Sunday, July 5, 2026

America's Premier National Park

Yellowstone National Park is America's first and arguably best national park, home to beautiful animals like this bighorn ewe in falling snow.


A juvenile bald eagle launches off a snag in a flurry of wingbeats.


I took a selfie in the eye of this passing bison while waiting for traffic ahead to clear. Bison crossings are a daily occurrence.


I was hoping to photograph more snow-faced bison, but there wasn't much snow during my spring visit.


Is this an indie album cover from the 1990s?


I did get one snowy bison face with a snowball embedded in his beard. 


A black bear with a white blaze on his chest forages in last hour of daylight.


The northern part of the park has a good population of cinnamon bears, too.


This shaggy bear was intent on grazing on spring grass. It's a paradox that such fearsome animals spend most of their time behaving like cows.


A yearling wolf finishes off a meal, leaving nothing for the ravens.


A beautiful coyote still in its winter coat follows the wolf over the ridge to make sure it has vacated the area, probably in the vicinity of its den.


Kettle ponds covered in thin ice are winter death traps for bison every year in Yellowstone. This was no exception. A bear successfully retrieved the carcass and days later a coyote found a meal on some scraps. 


The coyote got a couple steaks to go.


By week's end, even ravens and eagles had slim pickings.


Elk have no trouble navigating steep terrain.


A common goldeneye walks on water to take flight.


A beautiful grizzly rubs against a favorite tree.


A ground squirrel stands on alert at Mammoth Hot Springs, home to an alarming number of dog-walkers if you are a ground squirrel.


These little guys are fun to watch.


A pretty horned lark caught my attention in the snow outside Gardiner.


A yellow-bellied marmot stands sentry atop a boulder overlooking the Lamar Valley.


A pretty mountain bluebird in falling snow.


A huge herd of muley does and yearling fawns grazed in a field, ever on high alert.


Pronghorns are one of my favorite American animals. They evolved to outrun the American cheetah. And they are so different from any other hoofed animal in the United States. I copped a squat on a rock near a game trail as this pronghorn approached. My camera shutter caught this buck's attention, but after a second he went back to grazing. They're not terribly skittish around people in the park.


A rainbow arcs over Yellowstone.


And his eyes have all the seeming of a demon's that is dreaming.


I photographed this habituated fox outside Cooke City two years ago. I was soooo happy to see her again!


Sandhill cranes.


The scenery is so pretty in the snow.


Snowy evergreens take you right back to that wintry, fresh air. 


A yearling wolf dashes through an unkindness of ravens.

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