Return to Lamar Valley

We have been told by the Park Rangers that we are lucky to be experiencing weather patterns that are unseasonably warm, 70s and 30s. This is 10-20 degrees warmer than normal and they had snow here this time last year. We wanted to return to the Lamar Valley on Tuesday, and while there, travel on further to the Northeast Entrance gate to Cooke City. This retraces an area where we exited the park when we brought Ben here. I cannot adequately explain nor can pictures depict the pure natural beauty of this area and the feeling of awe when you are in this area. My serious fishing time was curtailed somewhat due to the moving herds of buffalo that chose my favorite fishing area as their thoroughfare, even swimming thru my fishing hole - Charlcie took a video but it wouldn't upload). With the flare-up of the "Antelope Fire" blocking the sun and casting a bronze haze across the valley, Charlcie and I retreated to our chairs and just observed as dusk was setting in - herds of buffalo moving briskly across the valley to their nighttime destinations, two antelope chasing each other at full speed and darting among the buffalo, and other wildlife getting positioned for the most opportune time for predators and the most dangerous period for their prey. Don't mean to sound too corny, but it really is a moving experience. Also had the pleasure of meeting another professional photographer today. Frank Hildebrand focuses on wildlife and his fantastic images can be viewed on his website, www.hildebrandphotography.com Retired fire truck in Cooke City. Past its prime but retaining a lot of character from years of experiences - kinda like Charlcie and me We had breakfast here 18 years ago Northeast Entrance to the Park Baronette Peak; the white spot in the middle is a baby mountain goat - the mother was resting. We saw them thru a friendly person's spotting scope Bison herd loitering around my favored fishing spots - I retreated Smoke from the fire over the mountain blocks the sun - creating an otherworldly feel Smoke filtering the sun - the sun appeared as a bright red ball What a scene! Miles of the most beautiful valley I did catch a couple more cutthroat and missed several more A little friend that I encountered several times

Busy Sunday in the Park

With the opening of the road thru Dunraven Pass today (it had been closed since we have been here due to a fire), we decided to play tourist for the day. We went up the pass to see the remnants of the fire, down to Canyon Village to see the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, the Upper and Lower Falls in the canyon, down to Yellowstone Lake, Fishing Bridge, and back thru Hayden Valley in late afternoon to hopefully view some big wildlife. We enjoyed dinner at the Yellowstone Lake Lodge before heading back to camp. In Hayden Valley, we did get to see grizzly bears, although from a great distance. Folks with the huge spotting scopes are very eager to offer a view - the black spot on the last picture is the dominant grizzly at this site - he had been laying on a carcass for over 24 hours, and would probably be there for another day or two - thru the scope, we could very clearly see him spread-eagled over the food carcass (probably bison). About 50 yards away was another grizzly - we were told he was not brave enough to challenge the other one and that he was waiting around for the leftovers. Fishing Bridge is a famous spawning area for the cutthroats that come out of the lake in the spring - it used to be elbow-to-elbow fishing years ago, but fishing was banned some years back to reduce fishing pressure on the spawning fish. When I was 12 yrs. old our family stayed in camper cabins overlooking this site, but those cabins and a campground were closed down and dismantled years ago as this is prime grizzly habitat and the park service felt it necessary to reduce potential for not-so-pleasant confrontations. The last of the "Antelope Fire" in the background Sticks from the great fire of 1988, and the young pines re-seeded naturally by the fire From the brim of the Lower Falls of the Yellowstone Brim of the Lower Falls Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone Upper Falls of the Yellowstone - unfortunately we didn't get a picture from below the Lower Falls (the tallest) Sweet Thang with Upper Falls in the background Yellowstone River in Hayden Valley Yellowstone River in Hayden Valley Fishing Bridge Lake Yellowstone as seen from the front porch of the Lake Lodge Lake Lodge Lobby of Lake Lodge Grizzly at a safe distance

Razorbacks vs. Alabama

Day of the big game. We went in to West Yellowstone as we were told by a pizza place there that they would have the game on. It turned out that the CBS "nationally" televised game was pre-empted here by the University of Montana game. So after much searching, finally ended up listening to the game on XM radio, thanks to TL Services, who gave me the service as a parting gift. So with chip and dip in hand, we parked overlooking the Madison River and watched the river and wildlife as we listened to the game - happy for all but the last 4 minutes of the game. So to ease the pain, Charlcie and I walked down from our campsite to the river, where I fished until twilight - she enjoyed reading her book while watching the sunset and taking some very nice pics. Twilight on the Madison River Look at that cast! I had a friend in the background the entire evening

On Road to Old Faithful: Madison River Campground

We decided to take another visit back to Old Faithful to see areas we had missed on the earlier quick trip. Finished up the evening with a walk along the rivers at our campground to enjoy the sunset in an amazing setting. The historic Old Faithful Inn Wolf on the way to Old Faithful Firehole River in Firehole Canyon Firehole River in Firehole Canyon Gibbon River on the left, Firehole River on the right, converge here to create the Madison Madison River just below convergence of Gibbon and Firehole Rivers

Norris Geyser Basin: Yellowstone National Park (YNP)

Toured a different area today to visit some of the geysers and other thermal features of the park. After spending a good part of the day in West Yellowstone to update the blog, etc., we toured the area between our campground and the Norris Geyser Basin. We hiked around the basin to view some of the geysers and other thermal features. Big Daddy's harem Big Daddy Virginia Cascade on Gibbon River Emerald Pool Steamboat Geyser Cistern Pool

Lamar Valley: Yellowstone National Park (YNP)

Probably our favorite area of YNP is the more remote, less visited Lamar Valley in the northeast corner of the park. We devoted an entire day to re-visit this area and it was incredible! We visited other points of interest on the way, and we were rewarded with more fantastic scenery and wildlife. Wildlife Report: Black bears, wolves, coyotes, antelope, bison herds, elk, grouse. We were within 25-yards of a black bear, coyotes cross in front of our car, and we were able to see wolves thru spotting scope that nice folks offer to use. Fishing Report: I was able to fish for a couple of hours and was rewarded with a personal best. A 17" Yellowstone Cutthroat that is the largest and most beautiful cutthroat in my experience. Also caught another 14" cutthroat and missed a couple more in this size range. Caught in the Lamar River in the Valley of the same name - what an experience! And wouldn't you know that I didn't take my camera this time - you do believe me don't you? After I got out of the river, we were pleased to meet and visit with Rich and Julie Schaaf. Rich has property across the White River from our property and his brother used to guide there. Rich is a professional photographer with a unique approach to his prime subject, flyfishing. His work has appeared with some of the best on Midcurrent. com. Rich's website is eastforkfly.com. He has some very interesting and quality images of our sport. It was getting late on our return to camp, so we stopped for dinner at the Mammoth Springs Restaurant. The dinner was good and we had window seats overlooking the old parade grounds, where we were entertained by an excited bull elk that was bugling and running off younger bull competitors and rounding up his harem when they strayed. Undine Falls Black bear on road to Tower Falls Tower Falls "Bear Rock" on Blacktail Plateau Drive Yellowstone River on Tower Falls Road Lamar Valley Lamar River: where I caught the cutthroats Lamar River Dusk at the pass in to Mammoth