Right now some friends of mine and I are in Jackson, WY and we have 2 more days left on what has been an incredible trip. We have visited the Gardiner/ Mammoth area, Lamar Valley, snowmobiled from West Yellowstone to Old Faithful, and today will start the GTNP leg of our visit. While I have been to YNP and GTNP many times now, it is the first time for 2 of my friends. As you can imagine, they are absolutely having a blast.
For those of you who don’t know, the southern part of YNP has been inundated by snow over the last 72 hours. This has led to some treacherous driving, but some absolutely incredible views. The amount of snow here is even more impressive to my friends and I considering we are all from Mississippi. We hit -6 degrees in Livingston, MT 3 days ago- I don’t envy those of y’all that have to deal with those cold temperatures on a regular basis.
Anyway, attached are some of my pictures and the locations of the animals we have been lucky enough to see on this trip. We have seen animals in the parks as well as in the surrounding areas, so wildlife, despite the fact that in my opinion nothing should be moving in this cold of weather, is in abundance around here.
Day 1: Drive from West Yellowstone, MT to Gardiner. I highly recommend HWY 287 in Montana from West Yellowstone to Bozeman if you ever get the chance. The drive is beautiful- especially Hebgen and Quake Lakes. The wildlife in the valley that 287 traverses through is also wonderful. We saw an eagle, countless whitetail deer, mule deer, and pronghorn, as well as a coyote.
Day 2: Mammoth Hot Springs and the Lamar Valley. I have been coming to the park for the majority of my life now. This is something like my 8th or 9th trip and I had never seen wolves before. Well, I finally have now. We were able to see the Agate Creek pack in the middle of the Lamar Valley at about 8AM. I was very, very happy to be able to finally see wolves. Afterward we went back to Gardiner. We took the Park Boundary road from the Roosevelt Arch to the highway, mostly looking for otter. When we stopped at a pullout on the river a bald eagle flew out of a tree beside us.
Day 3: We took snowmobiles from the West Yellowstone entrance on this day. We saw several coyotes, some elk, bison, and a few otters. It was after sunset when we saw the otters, so I had a really hard time getting a steady picture of them without a tripod.
I will post more pictures when we finish the GTNP park leg of our trip in 2 days.
Actually, it sounds cold even for a Wisconsin native!!!! Great shots!
Sure is beautiful there now. I love the swan shot. Thanks again,
