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January 24 - 25
January 26 January 27 January 28 January 29 January 30 January 31 February 1 |
Wednesday, January 31 The alarm actually woke me up this morning for the first time this trip! Breakfast was at a hotel affiliated restaurant - a buffet at the Yellowstone Mine. Then we loaded the large coach for a trip across the northern part of the park, including the Lamar Valley. These three photos show a small herd of bison that we passed on the road. They were walking (and running) single file along a path that had been beaten into the snow by earlier bison. The sun made a brief appearance this morning as we were driving along, so we stopped to shoot some landscape photos. The photo on the left is the Lamar River. The other two photos show some of the nice scenery along this road. The photo on the left was taken through the bus window and shows a big horn sheep trying to graze on the meager pickings on the hillside above us. The photo on the right is another stop we made along the way and shows Soda Butte Creek winding through its small valley. The photos on the right and left show two different views of Soda Butte (foreground), Barronette Peak and other mountains in the background. The center photo shows a lone tree on the hillside with nice clouds behind it and was taken by turning 180 degrees from the other two photos! These two photos show a bison grazing while wading along a small stream. The warmer waters of the stream had some greenery growing on the stream bed. . . . These two photos were taken at our last stop before reaching Cooke City, MT. The photo on the left shows Barronette Peak and our road. The clouds had separated a little over the top of the peak, allowing us this view. The photo on the right shows some snow pillows and icicles that had formed along the stream running next to the road. I think it was still Soda Butte Creek, but I could be mistaken. Lunch was at Cooke City, MT. I had a BBQ sandwich - the special of the day (yum). The photo on the left shows the Yellowstone Trading Post with a large pile of snow in front of it, almost obscuring the building. This photo was taken from the bus as we entered town. The center photo shows the deli where we ate lunch. The photo on the right shows a snowmobile traveling along the main street in town. Snowmobiles are a popular mode of transportation for Cooke City at this time of year. This photo and the rest of the ones in Cooke City were taken after lunch while I wandered the street with the snow falling all around me. More photos from my rambles along the main street of Cook City. The photo on the left shows some of the snow that was piled by the side of the road, presumably when making the road at least passable. The center photo shows one of the few businesses open year round here, the Miners Saloon. The photo on the right shows an unusual truck parked at one of the hotels that was open for business. More photos from my rambles along the main street of Cook City. The photo on the left shows icicles hanging off of a roof. The center photo is another view of the large wheel in front of the Miners Saloon. The photo on the right shows some of the weird patterns snow makes as it slowly slides off the roof. The photo on the left shows a chain saw carved bear serving libations on the outside patio (not being used today) of a closed restaurant. The other two photos were taken inside the deli looking out through the icicles that almost obliterated the view from the window. I had returned to the deli to warm up a little and was delighted to find that my cup of tea was right where I left it and it still had a lot of warmth in it. Then we reboarded the bus for the trip back to Mammoth for a little shooting and dinner at the Dining Room there. As we passed back through the Lamar Valley, we spotted this lone bison on a hill top foraging for food as the wind made the snow swirl around it. In the photo on the right, it finally raised its head and looked at the crazy humans as if trying to figure out what we were looking at... A little further down the road, we saw this small herd of bison taking the path of least resistance and walking down the middle of the road. They had traffic stopped in both directions... They finally moved off the road enough for our bus to ease its way past them. They do have the right of way, after all. We took turns coming to the front of the bus to shoot them out the windshield. Eventually, the herd parted and we squeezed through. The photo on the left was taken out a side window and the photo on the right through the windshield. . The photo on the left is Liberty Cap, one of the formations found at Mammoth Hot Springs. In the distance is the small village that surrounds the hotel here. . . . . These three photos show different views of Palette Spring. The photos on the left and center are detail photos of Palette Springs. The photo on the right shows the Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel and some of the buildings surrounding it. Eventually, we lost what little light we had and retired to the hotel dining room for dinner. It made a nice end of the trip. Then it was back to the motel for the night. It was a very long day. Now to make sense of all this stuff and repack the suitcase. Today was the last shooting day of the trip. And I stayed up way too late... |