We impulsively went North to Yellowstone, a last minute change from a planned trip to New Mexico. On the day we were to leave I heard a TWIP podcast with other photographers who just returned from YNP talking about the great wildlife sightings they had encountered. "I'd better pack some warm clothes," Judy said. It was impulsive in the sense that Yellowstone is a two day drive from Denver, and just getting from the South end of the Park to Lamar Valley, in the NE corner where the wildlife is most plentiful, takes three hours. We drove 1,541 miles in five days! We also were a week early for the campsites to be open, and there was still a lot of snow on the ground. We couldn't use our camper, and left it after driving seven hours, in Lander, Wyoming. The highlight of the trip was the wildlife encounters: 2 black bear, 2 grizzlies, 3 fox, a few dozen bighorn sheep, a half dozen American pellicans, a pair of nesting osprey, at least a hundred deer, and literally hundreds of antelop, elk and bison. The most memorable experiences were twice having our car surrounded by bison herds; and watching a large grey fox chase another, smaller red fox.
For more photos of this trip go to:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/holtby/sets/72157618012678877/
