Mama Elk, Baby Elk, and Touron were all okay at the end. But more on that later...
Previously in the Grand Tetons/Yellowstone series:
Grizzly and Wolf Center in West Yellowstone
Jackson Hole, Grand Tetons Day 1, Jenny Lake Campground, Elk Herd
Beautiful Jenny Lake, Foxes and Bears
Lovely Vistas full of Bison and Horses
Mormon Row, Pronghorn Antelope, and Ravens
Wildlife Art, Yellow-bellied Marmot, Colter Bay, and Ground Squirrels
Colter Bay to South Yellowstone
More Bison, Old Faithful, Biscuit Basin, and Beginning of Artemisia Trail Hike
Hike to Morning Glory Pool! Plus Bison with Red Dogs, Elk, and Coyotes
We're back on the road in beautiful Yellowstone National Park! In my humble opinion, everything about Yellowstone is just magical. And this drive just proved me right!
A little preview of our title: Mama and Baby Elk
Can you see the baby?
The Touron involved did NOT see the baby or she might have made different choices. But again, more on that later.
We'll start with a map of where we went on this glorious day after a storm. The pink over the red line is the focus of our drive. Left Madison Campground pretty early, went to Fountain Paint Pots and Grand Prismatic (last post), and now we are driving the southern-most part of the Grand Loop road.
I pretty quickly arrived at West Thumb but to my dismay, the parking lots were full since it was mid-day. So that will definitely be on my next trip's itinerary.
I kept driving until I found a beautiful beach still bordered by ice on the water! It was gorgeous. And what a contrast with the dark, pebbled beach. It was so peaceful that I just sat for a long while, drinking it in.
I loved the textures created between the ice and water.
And the textures on the beach were unmatched.
Love these shots of the Absaroka Range across Lake Yellowstone to the East. Such beautiful mountains!
And if you look hard at the next photo, you can see a line of beautiful ducks on the shore of the little island(?) or peninsula(?). Unfortunately for me the distance made it too difficult for me to ID their species.
And more ice along the shore along with some cool-looking rocks. I don't know if it was man made but it was the only formation like this that I could see.
After I admired the Lake and beaches for awhile, I hopped back into my car and kept driving towards the Lake Yellowstone Hotel which would be my next stop.
Shortly after, I found myself at the hotel. I pulled around the driveway to the back road which stands between the hotel and the lake and spied a group of people in the lakeside parking lot staring towards the hotel - many with cameras.
Technically the hotel was still closed so I wondered what was going on. Then I saw a big, beautiful elk on the lawn. This photo is approximately what it looked like to the naked eye although I cropped it instead of shooting it at 50mm.
Still, the rapt interest with which everyone was looking seemed a little excessive for a lone elk just walking around on the lawn. So I asked the nearest camera bearer. And he pointed out a baby elk semi-hidden under a small tree!
There is a red circle in the photo above, which is where the baby is. Mama was walking around the lawn and grazing and mostly ignoring the people.
The next photo is a screenshot from a shaky-ass video I took. It shows a lady who I will not call a Touron but possibly should. She was sitting on the left side of the lawn across a driveway of sorts and just watching the mama elk pace around
The elk did not seem bothered by her, but if she changed her mind, this lady would have been toast.
Luckily that didn't happen. The mama elk continued her lazy circle of the lawn, grazing as she went.
Ohhh the baby is so cute!!
Although mama seemed relaxed, she was ever vigilant. She watched the people moving around on the road and it seemed like she looked right at me a couple times.
Now for the Title Story: Touron in the Wild!
So as I was standing there watching, a car came up and passed in front of me. It was a family of four: dad (driving), mom, and two little girls. The Touron was in this car.
They pulled up beside the driveway where the older lady was sitting and proceeded to ask some of the people if the restaurant was open. Most people said it was not.
I took this opportunity to walk down to the little beach on the other side of the parking lot. And I'm so glad I did.
Did I mention that I love ducks? I think I did. And what did I see but two beautiful ducks on the water!
Awesome! A male (right) and female (left). And as I watched they slowly made their way to shore.
Barrow's Goldeneye! They're so lovely! And a lifer for me. :)
I was back watching Mama Elk when, out of the corner of my eye, I spotted a bright pink shirt to my left and saw the mom walking up the driveway to the back porch of the hotel! Luckily Mama Elk was on the right side of the lawn.
We all watched her in fascination, wondering what she was trying to do. She seemed completely oblivious to the Elk Mama and the possible danger she might be in.
She went up to the porch and peered in a few windows and knocked on the doors. There were mutterings amongst the people on the road.
And then? She began to walk back down. The Elk Mama was walking towards the left side of the lawn. She saw the bright pink shirt!
And then it happened: Mama Elk started to trot towards the women with increasing pace. The people on the road - myself included - started yelling out to the women, trying to let her know she was in danger.
Her children started crying and the husband asked me what was going on. I pointed out the Elk Mama and told him she had a baby hidden so she would be protective and possibly fierce.
It took the woman a second to realize what all the yelling was about. And then she saw Mama coming towards her and she smartly turned around and ran back to the porch!
Mama Elk looked like she was trying to figure out how to get up there so the woman went to the right side of the porch and hid behind one of the pillars.
That's her arm in the red circle. lol She was up there for about 5-8 minutes with Mama Elk completely fixated on her and stepping back and forth.
Suddenly the previously locked porch doors came open and the staff quickly called for the lady to come inside!
After a few minutes, we saw a bright pink shirt come out of the doors that were halfway down the building. I pointed it out to her husband who quickly bundled the girls into the car and drove down to pick her up.
A happy ending to a semi-moronic story. lol
And with that, I decided it was time for me to head out as well. On to our next destination - Fishing Bridge and the icy mouth of the Yellowstone River.
The original bridge was built in 1902 but this one was built in 1937. It is no longer a fishing bridge; the bridge was closed to fishing due to the decline of the cutthroat trout. But you can still observe fish from the bridge.
I did a lot more driving on this day and saw a lot more wildlife and gorgeous scenery. But I think we'll end this post here at the mouth of the Yellowstone River with Yellowstone Lake and the Absaroka Range in the distant background.
See you next time! Be well and be kind. And go on adventures! :)
xoxo
Nikon D600 28-300mm Nikkor lens
Nikon D7200 150-600mm Sigma Contemporary lens
Some photos Sharpened/Denoised with Topaz Photo AI
