A Few Hours in Yellowstone, June 5th
One should spend a few days in Yellowstone National Park, not a few hours. I didn’t have a few days to spare, but I couldn’t just drive right past it. A friend who put me up in Livingston the previous night said that at the least I should see Mammoth Hot Springs, which was a bit over an hour away. I gladly took the advice, and ultimately decided I would drive through the park and out the west entrance rather than backtrack up to I-90. The next morning I found that there was road work on the way to the park, which more than doubled my travel time to the park entrance. By the time I got to Mammoth Hot Springs it was nearly noon, and the harsh midday sun was far from ideal for photography. But, the springs and the landscape around them were incredible, and I did the best I could. There’s a whole lot of Yellowstone between Mammoth Hot Springs and the west entrance of the park, but I’m not trying to cover all of that here. What I am sharing with you now is mostly selections from the springs and some wildlife highlights from my subsequent drive through Yellowstone. Enjoy!
The mountains of northwestern Yellowstone seen from Livingston, Montana the previous evening. The entire drive through Montana was incredible, and I was constantly struggling not to stop on the side of the freeway to take pictures. I was grateful that my friend in Livingston walked me to this incredible view, which will have to stand in for all of the jaw-dropping scenery drove through that day.
On the drive from Livingston to Yellowstone I spotted this beautiful Pronghorn. She was a couple hundred feet away, and the full sun was already high in the sky, but I wasn’t going to waste my first opportunity to photograph this awesome mammal.
The main parking areas at Mammoth Hot Springs were full when I got there, of course. But, I enjoyed some fantastic views on the walk from the next parking area up the road.
This stream fed by the springs ran under the trail.
Steam rises from an unseen pool at the edge of the hot springs.
Shallow pools on the a massive hill built by calcium carbonate deposition from the springs. The white is limestone, while colors in the water are from thermophilic cyanobacteria.
Thermophile mats on limestone terraces.
Juniper by one of the vents.
A Killdeer forages in a dry pocket created by a natural mote.
I wasn’t expecting to see Sandhill Cranes. An awesome surprise!
An American Bison licks his nose for the camera. Silliness aside, seeing wild Bison is profoundly moving. May they return to more of their ancestral lands in the centuries to come.
This old Bighorn Sheep ram has true grit. He lingered by the road after the rest of the herd finished their very slow crossing. Cars and RV’s didn’t concern them, and of course the drivers welcomed the chance to see these mountain icons up close. Not the setting I would choose given the option, but still a great pleasure to photograph them.
Having driven ahead and found a pull off to better enjoy the Bighorns I was also rewarded with a cautious visit from this Hoary Marmot.
By now it was late afternoon and I had some much better light for photographing the western edge of the park. I believe these mountains are known as Wapiti Ridge
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