June 6th, 7th 8th and 9th, 2017

What a wonderful week, it was so special and busy we really didn’t have time to post. So many beautiful moments with loved ones.  The highlights were many. I loved seeing Leighton and Kate sharing picture taking moments, Nate driving us around, waking up to fresh coffee every morning made by Chris who got up and made it before anyone was up and Cody’s wild ride. You have to ask Cody about driving Miss Daisy at high elevations with many curves and drop offs. Leighton enjoyed having Kate with him, his running buddy Chris to hike with and Nate’s adventurous nature. He especially loved having buddies willing to rise before dawn. We will always cherish this wonderful fabulous beautiful week in Yellowstone. The only problem we had is that it ended to fast.

Rosie the black bear.

Rosie is a mama bear with two cubs.

Rosie’s cubs.

The three bears.

Rosie checking on her cubs.

From big to small, we saw it all including this chipmunk that was out on a limb.

And Baby bison.

Rugged landscapes were common and quite dramatic.

The lower falls of the Yellowstone river.

Steam vents along the river remind you this is a volcano waiting to erupt.

The water flow over the upper falls was incredible.

The mist from the falls made for an image you may have seen in the movie The Mist.

An osprey was found sitting on her nest.  While we were there she didn’t fly so we don’t know what was in the nest.

Interesting rock formations at the Sheepeater Cliff.  The cliff was named for the Shoshone Indians who lived in the area.  Their use of bighorn sheep earned them the name “Tukadika” or “Sheepeaters”.

A friendly yellow bellied marmot was at the bottom of the cliff desperately seeking a handout from the picnickers.

Nate took the challenge and went to the top of the cliff showing he would make a good bighorn sheep in a different life.

We took a back road and were pleased to discover these two pronghorn kids.  These photos are not the best because of the great distance we were from them.

The young ones were full of energy and we were totally surprised when they appeared to start racing.  Their speed was amazing for being so young.  The adults can run about 60 mph and although they weren’t at that level they were still very quick.

The race continues.

And the winner is?

Morning sky over Gardiner, MT.

Sunlight hitting the mountains.

A large elk taking a morning break.

Uinta ground squirrel standing guard.

Grizzly bear on the move.  He wanted to cross the road but there were to many cars and he continued back to the hill.

As the bear jam dissipated, the bear made a run for it and made it across the road.

On the return trip down the road we saw the same bear with what appeared to be some sort of kill.  We don’t know if he killed it or found it but it looks like he is saying grace before he begins.

On a short hike we ran across a coyote hunting but when we appeared he decided he would check out some other area.

During the hike we also saw a bison practicing his break dancing routine – it was quite humorous.

While looking for a fox den we were told was in the area, we saw a northern flicker peeking from his hole.

During the time at the Tetons and Yellowstone, I tried to get a decent picture of a magpie.  It became quite a joke, as everyone would tell me there was a magpie but by the time I got my camera on it it flew away.  It was finally decided they would just tell me to get out of the car so I didn’t know and couldn’t scare it off.  There was a dead rabbit in the road and a magpie was having a taste so they stopped, I got out and sure enough as soon as I got my camera on it, it flew because another car came along.  Since there was road kill there, we decided it would shortly return so we waited.  Finally I got my picture along with a rabbit.

Since I know everyone has always wanted to know what a pronghorn’s tongue looks like, you should enjoy the photo below.

At one of the thermal pools we decided we needed a group photo.  Since no ones arms were long enough and no selfie stick was available we had to make do with what we had.  Can you identify each of us?

During our trip we saw numerous bison and many around water but none in the water.  We saw a fisherman on one side of the river and the bison on the other looking longingly at the other side.  Finally he started crossing.  The fisherman decided the bison was getting to close so he moved away letting the bison pass.

One of the nice things about visiting Yellowstone in the spring is the presence of all the babies.  Below are a couple of young elk.

After a hard days scrounging for food, a nap helps.

Most everyone likes bear claw pastries, but these bear claws are even worse for your health.

Besides black bears we also saw a mom and baby grizzly.

Although moose were somewhat scarce, we did see some.  The one below was caught having some breakfast.

As the moose jam increased, the moose moved off and tried to hide.