Survival

We made it. I survived camping and I actually had a really wonderful time. 

And we did not get eaten by any bears. In fact, we did not see any bears. I may be the only person on the planet who goes all the way to Denali and hopes that they don't see any, but so be it. My fear for survival far outweighs the want for the thrill of a bear induced adrenaline rush.

We did see a lot of moose, and lots of other park visitors were very excited about that, but considering our backyard is the favorite local bistro of the area moose, we just didn't get that excited about it. Until we were all packed up and ready to leave and the kids came screaming into the camper. MOM, THERE ARE MOOSE OUTSIDE!

A cow and her very new calf had walked right by Sonny Boy and Princess Blondie and then hung out near our picnic table until it was time for us to leave. 

Now let's just talk for a second about the size of these creatures. Holy cow, these things are tall. Every other picture I have showed you in the past was taken from the safety of my porch or window so I was always a few feet off the ground. Well, now I was finally on ground level with them and this lady was TALL. See how her knees are higher than the picnic table? That should give you a little perspective.

 

It was the first time that I had seen a new calf and boy are they cute. But in that really ugly kind of cute, you know, the kind with a face that only a mother could love? It reminded me a cross between a baby giraffe and a calf (of the bovine variety).

He kind of reminded me of Bambi a little too. And the mother sort of reminded me of a model. Very tall, very skinny, with knobby knees and I could see some of her ribs. Not the prettiest face, but that's not always important in modeling. That is what makeup, lighting, and air brushing are for.

Strike a pose, Mama.