Yellowstone was great

We actually spent 5 days in Yellowstone National Park. Our visit was primarily to the area between Mammoth Hot Springs and Cooke City. In addition to the seminar that we attended, we experienced the wolf migration into the area around Mammoth Hot Springs. At least one female has had a litter a pups within a mile of the city and the males have been observed in Mammoth looking for food. Everyone is concerned as to what will happen next. You may have read about this in your local paper.

If you have been to Yellowstone, you know that buffalo, bison, or tatonka, are a major item. You see them everywhere. I captured these pictures to update you on what's happening with them. There were a significant number of new calves that had just been born, this young calf was with its mother in the snow of which there was still quite a bit still on the ground. Buffalo's for a short distance can move very rapidly. I thought this made a great picture of this big bull acknowledging that he could go very rapidly if required, in fact he could exceed the speed limit for a short distance. Finally, I saw this wolf (he is #302's younger brother) by himself initially. He started to wonder across a large meadow - - at the end of the meadow was a buffalo. They started to converge on each other which peaked my interest. Ultimately they got close enough for this picture and after they posed for me they went their separate ways. More tomorrow.

An antelope, pronghorn

The setting of this picture reminded me of the color and background when we were in Africa several years ago. This was one of several antelope which we saw. Although this one was sauntering along it can also run at a very fast pace, one of the world's fastest animals. Their markings make them a very interesting animal to observe.

We were greeted by "happiness" in Yellowstone

There was no snow at the northwest entrance to Yellowstone as you can see by this picture. The Mountain Bluebirds were abundant but as we drove toward Mammoth Hot Springs and the higher altitudes we didn't see any more. For those of you who have seen our last several posts, there was plenty of snow in the Lamar Valley and I'm sure that they got at least another foot or two in the last 2 days. I still haven't got close to the male bluebird at the ranch, but I'm trying.

and then there were wolves

On the eastern trip through the Lamar Valley, we were focused on other things as we missed the buffalo carcass. We turned around at Soda Butte and were blessed with a fury of activity. The highlight of our visit was a wolf couple who first chased another wolf away and then turned around to howl. Howl they did, it was loud, entertaining, and perhaps intimidating. I captured their image as they sang and soon they were on their way as if they were strutting off the stage. These 3 pictures captured the moments.

Kenya and Barlo usually go with us

The rules that you receive at the entrance to the park regarding pets, states that they are allowed and if they get out of the vehicle, they must be on a lead and can not go more than 100 feet from the road that you are traveling on. As you see, these are not Yellowstone wildlife, but are our 2 Great Danes. They enjoy the scenery and as we approach wildlife in the car, they come to full alert, yet are very respectful to the animals, have never barked, but certainly know these are different than they experience on our ranch at Fishtail. Marty was giving them an afternoon break . . . we were at least a mile from any wildlife at the time I took this picture.

. . . and of course there were elk

The trophy elk was proud that he still had his antlers for this picture. He will soon be shedding them and growing new and most likely bigger ones for next season. There are at least 3 large bull's in the area where this guy was and when we return in May and the summer we will report on the new growth.

The lone female was one of 6 that must have been grazing in the area where the grizzly bear (see March 20th blog) eventually camped out for the day. As we were watching the grizzly roam through the wooded area we suddenly heard and then saw 6 young elk come running in the opposite direction of the bear. They certainly heard or smelled him and decided today was not the day to graze where they had been.

The group of ladies that you see through the trees were headed to an open area about a mile further east when I took this picture. This picture captured only a few of them as there must have been at least 50 or more in this herd.

Of course elk were prevalent around Mammoth Hot Springs and other areas along the road to Cooke City.

TRY DOUBLE CLICKING ON THE PICTURES

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.

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.

Did you guess Yellowstone National Park?

Where could you find an elk in this much snow that would be within the range of 40 miles from our ranch? We'll spend Friday and Saturday in Yellowstone while staying at our favorite resort, Chico Hot Springs. We will most likely have some pictures and for sure some stories about our trip. Clint will be stopping at The Paradise Gallery in Gardiner to bring them some more of his photograhy, rocks, and cards.

Where are we going, get out your map and compass

You may have it figured out already, but in case you don't, tomorrow's clue will confirm your suspicions. The dogs are going also, it is "dog friendly" where we are staying.

Guess where we are going this week

This is not a view from our ranch, but if you were an eagle you could be there in less than 40 miles. Marty, the dogs and I will have traveled almost 200 miles when we get to the spot where I took this picture in early February. I will post another hint tomorrow and the final hint on Wednesday . . . . then we're gone. You'll get some more pictures next Sunday or Monday, from our trip.

Coyotes in Yellowstone

A series of pictures of coyotes that were photo-graphed on a recent trip to Yellowstone National Park. Coyotes, mate for life, however in the wild there are circumstances that can end these types of relationships, primarily, other predators.

These pictures were taken during mating season, the female is on the right and the male is the full body picture on the left. I took 15 pictures using a 100mm-400mm canon zoom lens with image stabilization. The pictures were taken using a 100mm-400mm zoom lens with an image stabilizer. The coyotes were in the process of walking up a rather steep slope in the Lamar Valley, the temperature was minus 5 degrees and there were no clouds in the sky.
I captioned the "mate for life" expressions as I viewed the pictures which I will share with you. I plan to add more pictures so come back soon. One picture is "bored and losing patience", another is "good lookin is finally getting here", and "where did you get that collar, it's ugly.

Clint's Pictures

I purchased my first serious camera in 1977, upgraded it from time to time, received a Canon Sure Shot from from children as a birthday present in 2002. Went to Africa in 2004, dusted off my Canon EOS and my zoom lens and shot 20 rolls of film. I had the rolls developed and recorded on CD's. I was amazed at the quality of the images. Since then I have progressed with my addiction. 3 new lens with image stabilization, a digital camera, adult education at the high school, 2 new printers, Photoshop CS3, and Scott Kelby's 7 Point System.

The most positive response from the those outside my family came in January 2008 when I started to share some pictures of a wolf that I took in Yellowstone National Park at Christmas of '07. It has grown from there, my son-in-law is associated with etsy.com and got me on their web site, my brother -in-law created an LLC for me, one of my prints of an elk sold for $325 at the high school art auction and my work is now in several galleries.

More to come on each of these subjects.