Safari!

Today was an incredible day. It was completely amazing to go on Safari and see the animals in the Masai Mara Wildlife Preserve. There was a price to pay, however. Over 8 hours of bone-jarring rocky dirt roads took it's toll on my body. I am very sore. 

I think these are the photos many of you have been waiting for and I will mostly let them speak for themselves.

The first Independence High School student who sends e-mail or presents me with a written list of the names of each of the animals you see here in the blog will receive a souvenir from the trip (sorry Solar Suitcase Team, you are exempted from this activity).

Enjoy!

Sunrise on the Mara.

Hello Puumba!

This was probably the smoothest road we were on all day! 

This is one of the two most common large trees in the area. It is the Desert Acacia. The other large tree we saw a lot of was the African or Brown Olive tree. 

Our two Maasai guides, Robert and Steven. These guys are incredible! 

These are the game wardens we ran into. Aside from protecting the animals from poachers, they also helped us locate some lions.

This is the carcass of a Wildebeest we saw; probably killed and eaten by lions.

These animals kill more humans than any other animal in Africa (mosquitoes and bacteria not included). 

This little guy has a symbiotic relationship with the animals it accompanies. The bird get parasitic insects to eat while cleaning the skin of the animal.

What's wrong with this picture?

This is an elder Maasai who was supervising several young men and boys who were spread out with herds of cattle.

The smallest twitch by this lioness made everyone in the group jump!

Hint: It's not Big Bird from Sesame Street!

A Maasai Warrior watering his herd.

He told us he considers himself a "modern Maasai".

Amy, Evelyn and Jamie on the lookout at lunch.

Temporary camps of Maasai herdsmen.

A watering hole where we found two lions having a drink and waiting to ambush prey. I think we ruined their chances of a meal at this particular time.

The lions were the stars of the show today.

A Maasai homestead just out side of the preserve. 

This is also "big sky country".

These animals were very difficult to get good pictures they mostly ran away whenever we got close.