YELLOWSTONE'S WILD WORLD

When I left the trailer in the woods at about 4 this morning, my car was packed with everything that would be needed for a night away – whether it be in a motel, the car or a tent.  And just for good measure, I took my laundry along, in hopes of a shower and clean clothes.

This turned out to be one of those amazing days when I got everything I wanted, except the shower and clean clothes, and so much more.

For the past several days I have been making early morning trips to Canyon, in hopes of seeing the Canyon wolves but they had not come in on the bison carcass for me.  And, so this morning my plan was to glance at the carcass, just in case, and continue on, in hopes that the wolves would be moving about further down the road.

The bison were crossing the Yellowstone river and acting just plain crazy and so I stopped to film them and the red sun coming over the hills.  I am guessing that there are fires somewhere because Yellowstone was covered in a dull, smoky haze, which is why the sun was red.

The bison jams were already forming at 6 a.m. and so it took some negotiating to get around the myriad of cars in different places.  And then the red sun was casting a pink glow on the river and that struck my fancy.

Finally, moving on and I noticed a car stopped and the occupants watching something so slowly pulled up to see what they were seeing.  It was 712!  Gosh, I was so excited my hands were shaking.  I had just changed to a shorter lens, which probably was lucky for, and so I took a few shots before pulling off of the road and parking.  The old boy came on across and then lingered for a while, sniffing this and that and generally making sure I got some shots of him.  I so appreciated that he took his time.  After he continued in the the sage I went to the pullout, changed lenses and took some more shots and video as he went away.  Yes, I was dancing in the clouds!

The folks who were on the hill looking for the wolves spotted 712 but had no idea he had just crossed the road.  Apparently they had seen the female for a short time but she went out of sight.

Well, I took a slight detour out along the lake before heading down to the Tetons and Jackson for groceries.  I had two choices, Bozeman or Jackson, both of which are quite a drive, and so I chose the scenic route.  Only took 3 naps along the way but was in no hurry and so stopped to take in the sights many times.  Several folks were enjoying a couple of bull elk down by West Thumb and so I stopped to see the boys but did not photograph them.

In the Tetons I noticed a mini jam and got my hopes up for a bear but it was a coyote in some beautiful, subtle wildflowers.

So, I watched and photographed the coyote for a while, thoroughly enjoying the scene and the beautiful animal that walked through.

I then drove on, deciding to drive the western route, past Jenny lake and all of that.  And, there was two more bull elk getting too much attention.  One was napping, or chewing its cud and so folks walked up to get a better look – about 10 yards!  The bear manager showed up and asked them to give the old boy a break and so the crowd went to pick on the smaller bull.

I had been sitting back, in my car, kind of just watching and so this gave me a chance to talk to Kate, the bear manager, about the rumors going around.   Won’t get into it now but you sure can’t believe what people tell you any more.  What is with that?  Folks don’t like being told no so they make up stories?  Anyway, I was a bit relieved and real happy to have had a chance to check things out before making any comments.

On I went, checking out Moose Wilson road.  Saw some beavers right before they disappeared.  Went back to the bridge and saw a gorgeous bull moose down by the river.  He was not in good light or a great location and so I went on into town for groceries.

It was my lucky day because I found my cereal and some honey!  And some other gluten free treats to try.  Jackson Whole Grocery has moved locations and my head was spinning while looking at all of their products.  I just don’t get out very often.

So, groceries, gas and the oil checked and back into the park.  The bull moose was resting in some thick trees and so I went back to Moose Wilson Rd. for a minute and made it back just in time to be the first to find the bull up and out in the open.  Yippee!  I did not want bears or coyotes in the the Tetons, I wanted a bull moose.  Heck with that shower!

Really did have a great time photographing the moose and listening to the people about me.  Tetons seems to have a huge staff for the wildlife brigade and they seem to be actively out and looking for wildlife sightings because someone shows up in a matter of minutes, which is good because it alleviates the stress of watching people get too close to the animals.  I would so much rather have a ranger or volunteer at a wildlife jam, so that they can remind everyone to keep their distance and I can take photos without worry.

I left Mr. Moose a happy woman, thinking about how I had gotten everything that day.  But, I did not yet know that Schwabacher’s Landing was open and that the road had been paved.  I drove down there and despite the smokey haze, it was a stunning specimen of wildlife habitat.  A beaver was on the opposite shore, a muskrat kept showing his cute, rat like face, up close, the fish were jumping, a Dipper was busy feeding the babies and an osprey came to get a fish.  I took some photos, did a time lapse and some video.  The video was going for the osprey action but it lands just outside of the frame and then flew through with the Dipper in hot pursuit.

Fabulous end to a perfect day!  Now I am going to crawl into the back of my car and go to sleep because I want to be ready for sunrise.  Was going to start driving back after getting to see the moose but decided that I need more time at Schwabachers so am going back there in the morning.