JimsSummerBlog: July 9 - Yellowstone and home...to Big Sky Dream

The picture above is not too far off from the puzzle picture I loved so much I think...

If I've been to the Tetons 8 times, I've been to Yellowstone 16 times. Well, maybe not quite, but, even more than the Tetons. In part that's because it's closer to Big Sky Dream, but also I've come to appreciate its own not-so-subtle beauty. Plus, it is just teeming with wildlife - it must be the closest thing we now have to what Lewis and Clark would have seen on their journey through the northern Rockies, in terms of animal abundance. I can't even catalog all I saw today in a fairly short jaunt from the southern end of the park to Fishing Bridge and Canyon, over to Norris Junction, to Madison Junction, two loops on the Firehole Canyon (it's one of my very favorite places) and on out along the Madison River to West Yellowstone. That's the other thing about getting to know a place - I didn't look at map all day - I knew the pullouts, I knew when to look for eagles and osprey, where I might see bison by the hundreds, pelicans, swans, geese, ducks, and where to be on the lookout for grizzlies. I wish I knew more where to look for wolves, so I'm hoping Colin and Kevin can teach me those spots. I'm learning where to fish too, but I'm a rank beginner in this realm because it's a huge park. I didn't get going until the lazy hour of 8:15 this morning, and with driving and stopping at pullouts, I was not to West Yellowstone until about 4 PM. I'll let a few pictures tell the tale but some images are only in my mind. I'm not yet quick enough to snatch pixels of the osprey I saw dive into the Firehole and come out with a fish in its talons. I was not ready for the pelican that swooshed its beak into the Yellowstone River and pulled out a huge cutthroat. And as you'll see, my hand was not as steady as I would have liked for the long-distance shot of the mamma griz and her cub, but I at least tried on that one. Enjoy!