My Visual Adventures: Sharing my Travel, Sports, Nature, and Animal Photography. With a little bit of life thrown in. I luv living life in Northern California.
Proud single mom of one beautiful daughter who shares my love of sports and music. She doesn't share my love of the outdoors which I find weird. I love photography and wish I had a better camera!! Maybe someday...
Oh wow! Another long break! But this one was due to technical difficulty... My Lightroom stopped working on my new(ish) computer which is a real bummer. But finally - after a lot of handwringing and trying to fix things - I realized that I could use Camera Raw and Photoshop to edit the photos without Lightroom!
It worked thank goodness.
So! Without further ado, a video!
Oh, wait. Lets get caught up first by clicking the links below:
Previously in the Grand Tetons/Yellowstone series:
As you could see in the video, I was so pleasantly surprised when I woke up in Mammoth Hot Springs. Although I was completely confused because my windows looked like they were broken! Even after I put my glasses on. So I rolled down my driver's window and was shocked to find that it was snow and ice on my car. lol
After I recovered, I got up and went about getting dressed, etc. When I returned from the warm, cozy bathroom, I snapped a couple of pictures.
I'm not going to lie... I had some trouble with my picture taking with the cloudy sky. Some of these photos are going to be underexposed and some looked like monochrome! So I turned a couple into monochrome deliberately. C'est la vie! It's the price of shooting full manual when I'm just a step above a beginner. haha
I got everything organized and couldn't wait to get on the road. My goal for the day was to head to Lamar Valley and I wasn't up as early as I had hoped. So I got on the road, of course stopping for many photo opportunities along the way.
So many that I had to split them up into three posts with this being the first one.
Mammoth Hot Springs looked so wonderful in it's fresh blanket of snow.
I slowly drove around town to see the sites before doing the auto tour on Mammoth Hot Springs (MHS). I loved the buildings and was excited to photograph them. I especially love taking photos of churches that are photogenic or older. The Mammoth Chapel definitely fit the bill.
The church is quite nice, but I really liked the post office! It looks a bit different than the other buildings which look more like army buildings - which is because the other buildings were part of Fort Yellowstone.
Just behind the post office is the Mail Carrier's Cabin. It's a log cabin built in the late 1800's and still standing today. The two-room structure was used by park service staff until approximately 2002. You can see an addition to the back which is brick. There is another later addition on the back right side as well which brought the square foot total to 512.
So here we'll take a brief pause as I drove around and out of town on Grand Loop Road towards Slough Creek, stopping to see much wildlife on the way.
Let me interject - especially with reflection as the time has passed and editing these photos again - that Yellowstone has so much beauty. Some of it is understated but it's still there. I took pictures of so many landscapes and just...objects. Like snow on trees and bushes. Rocks. I just found them so beautiful. Not to mention the sky, the mist over the mountains, and the hillsides themselves.
Yes, I have a lot of photos of those things along with more of the "usual" landscapes. So I've divided my photos into three categories: Mammoth Hot Springs, Landscapes, etc., and wildlife.
Since I started the day in MHS, I started the series of posts with MHS. Next post will be all the amazing landscapes and objects. And the last, but not least will be the wildlife that graced me with their presence.
Of course you will see a lot of beauty in MHS as well...especially on the terrace of the actual hot springs. Which we will get to now. 😊
This next photo is later in the day when I drove back through MHS to visit the auto tour and then head back to California. The snow had largely melted from the boardwalks this time around. And there were more people out and about.
I headed onto the auto tour and was captured by the views of the upper terrace. I love this photo with the town of Mammoth Hot Springs in the distance!
Like much of Yellowstone, MHS has it's share of trees some of which are dead and in varying degrees of decay which makes them ultra photogenic in my eyes. Don't get me wrong...I love living trees too!
Stay tuned for tons of trees.
At a guess, I think this next photo might be Canary Springs due to the color.
The feature called Orange Spring Mound really lives up to its name!
And there was more orange on display on this next terrace. And cool trees of course.
Next slide is Elephant Back Terrace. Named so for obvious reasons.
I just loved the Angel Terrace. Such cool formations, steam, and dead trees! Awesome!
It was a wonderful drive with so many stunning views. 10/10 would recommend.
Well, that's it for today! Glad to be back and sharing my adventures...even if they are 5 years old! 😀
I'll leave you with a short video of snow falling on the Mammoth Chapel. It was so lovely!
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.
I love ducks.
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.
On the way I passed a burn scar area. It's beautiful, as is most of Yellowstone (if not all), but brought a feeling of thoughtful sadness concerning the previous devastation and loss of animal lives during prior fires.
But the visible rejuvenation brings out a sense of hope as well.
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. :)
After observing the ducks swim to shore, I headed back up to the parking lot. When I got to my car, I saw that the family had parked right beside me, and the dad and two girls were standing there looking at the lake. I didn't notice the mom.
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
I'd like to start by saying that I know zoos and wild animal parks are polarizing and for very good reason. I honestly have a lot of reservations around keeping wild animals in captivity. I think a lot of zoos and parks are heinous and should not be allowed to operate.
On the rare occasion that I visit a facility, I prefer that they are AZA accredited, but I also know that some facilities - such as the Folsom City Zoo and Sanctuary - are not accredited because they rescue animals and don't follow all of the conditions for accreditation such as breeding, trading, and/or selling animals (which I think is actually a very good thing).
The Grizzly and Wolf Discovery Center (GWDC) is accredited, but I think it's a bit of a hybrid in that a lot of the animals (all of the grizzlies and raptors) were removed from the wild and deemed unable to be reintroduced for various reasons some of which include injuries to the animal, habitation to humans, etc. So it's more of a sanctuary.
I decided to go there for a couple reasons. 1) I really wanted to see bears. I was blessed to see a sow and her two cubs in Grand Teton but this was the best picture I got.
and 2) after seeing this beauty and her babies, I really wanted to see MORE bears and have a chance to really observe them. And I was afraid that wasn't going to happen in Yellowstone.
So, since I had to go to West Yellowstone for supplies and cell phone signal, I decided to go ahead and go. I'm glad I did!
I pulled into the parking lot at the center and was intrigued to see a statue of a painted bison which reminded me of the Hearts in San Francisco sculptures that I love to find when I'm in the City. I later found out that this bison was part of a West Yellowstone art installation titled Where the Painted Buffalo Roam.
I saw a few more of the bison statues around town but this was the only picture I got. After admiring the lovely painted buffalo, I headed into the Discovery Center.
They had eight bears in residence at the time and there was a whiteboard that showed their names and current weight (as of about 10 days prior).
They also had signs with the bear's name and story. I had taken a few photos of the bears I saw but didn't keep them which I now regret. The stories were mostly similar: bears (often as cubs) who become habituated to getting food from humans and must be removed from the wild. Either by euthanasia or by placing them in a facility such as this. I'm grateful that these innocent bears were not killed.
The grizzlies are rotated in and out of the main area in pairs throughout the day. Between each pair, the staff place food and other enrichment for the bears to find.
I mostly videotaped the first two bears that I was watching. One of them was swimming in the trout-stocked pond and having a blast! I was having a blast watching them. I must say my whole experience was very peaceful and positive.
Here's a video that I made of my approximately 3 hours spent at the facility. :)
Back to the bears. The next photos are of the second pair of grizzlies that I saw. So beautiful and impressive! Massive too!
I'm posting two of the same photo again. :) This time for those who are curious about AI edited photos. Topaz Photo AI Superfocus to be exact.
This first one is edited in Topaz Photo AI basic which sharpens and denoises the photo. I did crop this one in a little closer than the second.
This one is with Superfocus which is true AI and just a little bit unreal looking to me.
Anyhoo, mostly I don't use Superfocus.
It was so fun to watch this guy turning over rocks like a piece of paper to get to the tasty treats underneath.
While this lovely grizzly foraged, his buddy was having a swim! Oh, he had so much fun swimming back and forth playing with his big ball.
The swimming bear came halfway out of the water and his wet fur highlighted his muscles! Impressive!
Next I walked over to the Wolf area. They were all asleep since it was afternoon (I'm assuming) But they were oh, so beautiful! Especially this guy who was the easiest to photograph and quite a stunning specimen.
I don't know if that is a real rack of ribs or put there for "decorative" purposes.
Wolves are also much bigger than I realized. I can recognize coyotes pretty easy and have seen quite a few in the wild. But even so I found myself wondering if it was a wolf or coyote when I came across the canines in Yellowstone.
This helpful sign showed the difference in size between the two as well as other differences for identification.
They also had a sign that documented all the wolf and grizzly sightings in Yellowstone for the past couple weeks.
Are these crows? Or ravens? I thought they were ravens but now I'm not so sure. lol They're gorgeous no matter which they are. There were sooooo many of them all over the place. I love them.
Back to my photogenic, lovely wolf friend. Those eyes! That fur! That cute face!
If not friend then why friend shaped? Such an apt question.
A couple closeups for you. I took these from inside the observation building through a window just so ya know. His paws were massive!
These two were laying much further away against a back fence. I was outside this time and using a 300mm zoom lens.
This is also through the inside window but he was laying much further out in the field. There's a little distortion and/or chromatic aberration in the hindquarters I think.
They're all so tired and sleepy. Don't blame them! Me too a lot of the time.
After spending quite a bit of time watching the bears and wolves, I also walked around to see the rescue raptors (turkey vulture, hawk, falcon, bald eagles) which you can see a little bit of in my video above.
And of course the adorable little Uinta Ground Squirrels in their colony! I interacted with a couple of these guys in Grand Tetons where one "lived" in my camp site and liked to pop up to see what I was doing. Totally adorbs. Here's a few pictures of the GWDC's resident enchanting fellows.
A little drinky and then a cooling sploot! Cute Sploot!
And finally, a closeup of the sweetie.
And with that, it was time to gather my provisions and get some dinner.
But first, I had to make a long phone call to my daughter after our vet left me a message regarding my cat that I "had brought in"! Ummm, what? THAT was a shock to me 844 miles away and now worried that something terrible had happened at home.
Luckily the cat was fine and daughter was fine. She had taken him in as a precaution because he was acting a bit weird. Little did we know that was our first symptom of hypothyroidism that would be his last illness. But he had a couple more years in him. (Love you Chavy! Miss you!)
So went to the store and then to a restaurant to pick up my delicious food -- some of which I spilled in my car and then had a panic attack about because BEARS. See my last post for the full story.
I would like to say the night was uneventful, but of course it wasn't! The weather forecast said it might rain. But that was a little understated.
It poured! And the thunder and lightning were the worst I've ever experienced!
I was kind of loving it, although a bit nervous. I definitely wasn't prepared and my tent was not the foul-weather type. I did sleep, but woke up at about 3:00 a.m. feeling like I was swimming. The entire floor of my tent had about an inch of water on it and the walls and ceiling were dripping. lol!
Most of my stuff was in the car so I jumped up quick and grabbed my sleeping bag and pillow (which thankfully were pretty dry). I ran to the car and hopped into the driver seat! Oh. My. Goodness! I was right across from the bathroom so I ran over there to dry off and get warm (lovely heated bathrooms!).
Then I got back into the driver's seat, wrapped my sleeping bag around me and went right back to sleep in my huckleberry-scented car. It was magical.
See you next post when we visit Fountain Paint Pots and Grand Prismatic!
