Our new campground is 2 minutes from the West Yellowstone entrance to Yellowstone. We are taking advantage of this great location to get up and out pretty early to see if we can spot any wildlife. So, our first morning here, we got right out there! Turns out, there are a lot of early risers out there (wildlife)! We were rewarded very soon into the day with the spotting of two bald eagles feasting on something. Of course, we could see the eagles just fine with our binoculars, but getting a photo is a different story. You may need to enlarge some of the photos.
 |
| two bald eagles having breakfast in the meadow |
 |
| Tom...surveying the landscape-he's so good at spotting wildlife!! |
 |
| pretty snow-capped mountains in the background |
 |
| I have my binoculars and I'm ready to scan |
 |
| osprey-picking out a fish for breakfast |
 |
distant shot of the osprey...perched in the center of the pic
|
 |
| Elk family out and about |
 |
| Baby.....stay with your parents now!! |
On the drive to Hayden Valley, we saw a family of elk. It was mid-morning by the time we got to Hayden Valley, so we really weren't expecting to see too much wildlife, except for the random bison that are all over. We were delighted to see a herd of elk...and of course the scenery is so beautiful in and of itself. The buffalo were everywhere as well...some enjoying the water, some enjoying the cliffs....they were just everywhere. The herd must be about 300-400.
 |
| tons of elk in Hayden Valley |
 |
| Hayden Valley...beautiful! |
 |
| some buffalo |
 |
| they are liking this landscape! |
 |
| verdant valley |
 |
| An otter swimming by!! |
 |
| I guess the buffalo like the edge of the cliffs there! |
 |
| hydrothermal features where you least expect them! |
 |
| I'm searching for a grizzly-no luck so far! |
Following the beautiful Yellowstone River, we came to LeHardy's Rapids. There is a path and a short boardwalk following the banks of the river along the rapids. At certain times of year, June and July actually, the trout are spawning and swim upstream. According to the information board right there, the trout "leap" through the rapids and can be spotted doing this about every 10-15 seconds. We did not see that, but we saw about 3 large trout "resting". I guess they were getting ready to swim up through the rapids, but were just hanging back a bit. It looked like they were gearing up to go, and then they would settle down again and just rest. Not sure if you can see the large trout in the pictures below, but the water is so crystal clear, it was easy to watch them from the boardwalk.
 |
| LeHardy's Rapids |
 |
| beautiful ....on the Yellowstone River |
 |
| see the trout? toward the bottom...getting ready to leap |
 |
| never actually saw trout leap here...just hanging out resting before attempting to leap? |
 |
| nice boardwalk along the rapids |
 |
| I can see a few trout from here |
 |
| here are two of them...in the center...see them? |
 |
| another view..they are pretty big |
 |
| nice wildflowers here too |
 |
| a bald eagle - in the center of the picture |
After LeHardys Rapids, we headed back to our campground...back through the Hayden Valley area. We stopped to watch this huge pelican. He was chowing down on bugs. Not sure if the picture clearly shows how WIDE its mouth opens and then slams shut. Kind of comical. It was fascinating to watch. Really.
 |
| pelican eating bugs on land! |
 |
| open wide! (can you tell his mouth is completely open?) |
 |
| open even wider....tilted down a bit to catch the flies |
 |
| yum! |
 |
| okay...swallow! |
 |
| again..a short movie |
 |
| heading toward the mud volcano area |
The mud volcano area looked interesting, so again we stopped to explore. Gotta love that bubbling mud! Looks like it could be some sort of a spa or beauty treatment, if it wasn't so acidic, that is!! Aside from being hot, these mudholes have a pH of about 0.1. That's zero point one!! Wow!! This area of the park has the most acidic features. That said, I'm really surprised that any wildlife frequents the area, such as the bison. There are so many other really nice and hospitable places to hang out-ahhahaha. I might add...it smells pretty badly here....you're not really taking a nice "breath of fresh air" in this area. Maybe buffalo have a poor sense of smell?
 |
| nice meandering river |
 |
| oh look, more geysers |
 |
| mud volcano area |
 |
| still pretty! look at those colors together |
 |
| so hot and acidic...and yet the flowers grow |
 |
| love these mud pots! |
One of these features, the "Dragon's Mouth" actually sounds menacing....it really does sound like an imaginary dragon! With the steam pouring out, and the loud, echoing roar...oh, and the bubbling hot water all around....your imagination could get the better of you if you were a child (or a child at heart!).
 |
| really bizarre land here |
 |
| with life in these harsh conditions! amazing! |
 |
| Dragon's mouth...you should have heard it...it was pretty scary sounding! |
 |
| buffalo fur? right next to the mud volcano? |
 |
| i might add, it smells pretty bad too |
 |
| hard to believe a buffalo would come near it |
 |
| right Tom? |
 |
| this area had a nice walk around to other thermal features |
 |
| of course, it was uphill! |
 |
| ah, but look at the view! |
 |
| interesting features |
Again, the views are extraordinary...even without the hydrothermal features. The forests are so full, and the meadows so lush. And lets not forget those wildflowers!
 |
| there can be bison here...we see the evidence! |
 |
| almost eat the top |
The hot springs are strongly acidic...and the microbial inhabitants are called thermoacidophilic. The resulting colors, between the pH, microbiota, minerals and the sun (or lack of it)....are astounding.
 |
| looks like a Caribbean beach scene |
 |
| this is one of the most acidic areas! Very dangerous! |
 |
| hot spring flowing down |
 |
| little waterfall |
 |
| I'm amazed that things actually grow in this environment-like that grass |
 |
| acid mud...so amazing |
 |
| very interesting area... |
 |
| the view on the way down... |
 |
| so much nature...shared with cars, campers and people |
 |
| bubbling hot |
 |
| can you smell that? Wow! |
 |
| heading back to our car....oops, gotta always be watching |
 |
| raven with some lunch |
 |
| the landscape is quite something |
 |
| These are the most acidic thermal features with a pH of 0.1 or so |
 |
| just look at that .... swirls in the mudpots |
 |
| I guess no one told that buffalo about the acidic environment |
 |
| Isn't this interesting? |
 |
| pH description |
 |
| amazing! I wonder if these bacteria could be cultured in the lab? Imagine that media! |
|
| and yet the flowers grow! |
Passing back through the Hayden Valley, we stopped again at another site to see what we could see through our binoculars. A woman with a spotting scope had a grizzly in her field of view and was showing a young family the view through the scope, but just as we were talking with her, it disappeared into the sagebrush and over the hill. Right after that, the skies opened up and everyone dispersed rather quickly...but we sat in our car with the binoculars attached to our faces...with the windshield wipers on. Hahaha. We never did see the grizzly she saw. We are having so much fun "hunting" with our cameras. I know....get a life!
 |
| Hayden Valley....beautiful landscape filled with wildlife |
 |
| Big guy nestled in the flowers |
 |
| Hayden-just a beautiful valley |
 |
| little guy trying to cross the street safely |
Since the weather wasn't the greatest, and we wanted to stop here anyway sometime, we checked out the National Park Ranger Museum. It was dedicated to the past history of the rangers, and had displays of uniforms, and equipment. The building itself was quite nice, and the view wasn't too bad either! Retired park rangers volunteer their time to run this museum and discuss with the public any questions they may have. There is also a short movie, which was pretty interesting as well. (I may want to be a ranger when I grow up!)
 |
| National Park Ranger Museum |
 |
| vintage ranger station |
No comments:
Post a Comment