I set out about 9:30, I know it was a little late. I had information from some folks the night before telling me about a black bear that was sitting on an elk kill near the bridge over the Yellowstone River on the way to Lamar Valley. When I got there there was a small crowd and we could all see the bear, about 300 yards away, still sitting with his dinner. Here is a photo, the black bear is in the middle right next to a tree, sorry it is so far away.
The day before this guy was challenged by a grizzly twice. I guess the black bear won so it must have been a small grizzly and this black bear must be a pretty big boy.
After leaving the black bear behind I drove just around the curve and there were 4 big horn sheep, 3 ewes and 1 ram. These guys were pretty mellow so I was able to slowly walk up to about 25 feet away and get some shots.
Drove on towards Lamar Valley and spotted another group of folks stopped by the road including a bunch of photographers. So of course I had to stop and there was a badger digging up the ground. It was a female that had a den there the previous year also. Great find, being able to see a badger. She was funny, she would dig a bit then stop and watch all of us then back to digging. Here she is.
All spring the buffalo have not be in Lamar Valley but just north. Today was no exception. Just before the bridge over the Lamar River there is a very large heard with so many babies. Baby buffalo have the nickname "red dog" because the are born red and stay that want until late summer when their coats start to darken up like their parents. These cute little guys are at the age where they are so much fun to watch. The play chase, run around and jump up and down then run over to mom for a little snack. They can keep you entertained for hours. There are still some moms that have yet to have their babies so you may get lucky and see one be born. Remember, these are wild animals so no matter how cute they are do not approach them, where baby is mom is not far behind and she will protect her baby!
That's it for now. Stay tuned for part 2 tomorrow!
That's it for now. Stay tuned for part 2 tomorrow!
Hi Evan here, I'm a bit behind so let's catch up...6/30 Today we work up to a half inch of snow in the higher elevations above Gardiner. No worries though, the sun came out this afternoon and quite a few animals as well. All around the North Entrance to Yellowstone there were elk, bison, mule deer, antelope, and blue birds. One could watch them and not even set food inside park boundries. A friend of mine when fishing on the Gardiner River between the North Entrance to Yellowstone and Mammoth Hot Springs, and said he caught quite a few brown troup on a panther martin, oh baby!
ReplyDelete6/31.... Today we did flip drills on the river. Each guide had to flip and re-flip the boat 3 times. We do this to keep our shape and to know what to do when a boat tips. The more a guide does this the better they are at getting things right again. I'm probably going to be in the best shape of my life after this summer. Peace!
ReplyDelete6/1.... Today we trained hard. All the guides had to link arms and swin across the rapids. If we broke the chain, we had to finish and start over. We also did a lot of landings which are what you do if there is an emergency. I must have done 10 landings. Once we landed on one side of the river, we would go across to the other side and do it again, all the while oring and paddling up stream. We trained hard because you never know what can happen on the river. 99.9% of the time things are good, but there still is that chance we might have to help a lot of people. Can't be a cream puff for that! Peace
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