2019 Teton Moose, week one

Handsome bull
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Another September in the Tetons watching moose. I’ve been here a week and had some great opportunities so far. When I arrived it was very warm but that ended with a few rainy days and now it is clear and cold. Frost on the van windows the last two mornings. The rain down her bright new snow to the mountain tops.

 

The three bulls
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The moose count has varied, one day 4 bulls and 4 cows, but mostly we’ve seen 3 bulls and a couple of cows. This morning it’s down to 1 bull and 2 cows. Not sure if he’s driven the other bulls off or what.

When the 3 bulls were here they were all sparring together with one exception, see the photos for more info.

The cows seem more active, watching people and chasing each other at times. We have to be very aware of where the animals are because they are big and fast and can get pretty darn frustrated this time of year. Watching a bull

Early morning
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thrash away at a bush then jumping around and trotting away can give you an glimpse of that. They are surprisingly agile given their size. Watching a cow chase another one away or a bull chase a cow brings home the fact these are not sedate harmless critters they are big and fast and not much will stop them.

All three bulls
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2019 Yellowstone Aurora Borealis

Labor Day weekend in Yellowstone and the solar wind is arriving, this means possible Aurora Borealis (Northern Lights) sighting. Oh boy!  I went out around 9 pm thinking I try to get some images of the Milky Way then stick around to see if the Aurora was

Aurora Borealis, Yellowstone NP
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visible. Didn’t do much as far as the Milky Way went but I had picked out a good spot for the Aurora so about 11 pm I headed over there.

Aurora Borealis, Yellowstone NP
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I could see faint color with an easily visible spike so I decided to stick around. I was there until after 2 am and it got darn cold but it was worth it!  As time went on the color got better and pillars were visible.

 

I did move slightly so to be closer to White Dome geyser as it

Aurora Borealis, Yellowstone NP, White Dome geyser on the left
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went off. Imaging capturing the Aurora in the sky and the geyser with all it’s power from underground. The are some other geysers in some of the images, they were further away and I don’t know any names (if they are named).

 

Aurora Borealis, Yellowstone NP
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Aurora Borealis, Yellowstone NP
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Aurora Borealis, Yellowstone NP
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Aurora Borealis, Yellowstone NP, White Dome Geyser on left
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2019 Yellowstone day and night

I spent some time in Yellowstone in late August, moving from Mammoth area to Madison Junction then to Canyon Village. Managed to see some bison and get some nice images at night also.

 

It  was  warmer  than  I  was  hoping for but  all  went  well  

 

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2019 Black Hills South Dakota

Flower seeds
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Robaix Lake, Black Hills NF
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After leaving the COE east of Badlands NP some friends and I headed to the Black Hills. We were thinking the higher elevation might be a bit cooler and a NFS campground might be rather quiet after the COE. Sure enough Robaix Lake NFS campground was just what we were hoping for. The evening we arrived I took a walk down to the lake. On the way I spotted what looked like a giant dandelion gone to seed.

 

Milky Way over Robaix Lake
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Later that night I went back to the lake in hopes of capturing the Milky Way over the water. Sure enough it was there in all its glory, a sight neat never fails to awe me.

The next morning I was up and out to gain take the walk to the lake. I was thinking it

Early morning flower
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might be interesting to see some of the wildflowers with dew on them.

Later that morning I headed out to do the scenic drive called Spearfish Canyon. It is mentioned in so many of the travel magazines about the area I was curious to see it. Well, it is definitely a canyon, with the trees (fir or spruce for the most

Roughneck Falls, Spearfish Canyon,
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part) coming right down to the road. About 1/2 way along I could start to see some rock outcroppings up high but nothing to make me want to stop. There is one very popular and impressive waterfall, Roughneck Falls, it’s well worth the detour and walk along the boardwalk.

At the end of the drive I hopped on I90 east and took 85 south through Deadwood to get to 385 and the campground. Definitely better than retracing the canyon.

 

 

 

 

 

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2019 South Dakota, Missouri River

Dignity, 50′ high statue near I 90, Chamberlain, SD
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As you approach the Missouri River in South Dakota you see this 5-‘ statue titled Dignity near I 90.

I recently met up with some friends at a COE campground right on the Missouri River near Ft. Thompson in SD. Lovely campground with electric hookups at each site. Normally that wouldn’t be a selling point with me but the temperatures were abnormally high and being able to run the AC made the stay much more pleasant.

We traveled over to Chamberlain to explore the town. The Atka Lakota Museum and Center was very interesting and educational.

Later one afternoon the camp host came around warning us that a severe thunderstorm was headed towards the area. Everyone prepared by putting everything away, and watched the storm approach with
impressive lightning and thunder. After it passed we went out to see if anyone had been affected. The setting sun was lighting up some clouds across the river. None were but I realized that the storm was SE of us and the lightning was still pretty impressive. Needless to say I got out the tripod and camera and spent quite a while with a front row seat so to speak.

 

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2019 Utah in May

My trip from FL to UT this month was pretty uneventful and I stopped at Goosenecks SP to relax for a couple of days before continuing. As always the goosenecks created by the San Juan River are memorable.

Ever since traveling route 95 northwest from Blanding, UT, to Hanksville I’ve wanted to take that road again and stop along the way. This May I finally got to do that. Most of the road is included in the Bears Ears National Monument and goes through BLM land. I had studied various maps and had some idea where I might be able to stop for overnight. My first stop was just past a butte called Cheese Box Butte. There is a pullout that leads to a sort of circle and beyond that a pretty rough road that goes down to more open space. I decided to stay at the circle but did see a car head down the road and then a couple set up their tent in an open area much closer to the river than where I was.

I had an idea to camp at Fry Canyon, but the entrance of that road was posted so I kept on going a ways. I saw a turn off to the right and saw a pickup truck parked near a sign, but by then I had gone by the turn. Just ahead I saw a sign “Jacob’s Chair Viewpoint”. OK! I turned around there (doesn’t take much room to turn my truck & Casita around) and went back to the turnoff. It lead to another very large circle where I found a relatively level spot to park. The sign posted showed all sort of trails and from my viewpoint I could see tent campers below and across the river. This would be an ideal spot to explore with a 4WD vehicle and a nice place to just hang out for a bit. There was a nice breeze so it wasn’t too hot even with no shade.

I think if I’d been a week later the desert floor would have been covered with cactus blooms. I managed to get some images of most of the flowers in bloom, it’s amazing what a variety there is in that dry climate.

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2019 AZ Sandhill Cranes

The last few days I spent in Arizona were at a state game & fish wildlife refuge. What a wonderful place! It is home to thousands of Sandhill Cranes in the winter. There is also a variety of ducks and a pair of resident Great Horned Owls.

The cranes fly out early so getting up before down to capture them as they fly out can be challenging. It’s usually pretty cold, but definitely worth the effort as the sun rises and highlights the birds.

They return late in the morning, coming back in great groups. Then the sun is high and it’s more a matter of looking for interesting behavior as they mingle.

The ducks are very fast, hard to capture. The owls were a different matter entirely. She was sitting on a nest and he was perched at the opposite end of the shed high up so the challenge wasn’t in capturing action but getting the lighting right.

There were a also some Snow Geese there but they tended to stay pretty from from the berms where watchers can stand.

 

The last evening I was there there was a spectacular sunset. As I and others watched it just got better and better, the colors so strong. Then some of the Cranes flew across, making it even better!

This was my second visit to this refuge and it was well worth the time. It was also a lot warmer this time than in mid January last year!

 

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