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Published: August 7th 2012
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Today before the sun rose and while the full moon was still shining, we went in search of elk. The temperature was -2 and a mist rose as we drove alongside the Madison River. As the sun was just touching the tips of the mountains, we found a herd of about 25 elk grazing on a meadow in a narrow river valley. Bird life was also abundant. Numerous Canada Geese nested at the river’s edge and an osprey soared overhead diving for fish. We also saw two sandhill cranes hunting for bugs in the tall grass. The evening before, we had witnessed these same birds with their wings outstretched doing what I believe was a mating dance. Unfortunately, the light was too low and they were too far away to take any good photos.
Yellowstone has an abundance of waterfalls. These waterfalls are made for artists and photographers. Some like the lower falls of the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone are large and impressive and others like Gibbon Falls are mystical. They fall over the walls of the volcanic caldera forming thousands of silver threads over the colorful rock. If I could paint, I would paint these falls.
The far eastern section of the park is a vast wilderness. Sage and timothy cover the massive Lamar Valley which is home to most of the park’s bison and elk herds. Have you ever heard a herd of bison? (Okay, so that was not such a great sentence, but the question is serious.) Unlike cattle whose mooing can sometimes be described as peaceful, bison emit a deep guttural rumble along with an amazing assortment snorts, sneezes, roars, bellows, and even belches! This is the time of year the bison are in rut, and we saw large herds and plenty of activity. A quick look at Wikipedia tells us, “The herd exhibits much restlessness during breeding season. The animals are belligerent, unpredictable and most dangerous.” David’s long lens kept us at a safe distance, but we saw many people engaged in extremely naive at-risk behavior.
Pronghorn also inhabit this valley and we saw a number of them on our drive. (I learned that these animals are often incorrectly called antelope.) These are a strikingly beautiful animals with tan, white and black coloring. Both males and females have impressive horns and are the fastest land animal
in North America - we were so lucky to get such great shots of these creatures.
This valley is also a favorite spot for birders - scores of them lined various viewpoints in lawn chairs with their spotting scopes scanning the Soda Butte River that winds its way through the valley. Perhaps someday when we (well David) no longer feels like driving for hours on end, we will take up watching birds for hours on end.
David says I already search for flowers for hours on end ... I think I would like bird watching.
Dinner this evening was at the Mammoth Dining Room. This is a large dining room with room for over 200. This is not an intimate restaurant. But what it lacks in inside ambiance is made up for in the location. It looks out at the Mammoth Terraces and a herd of elk strolls by every evening at exactly 8:00 pm which is when we just happened to be there. (Well, there were a few stragglers, but the majority were on time.)
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AB
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Simple, Fresh and Eternal.
Hey you Two of You, I thoroughly enjoy your blog. The photos are great and the words engage the heart. Don't stop.