Dec 17pm, 2010 - Northwest Trek

The tram starts fairly slowly... Big horn sheep lounging in a field.
Neat. Not awe inspiring, but certainly something you don't see in Georgia.

OK, it gets interesting quickly.
As the tour guide (who has been doing this for 12 years, which is about 10 years too long for sanity) calls it, there is a bulldozer on the side of the road.

Check out its blue tongue!

A little further down the road, we see another big bison bull, but this guy is awake.

Ella was totally digging it!
She was as fun to watch as the actual animals.

Separated by the continental divide, the northwest has black-tailed deer, where we have white. They're otherwise basically identical in size and shape.

Mountain goat!

Big female elk.

Ella was pointing them out before the guide was sometimes.
Move over, Bindy!

Amanda talks to Ella about the animals.

Bull elk.

My girls enjoy the tram ride.

Tutonka!

The tram ride was about :45. Afterwards, we have a little sunlight left and used it to see the some the river creatures, like this beaver.
Check out the reflection to see who's looking.

I don't know what Grim did to upset this wolverine, but he really got it riled-up!

A fisher - a cute relative of minks and ermines.

I thought this raccoon was going to figure a way over the electric fence and out of his den.

Two de-scented skunks, both former pets.

Badgers...?
(Wouldn't you love to have one of these as a hat? ...after he died of natural causes, of course.)

Amanda gives Ella a moose to remember the trip.

Ella loves it!
She's just getting into stuffed animals.

The Northwest Trek is in such a scenic locale.
It is :45-:60 south of Seattle, but worth it.
The drive is right toward Ranier, so you get a closer look at it as an added bonus.

Ella likes it!

On the way out, we check out the birds like this bald eagle. (We also see Golden eagles, snowy and barn owls, etc - not pictured).

Gaby loves the trees.
They're so different than Georgia's trees.
The closest thing they h ave in Sonora are saguaros.