and guess what was hustling across the valley

Two days in a row as we traversed across the Lamar Valley, we saw remnants of the Druid wolf pack, in high gear headed east the first day and west the second day. These were not leisurely meanderings across the valley, they were intent on getting somewhere or something. We could not figure out what but we knew they were in a hurry. Here's one of them.

An early sign of spring in Yellowstone

If you have been cuddled up in your warm bed, when it is 5, 10, maybe 20 degrees outside and someone asked, when do the bears come out of their winter hibernation. Your answer would probably been when the snow melts and it gets warmer outside. On March 14, 2009 it was 18 degrees when I took these pictures. I had seen this grizzly the day before, had watched him, but couldn't get close enough for a picture.
He had traveled through a heavily wooden area at a higher elevation and then went down to the Lamar River for several hours. There were some elk near the point where he was headed, and before we saw him arrive, we saw the elk, startled and scared heading in the opposite direction. He spent most of the day, resting along the bank of the river, but on occassions he would get up and stretch. On this occassion, he provided a profile of his head, thank you Mr. Bear.

That's an unusual rock on the crest of the ridge

Driving through the Lamar Valley in Yellowstone National Park, I spotted something on the crest of a ridge. My first impression was it was a rock, an unusual rock to say the least, but a closer examination with my binoculars, was it was alive and moving. This is a close up of the same image.
This guy and several of his buddies were working the crest, not much to eat but within the next month there should be some morsels of grass appearing.

Why do bison try to leave Yellowstone in the winter?

This picture is the answer. The ground is covered with snow. No one is hauling hay for them to eat. The vegetation that is available is either hard like a tree, dry like paper, or who would want to eat it, like the sage brush these buffalos are walking through. Nice photograph, ugly picture. Want to see a larger picture, double click on the screen.

Yellowstone in mid-March

Over the next few days, we will share with you our 2 days in Yellowstone, last week. The look on this coyotes face tells it all. Although the temperatures ranged from 5 degrees to 35 degrees above, depending upon the time of day and the altitude, the sun was bright and it was comfortable. This critter was obviously full from his last meal and had settled in the sun for a rest or perhaps a nap.
Come back and see who is out of hibernation, some interesting photo's of most of the wild life.

Dinner at Chico Hot Springs

One of our favorite places to dine is Chico Hot Springs in the Paradise Valley between Livingston and Yellowstone National Park. Many great meals have been enjoyed there as well as many unique experiences. Thanksgiving 2007, Jeff and his family ate with us at the buffet. Everyone had a little bit of everything except for Curtis, who started at the desert section and returned 2 more times for the "banana's foster". When it was time to collect for the dining, we were asked his age, which was 5 years old at the time. We were told there would be no charge for his meal.

In the summer of 2008, Marty and I were joined by our granddaughter Crissy. Crissy normally is challenged to finish her dinner, but that night after she ordered her dinner, she spotted an entree on another table and ordered it as well. To everyone's astonishment, Crissy consumed 2 entrees, an all time record.

So, to celebrate our trip to Chico, I had not 1 but 2 appetizers, 2 entree's plus my favorite desert, a chocolate coconut pie that tastes just like a "mounds" bar. I probably had a glass or 2 of wine also. It was a great meal and these pictures were taken to prove that grandpa can do it also.