Monthly Archives: September 2011

The bears of Yellowstone

The Lamar Valley in the northeast corner of Yellowstone National Park is known for its wildlife and one of the valley’s most frequent visitors is the Grizzly.  I was very fortunate one afternoon to see four of these bears in the valley within just a few miles.  It really felt like “Grizzly central”.

One of the most interesting characteristics to me was seeing the variation in color and markings on the individual bears.

The bear below displays a radio collar and an ear tag.  This allows the park rangers to monitor and track this bear within the park.

Grizzlies are not the only bear found in Yellowstone.  The Black Bear is here as well and in higher numbers than the Grizzly.  The Black Bear below is using its tremendous strength and its claws to rip off the bark from a stump in search of insects, like termites, to eat.

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    Elk Youngsters

    Stopping for a look at some of the geothermal features at West Thumb, I was treated to a small group of female Elk with a number of calves in the group.  Headed back to the car to grab the 600mm lens and got some nice shots of the youngsters and the interaction with mom.

    The calves are born with white spots which they lose by the end of summer.

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    Old Faithful area

    The Old Faithful area in Yellowstone National Park displays continual geothermal activity.  The photograph above is not of ground fog but rather steam from the superheated water that works its way to the surface in the form of hot springs and steaming fumaroles. Below, more steam with a backdrop of a rainbow which appeared after a fast moving thunderstorm moved out of the area.

    The water that boils to the surface creates run off, leaving minerals and thermophilic microorganisms that form interesting patterns and colors.

     

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      Great Fountain Geyser

      After spending the morning in Grand Tetons, I headed up to Yellowstone to watch the sunset at the Great Fountain Geyser located in the Midway Geyser Basin area. The show in the sky was awesome.

       

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        Views of Grand Tetons

        One of the more popular places in Grand Tetons National Park to photograph in the early morning is this view of the Tetons off of Schwabacher Road.  This morning was calm with a great reflection of the mountain range on the water.  Another iconic view of the Tetons is photographing the barns located on Antelope Flats Road with the impressive mountains in the background.

        From the Antelope Flats area, if you drive east out of the park along Gros Ventre Road, you will drive by Lower Slide Lake.  Within the lake there are groups of dead trees and by using a long lens you can isolate some nice graphic patterns.

         

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        • VIncent MistrettaSeptember 5, 2011 - 10:54 am

          Beautiful images Mike. Hope you are well.
          Best,
          Vinnie

        • Mike WalkerSeptember 5, 2011 - 10:58 am

          Thanks Vinnie. Had a great trip to the Tetons and Yellowstone. Was planning to go to Glacier earlier in August but work got in the way. Are you planning any trips?
          – Mike

        Oxbow Bend

        I recently returned from a trip to Grand Tetons and Yellowstone National Parks.  Incredible scenery and wildlife during the entire trip.  On my arrival day, I had enough time to travel into the park to catch a gorgeous sunset at the Oxbow Bend Turnout.

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