Last of the Yellowstone pics

Our last night in (actually around) the park. We drove to the Lamar Valley area to be there at dusk in case any of the big guys came out (bears, wolves). Alas, no such luck. Lots of bison, elk and a coyote. And lots of cool dusky sky pics
A few of these guys crossed the road directly in front of us. Really cool and very unnerving... You could hear them snorting and growling (had the window down for the pic).

She enjoyed hanging out there waiting for critters, as she got to puddlejump.

More night sky pics.

I had trouble deciding which one(s) I liked best.

Check out the rainbow in this one....just a single rainbow though. I prefer doubles.

We did see wolves (captive) and bears. we went to the wolf and bear discovery center in W Yellowstone (they're rehabilitated, non-returnable-to-the-wild critters). And it was cool to see them up close, as it was the best we got.

The setting on my camera was turned to something other than 'auto', but I thought Kat's pic was cool looking. I am sure that she is NOT laying on the ground after someone told her 'no' because she would NEVER pitch a fit in response to that word.

Grand Teton National Park and Yellowstone

We're back to West Yellowstone tonite, after spending last night in Jackson, WY and checking our Grand Teton NP.

Our wildlife sightings were pretty good today, 2 moose and a bear, and I only yelled at a few dumbasses in the park who can't be bothered to read/follow the signs and protect the animals. Oh wait, I did that a few times at Old Faithful yesterday when people were too stupid to note people (myself and Kat in particular) in the crosswalk. I haven't done that since Pearl Harbor.

Bison in the river.
Storm coming up on Jackson Lake, in Grand Teton. I can still feel the wind looking at this pic. I kept panning and shooting serially, hoping to get some lightning in a shot. No such luck.

The bull moose laying down....the brown thing in the middle of the frame.

Awwww... aren't they cute? That's a sticker on her cheek and you can't see it, but her legs (or as she calls them, her 'canvas') were covered with different colored marks from her markers. Hey, she has to occupy herself in the back seat somehow....

Female moose browsing.

At Jackson Hole ski area.

Grand Teton last night, no storm. Still very cool.

Grand Teton yesterday afternoon.

Prismatic spring at Yellowstone. Yup, that's steam and the water is 150 degrees or so.

We were holding the kid tight up there.

Yellowstone's candidates for the Darwin awards for foot entrapment, or being eaten by an animal (like there's a shortage of those....just about everyone out there is a candidate, between getting too close to enormous, ornery animals, disregarding warnings about thermal areas or pissing me off by being a complete moron).

Yellowstone

Well, no great sightings today, BUT everyone is healthy(ier). Dan had what he suspects was food poisoning and had a fever of 101 yesterday and poor Kat had(has) thrush- her tongue and mouth are/were a hotbed of yeast breeding activity. We got some acidopholus at the drug store and have gotten some in her. Things definitely look better. Not sure if that was causing a sore throat or she had other issues, but she wasn't eating or drinking (or sleeping nearly enough) for 2 days. She seems to be recovering now though, and while she was (supposed to be) awake, you'd never guess that she didn't feel well. At night, when she was supposed to be sleeping....another story. But last night and tonite she went down quietly at about her normal time. Huge sigh of relief from us AND our hotel neighbors.

We saw a few sandhill cranes fighting (or at least arguing animatedly), a few sorry looking bison, a few elk and a white pelican at a distance. Pretty lame sightings. We're still waiting for the big guns....bears, both kinds, wolves and moose. We keep watching for them. Tomorrow we head down to Jackson, and start our Grand Teton NP tour. It is amazing out here.

The incredible Old Faithful Inn. A beautiful example of 'parkitecture'. Absolutely stunning inside and out. We are not staying here. Though one day I would love to, even just for one night.

An entire valley of steaming, hissing, spitting and boiling waters (and who knows what else). It just blows my mind. It looks like a great place for animals to hang out, except for the geothermal issues. We didn't see any here.

Old Faithful. Erupting faithfully on time. And with the rainbow (far right).

Kat trying to kill time in the car by sharing her milk with the moose.

Kat at Yellowstone Lake. No drama in these pics. It poured soon after, as you may have guessed.

Daddy teaching her to throw rocks. Awesome.

This bison was about 20 feet from the road, so everyone passing by could slow down and get great pics. He's in pretty rough shape and I'm pretty sure that his plan was to wait till dark and then do one more 30mph sprint into the road to end it all, instead of waiting for the wolves to do it for him.

Kat running to high-five daddy.

This one cracked me up.

Followed by 'knucks'. Family self portrait.

These pics are at Artist's Point for some reason. I suppose you may want to paint or photograph the river....it's alright.

The call it big sky country for a reason I suppose. That's the famed Roosevelt arch.

Day One, Yellowstone. And a new state for all of us.

Well, we made it to Yellowstone! Poor Kat has spent way too much time in the car. She has done great! In the hotel might be another story. It's 11:38 and she's sitting on me zipping and unzipping my zipper. And playing with my hair. Last night she watched an entire Elmo movie, starting probably about now with Dan and did NOT fall asleep until it ended at 1:30 or so. She also has a bunch of red/white spots in her throat. She has hardly eaten (not unusual for travel), hasn't drunk much, but has been extremely happy and fun, excepting when we want her to sleep. Dan's on the phone with the nurse hotline now.....as she's still up and crying/running around the room frantically at midnight (PDT). I'm guessing we'll be visiting the clinic tomorow for a throat culture.

Anyway, we were impressed by our first 2 hours in Yellowstone. We passed through to Gardiner, along the incredibly gorgeous Beartooth Highway. Once in the park, we saw herds of bison. We'd never seen them before, so that was really cool. And we saw one pronghorn antelope up close, just hanging out and a few more at a distance. And we saw a pair of coyotes (there was discussion that they may be wolves, but I don't think so). At the Mammoth Hot Springs area, we saw tons of sheep and goats, so we can cross them all off. Still no bears, but it's early days yet. We're staying here in Gardiner again tomorrow night, so will stay in the northern sections of the park to explore. And the little girl, barring a fever, or maybe even with one, will get tons of exercise and spend little time in the car (I think that's what we're paying for tonite and last night).

I don't think I've ever been at this elevation before.

Home on the range....
That's a pronghorn, practically dead center, that white deer-shaped thing. Might be time to figure out my optical zoom......