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Dear All,
Hard to believe it is the last full day of our week at Yellowstone. As the Chinese saying goes - there is no banquet under the sun that doesn't end and what a banquet it has been!
Today's itinerary was almost a repeat of yesterday, but what a difference one day makes. Instead of a cold & dreary rainstorm, we woke up to brilliant sunshine and cool and dry air. Time to take a few shots right outside of our 3rd floor hotel room - what a view!
From Mammoth Hot Springs eastward towards Tower-Roosevelt, one traverses the Blacktail Deer Plateau. We stopped by the first major 'venue' - a self-guided tour of the Forces of the Norther Range. What a delightful stop this was!
The air was crisp and cool, with temperatures in the high 50's, dry with a mild breeze. It reminded one of those cool crisp New England autumn days. Keep in mind, Yellowstone is at 7,000 ft elevation so the weather not only changes quickly but never gets hot.
We were fresh from the night's rest, full with a delicious breakfast. There were only three cars, and one group came from New Zealand - that was when Joyce realized Yellowstone was a destination for the world! The tour provided explanation of the forces of nature, how volcano shaped the landscape and most delightful of all, some of the wild flowers Joyce had been photographing. Joyce really took to nature photography on this trail - charred trunks and closeup of flowers.
Back in the car, Joyce noticed there was a 6-mile one way Blacktail Plateau Drive and suggested the detour. We drove onto a dirt road, which soon climbed way higher than the paved road. But it was around mid-day, so not a creature was around. We speculated that perhaps on the way back, the animals would be out grazing or hunting at dusk, so decided to come back later.
By the time we got to Roosevelt, no one was hungry. But after checking out the sandwiches at the General Store, the food aficionado Michael said, "We had better have lunch!" So we again took a leisurely lunch, this time with lighter fare (and no dessert). The 2nd day around, we got very good at changing the aperture (~minus one stop) and played around taking photos with natural light by the fire.
We spent the afternoon driving eastward on the 29 mile stretch towards the Northeast Entrance. On the way, Michael wanted to stop at the Yellowstone Association Institute, which used to be a ranch that raised bison. As we walked up, there were beautiful fences, horses, log cabins, prairie dogs dotting back and forth, but the place was deserted.
Finally, this guy came out after hearing our voices. Michael and he chatted at length. Dave Syvert, a photographer and a water color artist, was very friendly and told us about this place. From our photos, you already know bison is the most plentiful animal in Yellowstone, therefore they've turned this place into a nature classroom. You can come for a few to several days, taking all sorts of classes, with your own sleep gear and cook for yourself. On average, $100/day/person. Joyce left with a course catalog, in which some of the photos were taken by Dave.
At the Lamar River Stock Trailhead, a huge congregation of wildlife watchers gathered. We walked up to the crowd trying to find out what everyone was looking at. There was a Grizzly bear lounging in the trees and a wolf and her cubs in another group of bushes. For all we could try with our binoculars, we did not see them!
Then we stopped by the Soda Butte stone where the Soda Butte Creek flowed by. By then it was a hot mid-afternoon, but we managed to track down a most cute duck with red & green bands on its head and another prairie dog.
By late afternoon we reached the Northeast Entrance. This time, we went out of it and checked out the two towns - Silver Gate just outside the park and Cooke City another 3-4 miles further. In comparison, Silver Gate at least had some nice houses whereas Cooke City was just a 'dump'. But the Trading Post was fun, with a Wildlife Museum and lots of tacky souvenir.
The best was we found a bison lounging on someone's lawn. We speculated that it was a 'senior citizen' who decided to retire there and present itself as photo op. On the way back, we drove through Blacktail Plateau Drive again, didn't see much wildlife (what a disappointment) but did spot two elks high on a ridge and got some nice shots.
After many late nights, Joyce gave out and fell asleep in the car at 6:30 pm. She didn't even go out to supper but planned to hit the sack at 8:30 pm. The boys soon returned with leftover pasta, she had some and then regained her energy and stayed up till midnight again playing with photos.
http://www2.snapfish.com/thumbnails
Love, Joyce
Hard to believe it is the last full day of our week at Yellowstone. As the Chinese saying goes - there is no banquet under the sun that doesn't end and what a banquet it has been!
Today's itinerary was almost a repeat of yesterday, but what a difference one day makes. Instead of a cold & dreary rainstorm, we woke up to brilliant sunshine and cool and dry air. Time to take a few shots right outside of our 3rd floor hotel room - what a view!
From Mammoth Hot Springs eastward towards Tower-Roosevelt, one traverses the Blacktail Deer Plateau. We stopped by the first major 'venue' - a self-guided tour of the Forces of the Norther Range. What a delightful stop this was!
The air was crisp and cool, with temperatures in the high 50's, dry with a mild breeze. It reminded one of those cool crisp New England autumn days. Keep in mind, Yellowstone is at 7,000 ft elevation so the weather not only changes quickly but never gets hot.
We were fresh from the night's rest, full with a delicious breakfast. There were only three cars, and one group came from New Zealand - that was when Joyce realized Yellowstone was a destination for the world! The tour provided explanation of the forces of nature, how volcano shaped the landscape and most delightful of all, some of the wild flowers Joyce had been photographing. Joyce really took to nature photography on this trail - charred trunks and closeup of flowers.
Back in the car, Joyce noticed there was a 6-mile one way Blacktail Plateau Drive and suggested the detour. We drove onto a dirt road, which soon climbed way higher than the paved road. But it was around mid-day, so not a creature was around. We speculated that perhaps on the way back, the animals would be out grazing or hunting at dusk, so decided to come back later.
By the time we got to Roosevelt, no one was hungry. But after checking out the sandwiches at the General Store, the food aficionado Michael said, "We had better have lunch!" So we again took a leisurely lunch, this time with lighter fare (and no dessert). The 2nd day around, we got very good at changing the aperture (~minus one stop) and played around taking photos with natural light by the fire.
We spent the afternoon driving eastward on the 29 mile stretch towards the Northeast Entrance. On the way, Michael wanted to stop at the Yellowstone Association Institute, which used to be a ranch that raised bison. As we walked up, there were beautiful fences, horses, log cabins, prairie dogs dotting back and forth, but the place was deserted.
Finally, this guy came out after hearing our voices. Michael and he chatted at length. Dave Syvert, a photographer and a water color artist, was very friendly and told us about this place. From our photos, you already know bison is the most plentiful animal in Yellowstone, therefore they've turned this place into a nature classroom. You can come for a few to several days, taking all sorts of classes, with your own sleep gear and cook for yourself. On average, $100/day/person. Joyce left with a course catalog, in which some of the photos were taken by Dave.
At the Lamar River Stock Trailhead, a huge congregation of wildlife watchers gathered. We walked up to the crowd trying to find out what everyone was looking at. There was a Grizzly bear lounging in the trees and a wolf and her cubs in another group of bushes. For all we could try with our binoculars, we did not see them!
Then we stopped by the Soda Butte stone where the Soda Butte Creek flowed by. By then it was a hot mid-afternoon, but we managed to track down a most cute duck with red & green bands on its head and another prairie dog.
By late afternoon we reached the Northeast Entrance. This time, we went out of it and checked out the two towns - Silver Gate just outside the park and Cooke City another 3-4 miles further. In comparison, Silver Gate at least had some nice houses whereas Cooke City was just a 'dump'. But the Trading Post was fun, with a Wildlife Museum and lots of tacky souvenir.
The best was we found a bison lounging on someone's lawn. We speculated that it was a 'senior citizen' who decided to retire there and present itself as photo op. On the way back, we drove through Blacktail Plateau Drive again, didn't see much wildlife (what a disappointment) but did spot two elks high on a ridge and got some nice shots.
After many late nights, Joyce gave out and fell asleep in the car at 6:30 pm. She didn't even go out to supper but planned to hit the sack at 8:30 pm. The boys soon returned with leftover pasta, she had some and then regained her energy and stayed up till midnight again playing with photos.
http://www2.snapfish.com/thumbnails
Love, Joyce
