Wild Memories Photography Tours

As is usual, I headed to Lamar Valley first thing to check on the Lamar Canyon pack but all was quiet.  Some folks told me that there had been a nice howl session from the den area and that was all.  Some of us surmised that they probably had a carcass and so there was no need to come down and cross the road.  That explanation was fine with me because I had a mission.

My mission was to capture Picnic Mom swimming and because she always goes right after I leave or right before I arrive, the plan was to stay until she swam.

Well, we waited all day, through rain, wind, sunshine, and everything else, and she did not go swimming.  I am not sure if the crowd thing is getting to be too much for her or if there was something else going on.  There had been a boar in the area, early in the day and as I look through images my impression is that something out there was making her concerned and it was not us so much.

Still, I am getting to the point where it does not feel right to surround these animals for an entire day.  Does not feel right for me and so a quandary to get certain shots or not.  And, of course, all of the times that Rosie swam last year, I missed those too – so I have never gotten to witness a bear swimming.  So, if Picnic would just swim and let her cubs pose once in closer proximity, it could move on to something else.  And, whether I am there or not, others will be.

Some shots of the day – of the 1800 photos I took, few are very good.  The forest, with branches, brush and everything else makes for some challenging times – which is the other reason that we stay and stay – waiting for that right moment when they are in the clear.  Does not happen often but in the meantime we get to see some cuteness and that is priceless.

Before going to the bears I stopped at Soda Butte Cone to play around with images of the cone, the green grass and the bison.  Different sort of photography for me but the bison really dominate this landscape and so I am directing some of my focus in that direction.

And, before the bears came out this morning this Clark’s Nutcracker was creating big time commotion in the forest.  Someone had just wished it would be quiet when it came over to us and told us all off.

Here is Judy’s report.  It is so nice to spend a part of the day sitting back, relaxing and catching up with friends.

JUDY:
We spent most of the day at the black bear with 2 COY just east of the Yellowstone Picnic Area in fairly thick trees. The photography wasn’t very good but I enjoyed visiting with Deby and a couple of other friends.  I am getting to the point where I have almost more friends in Yellowstone than I do at home which is really nice because I have more things in common with my Yellowstone friends. We all wanted her to cross to the pond but she never did.  We heard several things from other people who stopped by. We have heard about 6 or 7 black bear sows with COYS between Tower Ranger Station and Mammoth.  I believe they all have 2 except 1 has just 1.  We’ve also heard some things about what is going on to the south in the Hayden Valley and Fishing Bridge area.  There are now 22 harlequin ducks at La Hardy Rapids and 6 or 7 dusky grouse at Lake Butte Overlook.