(With thanks to Julia McCurdy for the following photos and video!)
While rafting down the Middle Fork, we passed few sites of human civilization - a couple of bridges, the Middle Fork Lodge, the Flying B Ranch (quick, Kacey, grab the flag!), a man and his pack horse and for 2/3 of the river a hicking trail. After that it was just the wilderness and her inhabitants.
Don't you just want to just want to break into song.."I'm an old cowhand....from the Rio Grande...." (photo by Julie)
Our first siting was of a bear on the walking trail and thus we were introduced to guide Pat's "storytelling" ability.
"Oh, that's a fake bear. Sure, his mother was killed by hunters and the Rangers found him and fed him. Now you see him every day walking down to the Flying B Ranch where they will feed him. Then he goes back to the wild until he gets hungry again the next day."
Heather got him back though when she saw a second bear a day later: "Yea, Pat, I could tell it was a fakel bear again."
"Really? How could you tell?"
"When I waved at him, he waved back!" Gotcha!
Fake bear
Bear video by Julie - click on the arrow in the center of the photo.
Clearly the river was filled with beautiful trout.
Trout (photo by Julie)
But along the banks, there was more to be seen.
Bighorn (photo by Julie)
Bighorn sheep (photo by Julie)
Grouse (photo by Julie)
These little guys walked through the entire camp our last morning and could have cared less about the humans around them.
Otter (photo by Julie)
At the last camp, people spotted a rattlesnake in the rocks but I decided I really didn't need a photo.