Lamar Valley

Last week my brother came to Yellowstone and we got to spend three days together exploring Yellowstone and the Tetons.

On day 1 our destination was Lamar Valley.  Lamar Valley is in the Northeast corner of Yellowstone.


Lamar Valley is where the huge herds of bison hang out.  It's called the Serengeti of Yellowstone.


We were not disappointed.  The herds own Lamar Valley.  They don't hesitate to walk down the road or cross right in front of cars. The little red dogs born this spring have gotten their dark fur now, but they're still dang cute.


This is their park and we are the visitors.


August is the month for the rut for bison. The boys were doing everything they could to attract the ladies.


Rolling in the dirt, pawing the ground, intimidating the other males.  It's all part of the fun of the rut.


There was lots of groaning, growling, and hollering going on.


There was also a lot of following the ladies around.  The ladies didn't seem too impressed.
 

This gal doesn't seem too impressed by the display put on by this bull.


But he kept on going.


We made a stop to hike the Lamar River Trail.


The Lamar River is beautiful and peaceful.  There were a lot of anglers on the river.


We headed off through the sage field.


I took time to appreciate the small critters too like this moth that looks similar to a Monarch butterfly (I forget what it's called) and..


a bumble bee.


Before long we realized the trail wasn't going in the direction of the forest and it was dang hot on that prairie with the sun beating down on us so we decided to turn back and head to Trout Lake.  (Trout Lake will be the subject of a future post.)

My brother is a great photographer and actually takes time to get the perfect shot unlike me who just points and clicks the camera.  Check out his blog and photos at  YogisDen.us.


On our way out of Lamar Valley we spotted some pronghorn that we observed from a safe distance unlike...


 some tourons who didn't obey the 25 yard rule.

Lamar Valley is one of my favorite spots in Yellowstone.  Most tourists don't take the time to go up there so it's less crowded.  Unfortunately we didn't see any bears or wolves on this visit, but it was a great time nonetheless.










Comments

Yogi♪♪♪ said…
I had a grand time with you Ellen on our extended photo walks. I loved seeing parts of the park I had never heard of before. We saw lots of critters big and small. My hiking boots gave up the ghost so I tossed them into the motel dumpster on my out to Idaho Falls the last day.

I am now severely hiking deprived.
August 23, 2018 at 11:41 AM
Yogi♪♪♪ said…
This comment has been removed by the author.
August 23, 2018 at 11:41 AM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Skywatch Friday: A little close for comfort

Image
We had a fire out here on the eastern plains of Colorado last week.  I kept getting reports on the fire's location on my cell phone while I was at work.  Then a warning popped up that let me know it was time to hit the road and go home to prepare to evacuate the critters. When we initially got home it was still a decent distance away. Within 30 minutes it had come up over the ridge and flames were visible. The winds were gusting 45 to 50 mph.  It was a fast moving fire that burned 5,000 acres in only four hours.  Then the most amazing thing happened--the winds died down and the firefighters got in under control by 8:15 that night.  Thank you, Lord! Have you ever had to stand in your house and wonder what you should take out with you?  There were only two things I could think of...1) my critters and 2) my passport so I could still go to Europe next month.  Irv and I agreed that we need to get things organized so we can just grab a box...
Read more

Skywatch Friday: Upper and Lower Falls

Image
Yesterday I got to visit the recently completed Uncle Tom's Overlook along the Yellowstone River in Yellowstone National Park. This is the first really good look I've ever had at the Upper Falls of the Yellowstone River. These falls are almost as good as the Lower Falls. After leaving the Upper Falls you go downstream for a mile or so to.... ...Artist's Point which has the very best view of the Lower Falls (in my opinion).  In this location the view is perfect, so perfect that it look like a painting. This is just one of the features of this Park that make it my heart and soul.   Linking with Skywatch Friday
Read more

Skywatch Friday: Wild Horses!

Image
 The Salt River wild horses have been eluding us since we arrived in Arizona several weeks ago so today we went in search of them again. This time we started at the Coon Bluff Recreation Area.  First we went one way down the river, but soon had to turn back because we didn't bring any rock climbing gear. Then we turned around and went the other direction. The water in the river was crystal clear, but no sign of fish or horses. There are times when I really miss my dad especially when I want to know what kind of tree I'm looking at.  This one has something that resembles Spanish moss hanging down.  What is it? This riparian area that surrounds the river has all kinds of wildlife.  Today we saw theses white egrets. This gray heron was also hanging out in the distance. We met a guy carrying all kinds of photographic equipment and he said we needed to go about a quarter of a mile further down the river to find a spot where the horses cross every afternoon around 5:0...
Read more