Out like a Lion, in like a Grizzly Bear?

Well, looking at our pictures I see we haven’t put up a post in a while, so this one will cover some lost weeks for you. Winter was starting to get the best of us… long, cold, and more snow than we had ever seen. As March rolled around, I kept waiting for signs of spring, but they were not in the foreseeable future, more snow, and still quite cold.

Brennan got to leave town come the beginning of April and saw a bit of warm weather out in the mitt, but here I sat waiting and waiting. It’s now early May and the snow has significantly melted but there is still quite a bit of snow on the ground in most places. I’d reached a point of disbelief that winter was ever going to end but I’m going to take a cue from the local bears here who are coming out of their long sleep and trust them that spring is finally here.

IMG_1387_thumbnail.jpg

This shot goes back a couple of months to a snowmobile trip that we took into the park with some friends. Luckily, there isn’t that much snow on the ground anymore!

IMG_1437_thumbnail.jpg

A lot of bison have died this season, here is one we came across while skiing along the Madison in the park.

IMG_1379_thumbnail.jpg

Elk in the Winter.

IMG_1397_thumbnail.jpg

A look at Mammoth under lots of snow

IMG_1389_thumbnail.jpg

Mammoth Terraces

IMG_1504_thumbnail.jpg

Bucket’s photo shoot

IMG_1506_thumbnail.jpg

Here’s Gus posing on a sunny afternoon. Unfortunately our family, human and dog, seem to have serious knee issues. Gus has also torn his ACL and has to have surgery!

IMG_1539_thumbnail.jpg

The first day Yellowstone reopened for the summer season, we took a walk around Norris. It’s great to see these places change throughout the seasons. In the winter the colors in the geyser basins tend to be a little more muted as there is less sunlight for the sun-loving organisms living here to photosynthesize.

IMG_1532_thumbnail.jpg

Snow carved out by a thermal feature.

IMG_1537_thumbnail.jpg

IMG_1583_thumbnail.jpg

With all the winter kills in the park, you stand a chance of seeing other wildlife enjoying the buffet. We watched these two coyotes for a while.

IMG_1575_thumbnail.jpg

__thumbnail.jpg

This is where we have spent a good deal of our time recently. Snowshoes are a necessity here!

IMG_2586_thumbnail.jpg

In case you missed pictures of us holding fish, I’ve thrown a few in for you. You wouldn’t know it from the picture, but this is supposedly “spring”!

_-3_thumbnail.jpg

A really nice Brown.

_-4_thumbnail.jpg

Brennan with another nice Brown.

_-2_thumbnail.jpg

Here’s Gus getting into the playoff spirit. Go Wings!

IMG_1565_thumbnail.jpg

The Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone.

IMG_1563_thumbnail.jpg

IMG_1553_thumbnail.jpg

Walking in Porcelain Basin.

IMG_1550_thumbnail.jpg

IMG_1549_thumbnail.jpg

IMG_1548_thumbnail.jpg

IMG_1546_thumbnail.jpg

IMG_1545_thumbnail.jpg

IMG_1542_thumbnail.jpg IMG_1669_thumbnail.jpg

On an afternoon drive in the park, we were lucky enough to come across two grizzly bears, this guy here was really close! Truly amazing to see.

IMG_1661_thumbnail.jpg

IMG_1660_thumbnail.jpg IMG_1652_thumbnail.jpg IMG_1645_thumbnail.jpg IMG_1641_thumbnail.jpg IMG_1621_thumbnail.jpgIMG_1630_thumbnail.jpgIMG_1677_thumbnail.jpg

Well, hope that makes up for the lack of posts for a while. We are off tomorrow to get Gus all fixed up in Billings, the hard part will be keeping him calm for six weeks… Wish us luck!

One Response to “Out like a Lion, in like a Grizzly Bear?”

  1. ruby hensley Says:

    wow… how many bears are around your neighborhood? geez!

Leave a Reply