River Otters

I recently had two different experiences in my life related to river otters.

Look how cute these little guys are:

 Yeah, adorable.

I never knew they loved so many of the same things I did.

After running into them two days in a row I began to realize what wonderful creatures they are.

Experience #1: Utah Hogle Zoo

Specifically the new Rocky Shores exhibit.

It was fantastic!

Before we get to that though, I'll take you through our afternoon at the zoo.

Here is our zoo crew posing with the gorilla.

When we arrived we realized we were just in time for the bird show.

 Post- bird show we visited the rhinos.

 And the elephant.

Visiting the elephant was great timing because there were trainers there doing teeth checks and having the elephant put a hat on its head with its trunk. 

Such a fun trick.

We had good timing with the peacock as well and caught it with its feathers all fanned out.

 After such an exhausting morning I was really thirsty.

Thank goodness for the friendly lion drinking fountain.

It's been quenching my thirst since childhood.

 After hydrating we headed over towards the Asian Highlands.

Not before swinging past the ostriches though.

 In all my visits to the zoo I don't think I've ever give the ostriches the appreciation they deserve.

They are REALLY big birds.

And they were standing right next to the fence trying to be friendly to me.

I was really into them.

Possibly one of my top 5 favorite birds now.

Anyways.

The Asian Highlands were a bit of a disappointment.

The tigers were sleeping.

And there weren't any other big jungle cats in view.

What a disappointment.

I'd like to see a lion.

And some new zebras.

If the Scipio Petting Zoo can have a zebra, Utah Hogle Zoo should be able to get a hold of one.

I'm young, they've got time.

We made sure to go through the small animal/reptile house.

Found this little guy:

 Then we visited the giraffes.

Classic.

 And finally. The moment you've all been waiting for.

ROCKY SHORES!!

I didn't even do a proper job documenting through photograph.

I was too busy living in the moment.

Watching the seals splash around.

 Catching the trainers doing tricks with the sea lion & seals.

 Then we made our way over to the polar bear.

INCREDIBLE!!

I looked over my shoulder and saw this coming up at me next to the glass:

 Then a nice side view provided me an opportunity to watch the polar bear do flips.

ALL DAY.

Literally I watched for 30 minutes.

Non-stop flipping.

Same spot. Same turn.

Such a consistent animal.

Now I'm certain you're thinking to yourself,

 "That was a nice trip to the zoo, but where are all the river otters?"

Don't fret.

There were river otters at Rocky Shores. 

Unfortunately I was too busy staring at them through the glass to take a photo.

They were all swimming right up to my face and trying to give me kisses.

Normally I'm not into loving & touching animals.

But that is the beauty of the zoo. Glass between you and the furry critters.

Oh the river otters were so fun to watch. 

Non-stop movement.

Experience #2: Snake River

One of my friends works in Jackson, WY at a kayak shop.

Rendezvouz River Sports to be exact.

 They can thank me for the advertising later.

Anyways, he invited me and a couple friends up for some time on the river.

So we jumped in the car and road tripped right up to that little town he calls home.

It was SO great.

We set up camp in this nice tent.

 Okay, it was kind of windy when we didn't have our gear inside the tent. 

But this is the final product:

 Our friend who lives in Jackson actually lives out of a van.

So I felt like we were living in luxury with a whole tent.

Just like that.

Eating goldfish, loving life.

Unfortunately we forgot to pack food so we had to mooch off of the man who lives in a van and indulge on canned mac&cheese. I didn't even know they made that in a can, but it wasn't too bad.

We spent the whole next day on the Snake River, battling the rapids.

Taking pictures in the water is difficult, but with a GoPro we got this picture:

Yeah, that is me on the oars. 

I was only allowed to try it during the flatter water.

Thank goodness, because those rapids were ridiculous.

Apparently it was super windy that day and the river was at it's peak level of 18,000 so we got a real wild ride.

This was the next day, when they were a bit more tame.

 Still pretty insane though.

As we were blasting down the canyon in the river, real life river otters were right by our side.

Yeah, just popping their heads up enjoying the rapids.

It was nice to see them in their natural habitat.

Especially since I had bonded with their relatives just one day earlier at the zoo.

Me & the river otters, we're basically living the same lives.