In the Wilds of Yellowstone, Every Moment is Magic - Animals in Lamar Valley - May 21, 2021

 I can't believe I'm finally coming to the end of reliving my Grand Teton/Yellowstone adventure through my blog posts!  May 2021 was a long time ago, but I still feel like it was last week.  I know I want to go again soon.  Soon!  I'm going to shoot for 2027...maybe in Fall.  

As always, please click the links below to see the rest of the series!

Previously in the Grand Tetons/Yellowstone series:

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

Black Sand Basin and Bison

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

Grizzly and Wolf Center in West Yellowstone

Fountain Paint Pots and Grand Prismatic Spring

Mama Elk for the Win! Lake Yellowstone Hotel and Surrounds

It's Elk! It's Birds!  It's Mammoth Hot Springs Campground! 

Tour around Mammoth Hot Springs!

Landscapes and sights on the Northern road

So my title is kind of a misnomer...  I said "in Lamar Valley" but as I later found out, I never really made it inTO Lamar Valley.  I only made it to Slough Creek which is the western edge of Lamar Valley. Oh dear.

But like most of my time in Yellowstone, I saw animals.  Much wildlife!  My heart was happy.  My soul was at peace.  And this is a photo essay of the animals I saw in western Lamar Valley in Yellowstone National Park!

I stopped at Undine Falls and saw a new bird for me.  A lifer as we birders call it (and I use the term "birders" loosely for me haha).  A Vesper Sparrow in the snow. 

 And then I drove through the windy hills until there was a hill on my right side and a small valley on my left.  There was a herd of bison in the snow in the distance.  And they had babies!

They also had coyotes ranging around them.  I saw three I believe.  They had their eyes on the babies, but seemed wary of the adults. 

A little further up the road, some bison decided - as they do - that they would rather be on the other side.  It created a small bison jam. I don't know why the car on the other side is sideways though.  Strange. 

And then a little further, there were some crossing the road from the opposite direction!  This was a popular bison crossing apparently. 

A short while later, I had left the snow behind (or so I thought.  Some more would fall on me at Slough Creek and it was so magical.) and was starting down into the valley when I saw a tour bus on the opposite side of the road.  The guests were looking through scopes towards a hill on their side.  I quickly pulled off the road and grabbed my camera with my 600mm lens on it. 

There was a Big Horn Sheep ewe!  I've always wanted to see Big Horn Sheep!  I got two photos and this is my best one.  :)

It always pays to stop when you see people with scopes.  Except when I stopped as Slough Creek hoping for wolves.  haha  They were long gone by the time I got there. But anyway, there was more to see!  Lots of bison with their red dogs!  And Pronghorn!  I took so many pictures of pronghorn but very few turned out decent.  They were quite a ways away. 

So many bison!

When the snow started to fall on me at Slough Creek, I was talking to one of the wolf watchers who told me that another storm was coming in.  That made me very nervous.  I knew I had to go across a pass in Idaho on my way home (which was a different route than what I had taken to Grand Teton on the way in) so my already anxious brain was now on high alert.  

I thought I was already in Lamar Valley proper so I decided to head back through Mammoth to West Yellowstone and hopefully beat the storm.  So off I headed back west.  

Back in the snow, my adventures were not over!  I saw a pronghorn in a wide turnout.  He didn't even look at me when I pulled past him, pulled over, and got my camera out!

A short time later, I pulled off again for what I think may be one of my best photos of the trip.  A lone bison (the herd was a short way off) standing just off the road. 

I was just about to Mammoth when I saw three Elk in the bushes just off the road.  I pulled over again because of course I did!

At this point, I was getting quite a bit anxious as the clouds continued to become darker.  It was only mid-day but it seemed a little darker than it had been that morning. 

I started for Gardner to fill up on gas for the long road home and then headed back to West Yellowstone.  Except!  I had to stop once again.  For one, I wanted some video of the Roosevelt Arch.  for two, I saw a pronghorn in the exact spot that I had seen one the last time I went to Gardner!  Just before the North Entrance to the park in a little field there grazing.  I swear it's the same one. 

And then I was on my way home, racing (not really) the storm.  I did have to stop one more time as I saw my last bison just before the Norris Geyser Basin and it was such a beautiful, peaceful meadow that I needed to stop and photograph it. 

Okay, NOW I'm on my way home.

Did I mention I don't really drive in snow?  Well, that was put to the test as the snow was coming DOWN on Targhee Pass.  It was getting bad when suddenly I was headed down the other side.  Scared myself as my car hit some ice and slid along the lane as I was coming up behind another car, but luckily no crash and from then on it was smooth sailing. 

I didn't even stop except for bathroom breaks and to stretch my legs on my whole way back to California!  Unlike when I was going to Grand Teton and I needed to stop and take a long nap on the way. 

I thought I was done with the snow but I-80 thought different!  I couldn't believe it but it was snowing as I entered California and headed up to Donner Pass!  It wasn't as bad though so I was able to just keep going.  

What an unbelievable adventure I had!  It was so amazing and wonderful and I'm so glad I could calm my anxiety and take this beautiful trip!

 I'm so glad you've joined me for my photo recap of my adventures in Grand Tetons and Yellowstone National Parks.  You should go yourself!  It's an amazing place that makes for some wonderful memories. 

xoxo

Nikon D600 with Nikkor 28 - 300 mm lens

Nikon D7200 with Sigma Contemporary 150-600 lens

Returning to the Past: Grand Tetons and Yellowstone Series Resumes!

 So, way back in 2021- in the time of the Covid-19 pandemic - I decided to take advantage of an opportunity to go to Grand Tetons and Yellowstone National Parks.  Road Trip!!  I love them. 

Unusually for me, I posted several posts regarding my trip within three months of the actual trip!  Then I got derailed by my mental health, namely anxiety and depression, and didn't post again until January 2022.  At that point, I got derailed kind of permanently by those same issues; I just had a photo editing block and a writing block.  I just couldn't do it even though the memories and reminders of my trip brought me great happiness and pleasure.  It didn't help that my computer was getting older and was less and less able to handle my photo editing software...and just life in general I guess.  Just like me.

Well, I'm back.  With a new computer and a healthier mentality, I'm ready to revisit one of the most amazing experiences of my life. 

Check out my earlier posts!

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

Black Sand Basin and Bison

More Bison, Old Faithful, Biscuit Basin, and Beginning of Artemisia Trail Hike

And with that, we are caught up! 

It was on the gorgeous, bright morning of May 19, 2021, when I decided that I was going to hike the Artemisia Trail from Biscuit Basin to Morning Glory Pool.

I decided to try something slightly different for me and video the sights along the trail.  Mainly, as I mention in the video, because I was hiking solo and this gave me a reason to talk to myself which helps scare off bears.  Not that I was too worried about bears as this hike is pretty popular and suitable for many skill levels.  Including overweight and out of shape level - like me! And it's about .9 mile each direction although you can walk all the way to Old Faithful.

Here is the sign at the trailhead which shows most of the trails, geysers, and pools in the Upper Geyser Basin which includes Old Faithful, Black Sand Basin, and Biscuit Basin.

I mostly took video on this hike but did take a few pictures on my Nikons.  This is Gem Pool - a lookalike to Morning Glory but both beautiful in their own way.  

Gem Pool closeup:

Not sure what this pool is called...  I have the picture labeled Blue Pool with Yellow Border.  Descriptive!

This is the Firehole River which runs parallel to the trail from Biscuit Basin to Morning Glory Pool. 

These next two photos are from the bridge over the Firehole River after is turns left to cross the Artemisia Trail.  First view is downriver and second is upriver. 

And now...the famed Morning Glory Pool!  Simply gorgeous.  

Some closeups...  Including what I called the "galaxy inside the pool" - the sparkly blue-green center. 

And one last shot of the Firehole River.  This is the view from the highway.  I ended up walking along the road so I could get this lovely shot.  haha

After the hike, I decided to drive to West Yellowstone.  I saw some animals on my way there! Yay!  Including some Red Dogs - AKA baby bison.  

On the road to the West Yellowstone Gate, I saw some elk in a meadow in the woods.  I pulled over (of course) and got out of my car to have a look see.  I noticed the elk were looking away from me, further towards the tree line.  As I looked, I saw that there were a couple of coyotes and the elk were keeping a watchful eye on their movements. 

Amazing.  I love coyotes and I was happy to see them.  I would see a whole pack later in my trip.  But we'll save that.  

I headed into West Yellowstone to go to the Grizzley & Wolf Discovery Center.  I stopped at a market in town and bought an air mattress for my tent and a 6-pack of Huckleberry Honey Ale of which I drank a can later in my campsite.  It was yummy!

I also bought dinner at a restaurant that I can't remember four years later (eye roll).  I wish I could.  I tried to search on Google and there are a few restaurants that look similar to what I remember but I couldn't see the dish I remember.  But all I remember was meat with a Huckleberry bbq sauce.  Delicious.  

I spilled the sauce in the front passenger seat of my car and on the floor which caused me to have a panic attack about bears.  I cleaned it the best I could but you could still see and smell it quite a bit.  I went up to the Madison campground headquarters and talked to a ranger about it.  She could obviously see how worried about it I was and I explained that I neglected to bring bear spray with me and now that my car smelled like a restaurant, I was panicking.  

She was so kind.  She talked me off the ledge and gave me a can of bear spray and explained the do's and don'ts of bear spray.   She really reassured me and stopped me from hightailing it home.  

On that note, I'll end this post.  I do have some photos from the Grizzly & Wolf Discovery Center but I'll put those in a later post.  But I will say that it was really informational and cool to see the rescued animals. I definitely recommend.  

xoxo

Nikon D600 Nikkor 28-300 mm

Nikon D7200 Sigma Contemporary 150-600 mm

Google Pixel 4 for video

Mammal Spotlight! Lower Klamath National Wildlife Refuge - Pronghorn Antelope & Beautiful Coyotes!

Coyotes are so beautiful.  Saw this gorgeous mama on the refuge looking for an easy meal.  She loved to pose for me!

Smiling away! 

The first time I was driving to Klamath, I saw something trotting through a farmer's field and couldn't figure out what the hell it was.  A deer?  Nope...it really looked like some kind of antelope which, at the time, I thought were only in Africa (go ahead and call me stupid if you already knew we have antelope in America).  

And it was an antelope!  At least in name - the Pronghorn Antelope!  

That time I was driving, and this time, the Pronghorn was just really out of distance of my len getting a good focus.  I also saw a whole herd of these beautiful creatures at Carrizo National Monument, so I'll drop a link and a photo at the end. 

Last, but certainly not least was this young coyote pup who I found wandering down the roadway.  

I'm not going to lie...this little guy has cost me some sleep.  He looked weary for lack of a better word and looked like he was a little on the skinny side.   I think he was just over the age to leave the den (about 6 months) and maybe was having a heard time hunting for himself.  I've said quite a few prayers for him and I really hope this little guy made it.  Walking straight down the highway was possibly not a good indication of his survival. 

And since I can't leave it on that potentially sad note, here is the link to the stunning Carizzo National Monument during the Super Bloom a couple years ago!

And the Pronghorn Antelope!

Still taken at a distance and a bit blurry, but just to give an idea of what these cool critters look like!

xoxo

Nikon D600