Yellowstone - September 19, 2014 – Friday

Up at 5:15 again.  This morning there was an egg creation with the left over elk bolognaise.  The moon was a crescent holding up a ball of ice cream....

 We headed up to elk flats.  The pre-sunrise looked like what we imagine the smoky mountains must look like; shades of grey with clouds lifting off the valleys and onto the peaks.  The sun lit the very tips of the clouds making it look like God was about to make an appearance, but it was just angels in the end.  A sight to behold never-the-less.

The elk bugled in the sunrise and kept at it.  We met a couple of guys from Ontario with a 600 mm and an 800mm lens each; lens envy!  We finally left them and headed up to Swan Lake toward Norris on the road that was closed 7 miles from there.  The forecast was calling for clear skies, even though there was considerable cloud cover.  We wanted to check out the location for potential Milky Way shoots. 

We then came back and headed to Lamar Valley via Tower.  On the way a cloud was in the valley below us making for wonderful photo ops.  It had rained seriously the night before and the road to 6 blacktails plateau was closed.  

 We got lucky and saw a bluebird close enough to snag a shot or two.  Of course the bison were everywhere!  We’ve gotten picky now – only shooting them if they were in the sun, doing something interesting, or had unique backdrop. 

Bluebird

 Each day the autumn colors were getting more vibrant. 

This day we decided to see all the parts of the park we had already been in and to add a new part – Norris.  After all, Yellowstone is known for its geysers and we hadn’t seen any.  That was by design as they stink!!  But, we were here so what the hey?!

So we drove to Norris Basin Geyser and walked around to see the color pools and watch people eat their lunches next to the smelly geysers (yuck!).  The pools are pretty, but after about 30 minutes we had had enough and were headed back to the wildlife and Hayden Valley.  

On the way back we did the Virginia Cascades loop.  There wasn’t much to see, but there was a small river near the end with a fly fisherman.  Cheri had always wanted to shoot one – she got her shot!

 The weather started to really cloud up and look threatening so after one last look at Le Hardy Rapids, we headed back out of the park for dinner at the Iron Horse.  Cheri had the Bison meatloaf and John ordered a Bison steak but ended up with a rib eye that was very tasty!

Enjoy!

Cheri & John

Yellowstone - September 18, 2014 – Thursday

Good thing we checked the weather the night before and learned it was going to be grim.  We took the opportunity to catch-up on some much needed shut-eye!  Ahhh.  10 ½ hours to feed the soul!  An egg creation of egg whites, tomatoes and elk bolognaise.  After processing images and actually reviewing them, we got our act together around 10 am as the weather appeared to be clearing.

At this point, Intellicast is still saying it’s going to clear and we think we’ve timed it right – so off to 6 blacktail plateau.  By the time we get there, storms engulf us, big rain drops fall like crocodile tears and then form into a good cry.  After about 15 minutes, the sun starts to poke through again.  This would be the story for the day.  Great!  Shooting moody skies is a real treat that is hard to come by.  Most of the time when the weather is bad you get slate grey skies which are patently unphotographic – but not this time!

As we got toward the end of the dirt road, we stopped to shot the autumn colors and sat for a bit.  Suddenly, out of nowhere, we were treated to some birds we’d never seen before – ruffed grouse!  There were about 8 of them and they crossed the road right in front of us.  The sun came out in full force.  As they entered the tall grasses on the other side of the road, one flew into a tree…pow, pow, pow.  Then the male got onto a branch right next to Cheri and proceeded to pose in every possible way!!  Jackpot!!! The sun picked up all his colors and with a backdrop of fall golden grasses and yellow aspens – what shots!

 

rough grouse

We headed for Lamar Valley.  Along the way there were a gaggle of cars and people and park rangers stopped; lots of big lenses visible.  We asked what was up – it was a black bear.  So we stopped.  No sooner was Cheri out of the car, but the rain started again – big crocodile drops.  Luckily, she was in five layers and the outer layer was a Northface Hyvent Goretex shell!  She walked down to where the bear was, but the views were rough.  The bear clearly knew we were there and had no intention of offering a clear shot.  So – shots taken and she was wet enough that we carried on.  

Black Bear

  We had lunch by the river at the far end of Lamar Valley when the rain stopped enough that Cheri could make our customary ham, dill pickle and brown mustard sandwiches.  The thunder was rumbling loudly all around us.

After lunch the sun broke again and moody skies were on offer.  Pow, pow, pow….Bison in huge herds….pow pow pow.

  

As we slowly made our way back toward Mammoth, we pulled into a pull out just as big drops began to fall again.  As we rounded a giant rock on the edge of the pulloff – we saw movement.  Cheri had the wide angle lens on, but pulled it out quickly – but the animal was quicker!  That night we asked around for what it might have been; maybe a marmet or maybe a badger.  The next day we found an animal guide and learned it was an American Badger!  Another new animal for us – even though we didn’t score a picture of this solitary animal, it was wonderful to see!

We sat and waited for the rain to let off in hopes of seeing the creature again.  As we waited, the sun began to shine though the black clouds and a rainbow appeared.   It was one of the most vibrant rainbows either of us had ever seen; ROYGBIV all in their glory.  And then, a second, fainter rainbow appeared above the first; two, parallel, streams of joy and life, each leading to their own pot of gold.  Finally the sun came out enough that the rainbows disappeared. 

As we drove on there was another group of Bison right next to the road on both sides.  Cheri said, “stop, stop, stop” and jumped out.  There was a yellow headed blackbird which she had never seen before!  WOW – another new species!!!

yellow headed blackbird

We drove on and got to Hell’s Raising.  Another rainbow appeared.  We pulled in and Cheri took off rapidly down the trail hoping for a clearer spot to shoot.  The clouds were thickening and the thunder was picking up considerably.  She kept thinking, “I know better than to be doing this after having shot rockets to attract lightning many years ago, but….”.  She got the shots and was hoofing it back up the trail as John appeared.  He said, “ I was getting worried when I read the sign that said bears in the area don’t hike without 3 or more people and make noise!”.

Back in the car the clouds kept getting more interesting as the storm came in in force.  Back to Gardiner! 

Enjoy-

Cheri & John

Yellowstone - September 17, 2014 - Wednesday

Yep – the alarm rang at 5:15 am.  Yikes – did anyone say this was vacation?!  Showered, C had eggs & tomatoes & elk bolognaise, J had donuts, & coffee and we’re off!

It was the first time we've taken the 6 Blackfoot Plateau.  It's a little off the beaten track, is 6 miles long, one way, and a one lane road; we encountered no other humans!  As we rounded the first climb, there was a lone bison to greet us.  He was in the sun and happily rolling, followed by scratching on a branch and then lumbering across the road.  The light was superb. 

 

Bison

Carrying on, we were running to find a good point to welcome the sun who was imminently due to make an appearance.  Along the way, we were noting things we would like to return to capture once the sun was actually up in the sky.  

The sun made and appearance over a meadow, through some pine trees in front of a mountain range.  It was a perfect opportunity to try out two different lenses: 14mm prime and 24-105 mm.  Carefully setting the camera/lenses to capture a star with the sun, Cheri shot away with John’s camera.   Hope you enjoy these.

 After the first round trip it was clear we needed a second run through.  There were some aspens whose leaves were turning from green to yellow and even some to red and orange.  They were the best specimens we had seen so far.  So, off we went for a second run through.  This time we had lots of company.   We took our time and shot all kinds of images and played with them in artistic ways.  

 

After two rounds, it was time to press on and see what else the park had to offer.  We decided to head down to the Yellowstone River once again and see what we could see.  

We no sooner got started and we ran into a group of mountain sheep who we running back and forth across the road eating sweet grass.  Of course this was a perfect picture opportunity.  

After shooting for about 15 minutes a man approached Cheri and said, "Cheri is that you?"  I looked up and there was a colleague, Rod Griffith, who I knew 15 years ago!!  What are the odds?!  We chatted away, got to meet each other's spouses and fifteen years seemed to evaporate right there on the side of the road!! We ran into them again a few hours later.   

We stopped off at the falls and decided to walk in the 150 ft to see it.  When we got to the falls there was an additional trail that took you down to the river itself.  This one was straight down and conversely straight up after you had been to the river.  We had both been missing our bikes and thought "why not"?  So down we went!  The river was green and blue and abutted some sandstone peaks.  We played with images and enjoyed the heat of the morning.  It was already climbing from the early morning lows of 42 degrees to what would be the high of 75 deg; gotta love Indian summer.  

By now, it was past lunchtime and we decided to make a run for the river so we could picnic there.  We found a pull off with a nice tree and settled in for ham and dill pickle sandwiches, tortilla chips and salsa verde! Yummy!  The river was peacefully floating by with the blue sky and white clouds reflecting.  

The bison were holding court in the Hayden Valley and forcing traffic to their whims.  Good light and fun to watch!

We carried on to Le Hardy rapids looking for otters.  No otters, but we did see Rod & Vicki again!  A merganser was playing in the rapids; would have never guessed that would be a bird behavior as the rapids were really running!

The weather started to get dark and we decided to head for hotel and dinner!  Back to the Iron Horse where Cheri had the elk bolognaise and John had the Bison Meatloaf.  More food envy!

Enjoy!

Cheri & John