Thursday, June 26, 2014

Flowers & Fawns


Sandy & Carl Greenbaum
"Volunteering Across America"
Carl 617-435-8502
Sandy 978-454-3351

Begin forwarded message:

From: Greenbaum2 <greenbaum2@gmail.com>
Subject: Flowers & Fawns
Date: June 20, 2014 at 5:58:57 PM MDT
To: Sandy & Carl Greenbaum <greenbaum2@gmail.com>

Hi All,

Our second ten years got off to a great start. We drove north to the Pilgrim Creek area for some flower photography.

The lupine was lush and dense



and created a lovely foreground for the lake and mountain.


The arrow-leaf balsam root is also in bloom


and it too sets off the mountains behind.


After a picnic lunch we drove to the Rockefeller Preserve and hiked to Phelps Lake.


On the hike back from the lake we spotted this mule deer doe with two fawns. Mom stared at us briefly, decided we were not a threat and went back to nursing and licking her kids.

The day also brought us sightings of moose, grizzly bear and a wandering garter snake (that's the species name not the behavior ;-).

Love,

Sandy & Carl

"Be yourself. Everyone else is taken!"

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Happy Anniversary


Sandy & Carl Greenbaum
"Volunteering Across America"
Carl 617-435-8502
Sandy 978-454-3351

Begin forwarded message:

From: Greenbaum2 <greenbaum2@gmail.com>
Subject: Happy Anniversary
Date: June 19, 2014 at 9:38:51 PM MDT

It occurred to us recently that today would be the tenth anniversary of our retirement. Hard to believe it has been ten years. No one knows what future years will bring but we both agreed we have made the most of the first ten.

We have travelled more than 100,000 miles in our motorhomes

We have camped in 38 states and 8 Canadian provinces

Together we have volunteered nearly 10,000 hours at National Parks, wildlife refuges and state parks.

We have travelled to 20 different countries from Peru to Polynesia, Argentina to Zimbabwe and Norway to Antarctica (we know Antarctica is not a country but humor us ;-)

We are extraordinarily fortunate.

Stay tuned for more adventures.

Love,

Sandy & Carl

"Be yourself. Everyone else is taken!"

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Saturday, June 7, 2014

Another Great Day

Hi All,

We hiked around the campground in the morning. Silver lupine are blooming everywhere.


We spotted a cow moose but saw no sign of a calf. There is so much water in the Gros Ventre River that it overflows in stream channels through the campground.

In the afternoon we met up with friends Walt & Betty who volunteer at the Elk Refuge. We took the tram to Rendezvous Peak as we had done last year. On the way up we spotted this meltwater cascade.

The view from 10,500 feet is spectacular.

This is one of the five support towers for the tram, mounted on a sheer rock walk.

More great views on the way down.
Tomorrow we are back to "work".

Love,

Sandy & Carl 
Living & Traveling in our Motorhome
Volunteering across America
617-435-8502
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Friday, June 6, 2014

Happy Birthday Sandy

Hi All,

For her birthday today, Sandy wanted to get up early for some photography then have lunch at the Jenny Lake Lodge-so that's what we did.

In the clear early morning, Mt Moran was stunning from Oxbow Bend. We also saw trumpeter swans, western grebes, white pelicans, common merganser and American widgeon, killdeer and spotted sandpiper.


From the shore of Jackson Lake, the entire Teton Range reflected in the water.

This shot was taken from our lunch table at Jenny Lake Lodge. Not a bad view even through the screen.
The food was delicious.

For those wondering what Sandy got for her birthday-it was Scottish jewelry.

Love,

Sandy & Carl 
Living & Traveling in our Motorhome
Volunteering across America
617-435-8502

Photographed and sent from Carl's iPhone
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Thursday, June 5, 2014

Taggart Lake Trail

Hi All,

This afternoon we did a three mile round trip hike to Taggart Lake. The trail climbs the side of a glacial moraine then levels off with wonderful views of Grand Teton and South Teton.


Once at the lake, we had even better views of the mountains.

The snowmelt is continuing and even small creeks are roaring downslope.
Love,

Sandy & Carl 
Living & Traveling in our Motorhome
Volunteering across America
617-435-8502

Photographed and sent from Carl's iPhone
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Wednesday, June 4, 2014

Bear 188

Hi All,

We spent the morning watching and assisting with the processing of the bear trapped last night. 

It was a careful, laborious process as the staff:

Estimated the bear weight

Determined the appropriate dosage of drug to immobilize the bear

Administer the drug with a long handle syringe and waited 15 minutes for the drug to take effect

Remove the bear from the trap

Lubricate the eyes and cover the face

Weigh the bear (216#) and determine it was a male

Attach ear tags (Bear #188)

Tattoo the bear's upper lip

Fit the tracking collar

Measure the body and paws

Take blood, hair and tissue samples

Throughout this process, we monitored vital signs every ten minutes. Sandy recorded all of this data.

We then hoisted the bear back into the trap. After the drug wears off, the bear will be transported and released about 100 miles into the back country. Hopefully, he will stay away from developed areas or behave better if he comes back.

Carl took photos of the process but they cannot be shared with the public. We do have this photo of the bear on a picnic table taken last Monday.

A fascinating experience that left us feeling sad for the bear.

Love,

Sandy & Carl 
Living & Traveling in our Motorhome
Volunteering across America
617-435-8502
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Tuesday, June 3, 2014

Earning our Keep

Hi All,

There has been lots of bear activity during our first week. Also, all of the volunteers were not yet in place so we worked four straight long days. Watching a grizzly bear sow and two cubs is not really work. However, dealing with photographers who constantly try to get too close to the bears can be stressful.

We also had a problem black bear who patrolled the campground sniffing at food storage boxes and standing on picnic tables. About noon today, the bear was spotted on a heavily used hiking trail. We worked for hours, following the bear, trying to "haze" it away from the public areas. After one more trip through the campground

he settled for a nap and the wildlife biologists got a trap on place to capture the bear. Our roles in this process were varied. Sandy was assigned to watch the bear and warn when he woke up. Carl directed traffic! Once the bear started to move everyone retreated to a safe distance until we heard the loud crash as the trap door slammed shut. 

All very exciting.

Tomorrow we hope to watch the bear "processing" when they weigh, measure and fit the bear with a tracking collar as well as numbered ear tags.

Love,

Sandy & Carl 
Living & Traveling in our Motorhome
Volunteering across America
617-435-8502
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