Planned as a day trip…but it ended up being a day and a half!
If nothing more than just a change of pace, I like to do an occasional “quick trip” into Yellowstone each year. It is impossible to see everything in Yellowstone in one day, so I usually just pick a quadrant and stay there. I had been hearing of a Grizzly sow appearing with two cubs of the year in the Mary Bay area. Since I don’t have many shots of baby grizzlies, I decided to head to that area for this trip.
Ironically, I found this big black bear while I was still in the Tetons as I was on my way to photograph bears in Yellowstone. This bear was near Arizona Island picnic area. It was still very early with little light, so I decided to continue north. Nikon D4 and Tamron 150-600mm lens.
Lewis Falls: Unless I stop to photograph Moose Falls on Crawfish Creek, this is often my first stop in Yellowstone. I jumped out and took this quick shot—handheld. It would be easy to spend an entire morning at Moose Falls and Lewis Falls, and if I did so, I’d set up with my tripod and take shots at various locations and distances along with two or three different lenses. Nikon D4 and Tamron 150-600mm lens.
Lewis River: This shot was taken a few minutes after the falls shot, looking south towards Jackson Hole. I keep hoping to see a big bull moose grazing there, but never see one. Nikon D4 and Tamron 150-600mm lens.
Lewis Lake: I saw this group of rocks along the shore of Lewis Lake. Something about it caught my eye and prompted me to snap off a shot or two. Nikon D4 and Tamron 150-600mm lens.
White Pelican: I stopped at Pelican Creek to get this early morning shot. It was feeding on grasses under the surface. Nikon D4 and Tamron 150-600mm lens.
Yellowstone Lake: Morning light makes about any scene more appealing. This one was taken across the road from the Pelican. Nikon D4 and Tamron 150-600mm lens.
Mule Deer in Velvet: Normally at this time of the year, there are a few Dusky Grouse at the top of Lake View Overlook near the Nine Mile pullout on the east side of Yellowstone Lake. I didn’t see the grouse, but found a buck Mule Deer. Nikon D4 and Tamron 150-600mm lens.
Mule Deer: This is the same buck as it headed on up the side of the mountain. Nikon D4 and Tamron 150-600mm lens.
Grizzly Family: Not long after photographing the Mule Deer, this family of Grizzlies rambled off the slope to the east. I took quite a few photos at this spot and again along the main highway. Nikon D4 and Tamron 70-200mm lens.
Nursing Grizzlies: I could have—and possibly should have stayed at Nine Mile Pullout all day to attempt to get more shots of the bears. While considering my day trip into Yellowstone, I put going over Dunraven Pass to Roosevelt Junction on my wish list of things to do. Tourists had been reporting seeing a few different Black Bear sows with cubs in the Yellowstone Picnic Area (sometimes called Little America). The Grizzly trio bedded down and appeared to be content, so I decided to go farther north as “planned”. Nikon D800 and Tamron 150-600mm lens.
Bison Jam: The maximum speed limit anywhere in Yellowstone Park is 45 mph. It takes a while to get from point A to point B on a slow day in the park. A lone Bison can cause quite a large jam about anywhere, so I know to allow extra time to move around the park. This is a record year for tourism in Yellowstone, too. This Bison was near Pelican Creek. I had stopped to look at a large Coyote, but didn’t get any shots of it. Nikon D4 and Tamron 150-600mm lens.
Resting Rams: At Little American / Yellowstone Picnic Area, these two Bighorn Rams were causing a big traffic jam. Nikon D4 and Tamron 150-600mm lens.
Black Bear Sow: This bear was also in the same area, compounding the congestion. She had two cubs of the year in a large pine tree nearby. I would have liked to have seen the three together, but I didn’t stay. Nikon D4 and Tamron 150-600mm lens.
Evening Skies: There are several rock outcroppings like this just east of Little America. I stopped because of the interesting sky and the overlapping planes of hillsides. Bison cows and babies were nearby, but not in this scene. Someday, I need to go back and see if I was “fooled” by the horizon line in the distance, or if the trees are actually leaning to the right. Nikon D4 and Tamron 150-600mm lens.
Lamar Bison: If you want to see American Bison, the Lamar valley is the place to be. There are what seems like thousands in the valley. It would be easy to stay only in the Lamar Valley and fill card after card with images of bison grazing, crossing rivers, and interacting. This group was bedded down at the time. They are relatively docile this time of the year, but get very active during he rut in August. Nikon D4 and Tamron 150-600mm lens.
Bison Head: With a telephoto lens, it’s possible to get this shot in many areas of the park. I drove on out to Trout Lake and asked a few people if they had seen River Otters at Trout Lake. With no positive sightings, I decided to head on into Silvergate and Cook City to look around. Time to head on back to the Grizzly Bear location on Yellowstone Lake! Nikon D4 and Tamron 150-600mm lens.
Grizzly Sow in Evening Light: I made it back to the morning location in time for a dozen shots with the bear still in the evening light. I’d have been there sooner except for the half dozen people that stopped in the middle of the road to take their shots of bison, foxes, and pronghorns while others had to wait and traffic build. It happens much too often, but there’s not much anyone can do about it. Nikon D4 and Tamron 150-600mm lens.
Loose Ends: I could have stopped for many for shooting opportunities—both landscapes and wildlife. I didn’t see owls or eagles, but I saw numerous other raptors. A fox was near Mud Volcano, but traffic was just in the process of unsnarling after one of the “stop in the middle of the road” tourists. After this late evening shot of the Grizzly sow, I was not too excited about leaving Yellowstone as planned. As I was driving by the RV Campground at Fishing Bridge, I noticed an unexpected “Vacancy” sign. An omen? I did a U-turn and paid $55 to sleep in my van legally. Great investment! I was up early, then found the trio of bears for a wonderful morning shoot. Some of those shots are on the June 2015 Daily Updates & Photos for Grand Teton National Park & JH: for June 24. I ended up driving just over 400 miles on my day and a half trip. The photos on this page are a cross-section of what I saw. I might have better shots in the folders and I could probably improve on most of them if I could be there a week or longer. As far as Grizzly Bears are concerned, I managed to take a few nice keepers and fill in some holes in my catalog of images. Nikon D4 and Tamron 150-600mm lens.
Related Topics
- JH News and Guide Story: Yellowstone visitors numbers are up sharply
- June 2015 Daily Updates & Photos for Grand Teton National Park & JH:
Please, if you like this post, share it by using any of the Social Media Icons. And please respect my copyrighted images.