I did not catch a photo of the two baby grouse (es?) we saw goofing off on trail, but did catch their mom who was none too happy about their naughty bird ways. She bailed out like inches from my foot, did her cooing thing and heard the babies then scurried off. And I hope it's a grouse cause I don't think I can spell the Alaskan Chicken one.
Then we saw these furry arctic ground squirrels that I kept calling groundhogs. The difference? One sees its shadow and hides, the other is deadly . . . something like that. So it's best to try and keep them straight. Luckily these two were too preoccupied with each other to even notice us. Whew-dodged some potential trouble there! Oh sure, they look cute.
And finally: the rare Arctic Monkey! Observed here in their natural habitat, these adorable yet mischievous critters are hard to observe but when you do get the opportunity-wow! And the timing was cool because we've got the new Planet of the Apes movie coming out and these guys must be giddy with excitement. Okay you two-stop monkeying around!!!