2018 Grand Tetons, first 10 days

One of the main reasons I come to the Tetons now is to watch and photograph the moose. This time of year they are in wonderful coat, all shiny and sleek and the bulls are on the lookout for cows.  The day after I got settled in at the campground I drove along the river to see what I could find. Lo and behold, there was a bull hanging around a cow with twin calves of this year. I think it was wishful thinking on his part but great to see them all. They graze on the willow shrubs that grow along the river stripping the leaves off the thin branches. Haven’t seen the cow with twins since but it’s good to know she’s out there.

One day I took a drive along a narrow winding road that goes from Moose (yes, it even has a post office!) to Wilson. This handsome elk bull was just coming out of the trees into a large field. When he spotted the stopped cars he kept moving away from us at a dignified pace so I was able to get an image. Butt shots aren’t my favorites but in this case it was this or nothing.

Recently the moose have been coming into the campground early in the morning. I managed to get over to where there was a bull (he’s named Custer) and a cow. This is the same bull I saw at the river earlier. They were both laid down when I got there, he stayed down for 2 hours, got up and moved 10′ and laid down again. They were not particularly close to each other but when the cow got up (after a 4 hour rest) he did too. His efforts to get close to her were wasted so he headed the other way to do “bull moose things” like rubbing his antlers on shrubs or tree trunks, making a wallow. As he did this he swung right coming very close to where I was and thwarting the majority of photographers who anticipated a different direction for him. This gave me some great images as I hid behind 2 trees. I did move back after getting about all I could safely. My 4 hour wait was well rewarded I think.

This morning I was up and out but just missed the real action. Wysockie, a mature bull who seems to be dominant here had arrived. I’ve heard he knocked Custer to the ground. Custer headed away and I followed, thinking Wysockie and the cows would head the same way. Unfortunately my guess was wrong but I was able to get a nice image of Wysockie before he headed to the river with 2 cows.

This afternoon I took another drive just a short way out on the Moose-Wilsoon Rd. On the way back I was stopped by rangers who were holding up traffic…… I got to see 3 bear cubs cross the road and got a few photos through the windshield. Not the best but better than nothing. The sow had already crossed. From the coloring and head shape I think these are grizzly cubs. 

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2018 Yellowstone Nights

During visits to Yellowstone I usually try to stay on the west side for a few nights. Madison campground makes a good base for getting around to the geysers and thermals.  This year was no exception. The Milky Way in the SW sky made a wonderful backdrop for some of the features in the park.

One night I was very fortunate to be able to photograph Great Fountain geyser as it went off. The breeze was blowing the wrong way for trying to capture the Milky Way behind it but it worked out OK. Usually night photography is a solo experience, but at times having at least one other person around  is handy. In this case the people happened to be lighting the geyser in just the right way so my photographs were enhanced beyond what I could have done alone. This geyser is unpredictable, the sign said it might go off between 9 pm and 1 am. Fortunately it went off between 10 and 10:30 pm.

When I’m traveling up this way I regularly check out the website, http://www.spaceweather.com. It gives great info about the sun’s activity and possible Aurora sightings. As it turned out there was a faint bit of the aurora visible one night. Not much compared to some I’ve captures but fun to see.

Sunsets, while technically not night photography, can be quite spectacular in Wyoming. With the foregrounds in Yellowstone they are truly fun to photograph.

 

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2018 Yellowstone, fall season

Smoke from forest fires was really bad in British Columbia and Alberta on my way south so getting to Glacier NP was my destination. Unfortunately there was a bad fire on the west side of the park with the east side covered in smoke. That made for unpleasant conditions and I left after just a few days.  From there I went to Mammoth Hot Springs CG in Yellowstone. The cg is all first come first served which works out fine for me. I got a favorite site and settled in for nearly 2 weeks. I haven’t been to the upper terraces for several years so I went there one morning while the sun was at a nice angle and the crowds hadn’t yet descended

I went to Lamar Valley a few times but didn’t get much in the way of images. Managed to get out one night up to Bunson Peak Trailhead for the Milky Way. Good friends from TN joined me at Mammoth for a few days. It’s a spot they’ve never been to and I think they enjoyed relaxing and seeing the sights. Always fun to spend time with Lynne and David.

From Mammoth I moved down to Canyon Village cg, another favorite place. From there I explore Hayden Valley and a few other spots. This year I didn’t spot but one bear but I made good use of my new spotting scope in the evenings watching the bull Elk come down into the valley with the cows. Fascinating to see them in action though I wish they had come a bit closer. The first evening I took a few images but after that I just watched them with the scope.

The bison were around with 2 or 3 herds moving from one side of the valley to the other, at times causing some massive jams. On the other hand they also created some unique opportunities for photos.

I did get up early one morning to see if I could get the mist rising from the Yellowstone River, that worked out well.

 

 

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2018 Hyder, AK

Back to a spot I enjoyed so much in 2014, Hyder, AK. I got here on Saturday. The salmon had not started running strong so there were few in the creek. Bears had been feeding elsewhere where the pickings were better. I went over to Fish Creek Sunday afternoon and soon after I arrived a black bear sow came through with her two cubs. She didn’t stick around long and the cubs were not easy to capture, they stuck close to the sow when they could and the brusk is very overgrown and thick.

We did see another black bear one morning for just a very few minutes, it seemed rather tentative and didn’t stick around long.

After several days of very brief sightings of black bears (maybe one per day) some of us early birds got to see a brown bear come down the creek. Not as early as some I arrived just in the nick of time. This boar is one I saw 4 years ago and is called Dawg Bear.

 

There is a small lagoon near the start of the board walk, on the opposite side from Fish Creek. There is a creek feeding through it and beavers have decided the small outlet would be an excellent spot for a dam. The rangers have broken the dams up but the beavers persist.

The really fun thing for me about the lagoon is that there are at least a couple of otter families that frequent it. One time there were 6 or 7 otters including a few pups there. I’ll continue to watch and photograph them.

Another benefit of the dead fish the bears partially eat is that it attracts the mink. Mink are very elusive and fast but one morning we were able to watch a mink drag pieces of a fish into the brush and finally the rest of the carcass.

 

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2018 Valdez, AK

My stay at Valdez was timed with the salmon run and the first night I was there they were in the weir with the seal lions catching them. As the days went and the run got stronger the sheer number of fish was amazing. Instead of filling maybe 1/3 of the area in front of the weir they totally filled it and you could look outside it and see them.

There were also seals and sea otters in the area but none of them came into the weirs and they seemed to stay away from the sea lions. The sea gulls were everywhere, trying to grab bits of fish.

Every day started out foggy but then it burned off by around lunch time. Early one evening I headed back up the highway to see if the light would be right on Bridal Veil Falls, sure enough it was and I even saw a rainbow in the falls.

I found a good camping spot (no hookups) right across the road from the water and a very short drive to the weir. I made a few trips a day, sort of timed by the tides. High tide the sea lions would come in very close for the salmon, low tide I went further down the road to the large mud flats. That’s where the eagles hang out for the scraps.

 

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2018 Beaver Dam Farewell

Before leaving the beaver dam I spent a bit of time taking images of it and the creek.

Departure day and what do I see when I looked out the back window of the trailer at 0630 but a moose cow and calf next to the pond in addition to two of the beavers working. I grabbed the camera and went out, staying well back from the water. She spotted me and was leery, disappearing into the bushes quickly. She eventually came into sight as she left the area.

As I kept scanning to see her I spotted another cow and calf way across the area near the tree line.

The beavers continued to work on the dam, unimpressed by the moose or me. If I were to rate camping spots this would be at the top, simply the best and the one I’d love to return to some day. 

2018 Beaver Dam

This was such a wonderful place I returned to it after leaving Denali. A lot of time has been spent observing the residents. This Northern Harrier has a female chick who has fledged. Four times I’ve seen the adult fly around with something in its talons and heard calling between her and the chick. Then the chick would fly up and catch the food in mid air as the adult dropped it. I’ve seen and photographed falcons doing this (2016 OR coast) but didn’t know hawks would do it. I was never able to capture the action, not surprising since the adult’s territory covers a large area and they are usually high up and away when it happens. Binoculars made seeing it possible.

The beavers have been industrious as usual, but they don’t keep regular hours, I have to watch for them. One afternoon I was able to capture one eating off a branch it cut down and dragged into the water. Every once in a while it would stop to either scratch or groom. Great fun to watch and every time I look at this image I grin. 

Did manage to see a cow moose relatively close and as she was moving away I realized she had a calf with her, but it was even further away.

I’ll miss this place but have some very good memories to take with me!

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