Yellowstone

It has been a good week in Yellowstone with mild temperatures and mostly clear days.  I return to work today after two days off.  Over the two days I traveled up the east side of the park to the Lamar Valley but most wildlife sightings were too far off for photos.  With little to show for my efforts I did stop and shoot this bison resting near the road.  About 3000 bison roam Yellowstone and have become the iconic symbol of the park.  A few more pictures from the past week follow.



This is the same cub as seen in an earlier post when it was on mom's back.  Mom and cub made an appearance for several days near Indian Pond on the East park entrance not far from Fishing Bridge.  I'll continue to pass through there when I have time in hopes of seeing them again.

This big grizzly is the same as earlier posts.  Once again he was on the hill on the approach to Sedge Bay.  I'll never tire of photographing the mightly grizzlies of Yellowstone. 

An internet acquaintance is visiting the park this week with a group from MPEG (Midwest Photo Enthusiasts Group).  You can follow his journey at marksmusings555.blogspot.com

Until next time, Thanks for visiting.  Remember to get a better look at any picture just double click on it.   David

Yellowstone

Spring has arrived with a high today around 60.  Most of the snow is gone and things are turning green.  My weekend is Friday/Saturday so back to work today.  Friday was a trip down to the Tetons.  It was a great day with five moose sightings.  Saturday was a day of hiking several moderate trails near the Lamar Valley.  Here are a few pictures from this week. 

This grizzly was seen along the lake near Sedge Bay one evening after work last week.

This moose was near the bridge over the Snake River at Moose Junction in the Tetons. He was quite shabby as his winter coat is molting, but still a joy to watch.

This is my PIC of the week.  This mother moose and younster were seen near Jackson Lake Lodge in the Tetons.  They never came fully out of the trees so this was the best shot I got.

Please feel free to share this blog with any one that may be interested.  Until next time, thanks for your interest and comments.    David

Yellowstone

Tomorrow will be June 1st and and maybe spring is really just around the corner.  This week has been a hard week for park visitors.  We had heavy snows on Sunday and Monday, closing many park roads until mid day.  We still have the east entrance to Cody only open at night due to the threat of avalanche over Sylvan Pass.  Dunraven pass is still closed with ten + feet of snow over the top and last week the road between Mammoth and Tower experienced a major rock slide and is still closed.  The good news is that the wildlife don't care about all this and have been visible all over the park.  A few pictures from the past week.

I found this young Bald Eagle perched above Pelican Creek.  Based on the white coloring remaining on the belly I guess it is 2 to 3 years old.

I found this beautiful grizzly walking along the shore line of Lake Yellowstone at an area called Mary Bay.

This is actually the same grizzly from last weeks picture of the sow with cub on her back.  I liked her expression in this cropped shot and the snow on her muzzle.  I've looked for her and the cub this week, but no luck yet.  A reminder that you can enlarge the picture by clicking on it.

My manager at the hotel is an award winning photographer.  I invite you to also view his photos of the week at http://www.travelsinbearcountry.com/pow2011.htm#pow .

Until next time, Thanks for viewing.  David

Yellowstone

Last week it appeared that spring was just around the corner and this week we've seen snow flurrys everyday.  This evening it is 28 degrees with a feels like temp of 21.  We have winter storm warnings for the holiday weekend.  I've found several photo opportunities this week after work and will post a few here.

Here is another look at the Harlequin Ducks in LaHardy Rapids.  They are here for only a short time in the early Spring.

One evening after dinner I found this playful otter on the frozen ice of Lake Yellowstone.  

This grizzley was seen several times feeding on a bison carcass.  The bison likely died during the winter and was frozen in the ice until recently.

And finally my picture of the week.  This sow and cub have been frequenting the Fishing Bridge area for a few weeks.  I finally got a chance to see them yesterday.  Thanks to my boss Steve for letting me out of work once we heard she was nearby.  I hope to see them many more times over the coming weeks.  

It is Friday of Memorial Day Weekend.  This morning we awoke to fresh snow and learned that all park roads were closed to traffic due to icey road conditions.  The sun is shining now so hopefully the roads will open by noon.  Until next time, thanks for following my blog.  David

Yellowstone

Another week has passed in Yellowstone.  Training is complete and the Lake Hotel is open for the season.  The snow is quickly melting with temperatures ranging from mornings at 30 to daytime temps near 45 to 50.  I've only had a few photo opportunities this week and will share a few here.  We still do not have wi-fi at the dorm so I haven't loaded any pictures to my main photo website but hope to soon.

This grizzly was seen for  several days near Grizzly Lake between Mammoth and Norris.  He drew quite a crowd of photographers.

These fellow was seen shortly after crossing the Lamar river bridge as you drive out to the Lamar Valley.

Both of these bears were about 150 yds out.  I used my 100-400mm lens fully extended.  Next time I'll try inserting the 1.4x extender to get a little closer.  Until next time, thanks for looking.  David

Yellowstone

Spring is finally arriving in Yellowstone.  Afternoon temperatures are reaching 50 and the snow is quickly melting.  Yellowstone Lake is still frozen but I expect it will clear by early June.  Due to the heavy winter snows there will be little hiking until mid to late June.  The east entrance from Cody has been closed for a week due to numerous avalanches.  My favorite drive over Dunraven Pass will not open for several more weeks.  I've been in training since arriving so have not had many photo opportunities.  We open the hotel this Friday so I'm looking forward to getting on a normal schedule.  We still do not have internet service in the dorm, but maybe sometime this week.  Here are a few photos from this week.

Several pair of Harlequin Ducks are currently in the LaHardy Rapids on the Yellowstone River.  It was difficult to get down to the rapids through waist deep snow, but worth the effort to see these beautiful ducks.  I'll try again this week to get some better pictures.

Here is a pair of Sand Hill Cranes beginning to think about nesting.  I think right now they are just trying to stay warm. 

This large ram was really impressive.  You can tell by the scars and battered horns that he has fought hard for his dominant role. 

Any finally this (brown) Black Bear was seen just south of Mammoth Hot Springs.

My highlight of the week was watching the Canyon pack of wolves on the move across the snow in the Hayden Valley.  There are five in the pack and I watched them from several locations as they moved south through the valley.  Too far for pictures, but a wonderful sight though the spotting scope.

Thanks for following my blog, until next time.  David

Yellowstone

A brief update from Yellowstone.  I've been at the Lake now for almost a week.  We have 4 to 5 feet of snow with drifts of 15 to 20 feet.  The temperatures are not bad with nights in the 20's and daytime about 40.  With so much snow many roads are still closed and we have seen almost no wildlife yet.  We have new snow almost every day.  Today I'm off and in Gardiner, MT to get on the internet.  We will not have wi-fi for another week at Lake.  The hotel opens on May 20th.  Here are a few pictures from the Lake area. 

 The Lake Hotel entrance

National Park Service office at Lake

This little new born Bison and mom were just down from our dorm.