an itemized bill. No thanks, I will happily pay the extra for the full insurance through the rental company. We have used Europcar several times and been happy with the car and the ease of the turn-in process. They're also considerably cheaper than Hertz. 

Sorry - that was my soapbox moment of the day. 

 

Malahide Castle, Ireland

 This castle had some great legends! It helps to have a tour guide who really loves their castle, they tell such great stories. The first legend is about Puck who was the castle jester. The legend goes that Puck loved a young lady who refused him and he took his life in his room, just above the banquet room. They say Puck sometimes shows up in people's photos of the banquet room and that he sometimes rearranges things when no one has been in the room. 

Another legend is about Miles Corbett who took the castle during the Cromwellian era and used it as his residence. When Cromwell fell from power, Corbett was taken to the Tower of London and tried for treason. His sentence was to be hanged and then drawn and quartered. Sometimes in July, around the anniversary of his death, he can be seen on the estate. If he is approached, he falls into four pieces and disappears! He is sometimes seen on his favorite horse named "Ghost". (The horse does not fall to pieces though) 

The last family owner of the estate was Rose Talbot. She inherited the estate from her brother. Unfortunately for Rose, the inheritance tax on the estate was 50% of its value! Rose was forced to sell her ancestral home and moved to a sheep ranch in Australia. There is a painting of Rose as a young girl, with her mother and brother, near a staircase in the home. The eyes of Rose follow you everywhere you go in the room, even up the stairs!

                                       The court jester's room is the small door by the balcony 

Trim Castle, Ireland

We stayed two nights in the pleasant little town of Trim. Our hotel was directly across from the castle and we had great views of it from the windows of our lovely room which also had a private terrace. Trim Castle was used several times in the movie "Braveheart" and a lot of the citizens were extras in the movie. They have a little donkey family in Trim that like to be fed snacks. There's a list of preferred snacks posted by their pasture. The donkeys are easy to find, just look up "Trim donkey family" on Google maps.

The keep of the castle is still intact and we had a great tour from a very interesting docent (lots of stairs).  Most of the outer walls of the castle complex remain as do the gate towers. Just across the river is the Yellow Steeple, all that remains of St Mary's Abbey. 

We loved our hotel but we had no idea there was a wedding on our second night. I knew Irish weddings were big affairs but we were located right above the ballroom. My husband went down to the desk about 12:30am and asked if they knew when the music would end. The desk said the wedding party had reserved the ballroom until 4am (!) but the music would timely stop around 1 or 2am. They offered to change our rooms but I was already sleeping so we stayed where we were. We woke up the next morning to wedding guests or members shouting in the hallway as well. We spoke to the hotel manager that morning and she said they would take 200 euro off the bill, and apologized. She said they had ongoing issues with that particular group so it was not their normal experience. We really appreciated her giving us some money back and she was really nice about the whole thing.

                                                                 The Yellow Steeple

Trim Castle

Newgrange and Knowth neolithic sites - Bru na Boinne Center

Built around 3,200 B.C., these passage tombs are older than Stonehenge and the Great pyramids of Giza! Our visit started at the visitor center where you take a bus first to Knowth then to Newgrange. 

There are quite a few of the passage tomb mounds at Knowth. These tombs are constructed of rock with a grass-covered roof and the whole thing is supported by giant engraved curbstones that circle the tomb mound.  (the roof is now supported by concrete to prevent caving in)

Newgrange is the only passage tomb you can enter and you go into it in small groups of about 10 people at a time with a guide. The people who constructed the tombs knew the importance of the sun in their lives and for their crops, they may have even been sun worshippers - no one knows. There are posts outside the tomb at Knowth that align with the sun and doorway at the winter solstice. At Newgrange the rising sun on winter solstice shines over the top of the hill across the valley, lines up with the window above the portal door, and shines into the farthest part of the passage tomb to light up the basin there. Very Indiana Jones-like stuff! You're allowed to go in with the guide but are not allowed to take photos inside. The passage is pretty narrow in a couple of spots and we had to turn sideways to squeeze through.  The roof is made of layers of stone with NO mortar at all between them. I'll admit to being slightly uncomfortable upon hearing that. It was a great day and very enjoyable, especially since it was a nice sunny day and NO wind!

Mount Stewart House and Legananny dolmen

 We drove down the west side of Strangford Louch to Mount Stewart House. It's a lovely house with several different themed gardens, some of which have very exotic statues. 

Legananny dolmen 

This dolmen has been standing in a farmer's field for 4,500 years! It's 10 feet long and 7 feet high.

As you can see from the photos, the tip of the top slab is balanced on the stone below it. How did they do that 4,500 years ago? It would be so awesome to have something that ancient right in our own backyard.