On Friday morning, Carrie and I left our hotel in Gardiner, Montana and drove South to the North Entrance of Yellowstone. Once we entered Yellowstone and passed Mammoth, we drove East toward Lamar Valley, hoping we would see Gray Wolves or other wildlife there. On the way to Lamar Valley, we saw American Coots, Pied-billed Grebes, Ruddy Ducks, and Ring-necked Ducks in the Black-tail Lakes. We also saw several herds of American Bison or American Buffalo.
One of the buffalo had a collar, possibly so that it could be tracked.
The calves of the bison looked like the calves of cows.
We saw a couple foolishly climb up a hill off the road and walk right up to some buffalo to take a photo. In violation of the park regulation, they were much closer than 25 yards from these animals. I can understand why people are injured in the park every year.
The landscapes were very different than those we had seen the previous day.
When we got to Lamar Valley, we saw two buffalo fighting. We observed the fight through our spotting scope, and I was able to take a few poor photos and a video through the haze.
Here is a landscape shot I took in Lamar Valley. We also saw Black-billed Magpies and Canada Geese there.
And here is a herd of resting buffalo that we saw near the valley.
Near Lamar Ranger Station, we saw 13 Sandhill Cranes and a Sage Thrasher. These were the first photos I had ever taken of a Sage Thrasher. We also both got a look at this thrasher through our scope.
We stopped at a pull off at Slough Creek in Lamar Valley, where a bunch of cars had pulled over. The people that pulled off had all been looking at Gray Wolves. We walked to a group of people with spotting scopes, but the wolves, which were a great distance away had disappeared in a clump of trees. We waited for a while, but when the wolves did not come back out, we decided to move on. However, when we returned to the parking area, we saw a Golden Eagle with white patches on it's wings. I had really hoped to see a juvenile Golden Eagle after we had seen an adult on our way into Jackson, and there it was!
As we headed back West on our way to Mt. Washburn, we saw this buffalo calf lying down.
We eventually turned South on our drive and encountered more breath-taking scenery.
While Carrie and I were in the Tetons a few days before, Steve Bailey had told me in an email about his trip to Yellowstone and the Tetons two years ago. He mentioned hiking to the top Mt. Washburn where his wife and he saw Bighorn Sheep and a great panoramic view at the top. When I read his email, I decided I wanted to take the hike, hoping to see some Bighorn Sheep. Mt. Washburn is 10,243 feet above sea level. The hike to the top from the Chittendon Parking Area was only 2.25 miles, which would make it a 4.5 mile round trip hike, but it would be difficult to break because of the elevation.
Carrie and I drove to the Chittendon Parking Area, where we ate our lunch in the car. Then we set out on our next adventure. One of the first birds we saw on our way up was an American Pipit. Then we saw several more of them.
This was the peak to which we were hiking.
And this was the long road we took to get there.
We ran into a hiker, who said she had not seen the Bighorn Sheep, but had not gone all the way to the top. She did tell us to keep our eyes open for Yellow-bellied Marmots, and we did.
We also saw this Uinta Chipmunk.
Another hiker told us where he had just seen Bighorn Sheep and where to look. It did not take long before we were winded from the elevation, but we kept moving. This sighting was certainly inspiring.
It was a long walk to where the hiker had seen the Bighorn Sheep, but they were right where he had desribed.
At one point on the trail, I was taking pictures of the scenery when I tripped over a bench that was attached to the ground. I landed on my back, but fortunately my camera was okay, and I was okay other than the pain in my legs where I walked into the bench.
As we hiked futher up, we were able to look down and see the sheep below us. These were the same sheep that I had photographed below.
The panoramic view at the top was indeed amazing. The first photo is of The Grand Canyon of Yellowstone with Yellowstone Lake behind it.
While we were looking down from the top, we saw a Prairie Falcon fly over us. This was a lifer for both Carrie and me! It was actually the only lifer of the day for me. Other birds we saw on the way up were Mountain Bluebird, Audubon's Yellow-rumped Warbler, Clark's Nutcracker, Common Raven, and Swainson's Hawk.
And here is proof that we actually made it to the top.
As we started down, I could not contain my elation at the beauty we had seen and at the thicker oxygen. I yelled a the top of my lungs, Praise the Lord!!
The Bighorn Sheep were still hanging out where we left them, and we passed by them again on our way down.
After we passed the sheep, we saw the Prairie Falcon again. This time it flew straight toward us and over our heads. Then it circled a few times and flew away. I went for the look with my binoculars before going for the shot. So I did not get a shot of it flying toward us, but I did manage this one.
And then we had another marmot . . .
And then we had more sheep!
I hope you are not tired of landscapes!
Then I photographed this Swainson's Hawk
As we drew close to the end of our hike, Carrie and I saw this Rock Wren! It was the first of the trip and a lifer for Carrie--her second for the day!
As we drove down the mountain, we encountered our first Gray Jay of the trip!
We drove a little further South and then made our way Northwest, out of the park, and back to our hotel in Gardiner. The next day would be our last day in Yellowstone for this trip.
No comments:
Post a Comment