Well, I just couldn't bear leaving my poor little blog anymore, so here's lots of photos to make up for my absence, chronicling my time in Rapid City with my parents, sister, and her family.
Here's a rock/sign by the gift shop.
This Red Tail fox poked his head out for a moment to see what all the hubbub was.
Even though I live in Southern Utah, I've never seen a coyote up close. They look a lot more like a wolf than I thought.
Here's a buck and female elk just chillin'.
kWe couldn't believe how huge they were--not to mention the ginormous antlers!
dAbove is a mule deer buck and below is an Arctic wolf. They were so pretty.
Ho, ho, ho!! No sleigh or Santa, but at least the reindeer said hi.
These big-horned sheep were awesome to look at.
fYes, I took many, many photos of the baby sheep! So cute.
tI can't believe how close we could get to these guys in the car!
A couple more shots. The top one isn't too great, but Mom noticed the baby hiding behind the mom, so I thought that warranted a picture.
Below is the Rocky Mountain sheep!
Ha ha, most of the rest of this is a gratuitous photo spam of bear photos. If you don't like pictures of bears, I apologize in advance for deeply offending.
Just a sample of how 'up-close and personal' these guys got.
Dad snagged this great photo of a cougar perched high up a tree.
tThe one below is shedding his old fur. Looks like a wacky mohawk.
They were NOT afraid to mosey right into traffic.
I managed to get a far-away one of an antelope. I found out later there was no need! They're all over Rapid City--even right by my sister, Lisa's house.
Know what the daddy buffalo said to his boy as he walked out the door?
"See you later, Junior!"
No, seriously, are not bison calves freakin' adorable??
Gawrsh, this one's bashful.
This dainty guy was welcoming us into the part of the park where you can walk around aka Babyland.
My mom noticed this peacock hanging out in the back. Below are some snoozing badgers. "Badgers? Badgers?! We don't need no stinkin' badgers!!"
Okay, brace yourself. I give you wolf pups!!
Yeah, I wanted to watch these kinda all day.
There's skunks resting above and a porcupine trying to hide below.
The picture below is a lazy lynx.
And the moment you've been waiting for. I give you...BABY BEARS.
It was just too cool. They came right up to us/the fence and even followed us as we walked further down.
They were a riot to watch. So stinkin' adorable when they sat, stood, and did basically anything.
This guy was cleanin' himself.
All they did basically was look way too cute and bug each other to death.
I liked watching them laze about on the grass.
Love the shot below of them silhouetted against the water.
D'aw!!
The one thing I wanted to do for sure was get pictures with the kids and my sister. I was not disappointed. Okay, so yeah, the top pic didn't turn out perfect, but we got an even better one!
Here's a couple videos.
This is Dad, Brian, Clayton, and Dory dancing with the Wii.
The second one is the wolf cubs frolicking around a bit.
And last, some more clips of the cubs:
I'm so happy I can spend time with my niece, nephews, and sister. It's been a blast so far!!
