I had the fortunate experience of going to Yellowstone last summer and lodged in the Paradise Valley area of Montana while there. The scenery was spectacular, elk could be seen in fields with cattle, and what I suspect to be a couger showed up near the camp area as best I could tell with my flashlight in the middle of the night.
I will never forget the rich aroma in the air. I’m not sure if it was pollen or what. It smelled like someone dumped an ocean freighter full of perfume into the atmosphere. I will never forget the experience.
I understand... I’ve had identical experiences in the West Yellowstone area twice—it’s a slice of heaven and my favorite area of the country. The glorious geological features of the Tetons are unsurpassed even by the Rockies imo and the wildlife encounters are second to none, in the lower 48 anyway. It’s funny that many Yellowstone tourists never make it north of the WY border. I’ve got so many great pictures of the bison(in the road), eagles, pronghorn, bear...but all on 35mm.
My family treated me to a 60th birthday trip to Yellowstone and the Tetons this summer and it was pure heaven. We pampered ourselves and stayed at the Lake Yellowstone Hotel. I rousted everybody out of bed one morning at 4:00 to get up to Lamar Valley at sunrise. On the way up, we briefly stopped at Hayden Valley and the number of coyotes howling in the pre-dawn was unbelievable. They were singing all around us. At Lamar, we found a wolf biology team doing a survey which included a woman who lives not far from us in California. With their help, we were able to spot the alpha male moving between the den and the feeding area. Same morning, we spotted a bison herd of about 300 or so rising in the morning and fording the river, a bald eagle in the trees at the edge of the forest and later a mama grizzly and two cubs across a small lake from us. At the Tetons, we were able to find numerous moose and elk.
...and how it got ahold of my flashlight, I'll never know. /Groucho Marx>
Cheers!
...and how it got ahold of my flashlight, I'll never know. /Groucho Marx>
Cheers!