Yellowstone

National

Park

A journal from May 2006

through September 2009

By Gordon C. Redmond

The Landscape

Our first visit to Yellowstone National Park was only one day in the summer of 1959. We had just returned from Germany where I had been serving in the army. We passed through while on a trip between relatives in Washington and Colorado. One day in a place this large with so much to see is more of a drive through than a real visit. Nonetheless, it instilled an interest in me that lives to this day.
My next visit, in the summer of 2006, was almost an afterthought. I spent a week in and around Custer, South Dakota. On my way home I decided to spend a week in Yellowstone. I was hooked. I have made it a priority to return there whenever possible. Each trip has shown me new things, introduced me to new animals and ways to see them and I have met new people. Many of these people, such as the "wolf watchers" have been instrumental in my ever-growing enjoyment of the park and all that it has to offer. Each trip has helped restore me and rejuvenate me. All of these have given me a lifetime of memories which I wish to share with you. The uncredited photos here are mine. Some of them have been sent to me by Laurie Lyman and Len Umhoefer and are credited to them.

It was the landscape, after all, that caused Congress to create this, the world's first national park. I have chosen only a very few photos to show but a small fraction of this wondrous environment.

The first photo is the snowy world of Undine Falls in April 2009. The other three photos are along the Yellowstone River. They were all taken in the early morning hours and show the often misty conditions that we encounter there.

These four photos are of the Mammoth Hot Springs area taken in September 2009

TThe upper photo was taken right after a small thunderstorm over the Gallatin Range in October 2008. The lower one was a sunset as I was leaving the Lamar Valley in August 2009

The upper photo is of the Grand Teton Range. The lower one is of a rainbow that I saw from my motel in Gardiner, Mt. in March 2007.

Birds

Often visitors will overlook the smaller animals in search of the larger ones. There is a wide variety of birds within the boundaries of YNP. Most, but not all of them, are migratory in nature.

The osprey lives almost entirely on fish and is sometimes called the fishing hawk. Many of them live in nests along the "Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone." This photo was sent to me by Laurie Lyman.

Sometimes the animals of the park seen quite oblivious to our presence. This grouse flew into the midst of several people and then walked around like it owned the place...I guess that it does! It eventually climbed on top of my spotting scope to see what it could see. (Helping me watch for wolves?)

These three photos of Canada Geese were taken along Alum Creek where it flows into the Yellowstone River in Hayden Valley in August 2009.

Two different bald eagles. The one below is on a carcass from the Agate Pack kill of the day before.

In an otherwise muted background, sometimes a spark of color will appear to surprise you. This Mountain Blue Jay has a wonderful color. May 2007

The heron was along Alum Creek August 2009.

The first photo was taken by a friend. It is of my encounter with a grouse in the Lamar Valley in October 2008. I was amazed at just how calm he was with me. The second photo was a chance encounter with a golden eagle while looking for wolves in Hayden Valley in August 2009. The grey owl in the third photo was sent to me by Laurie Lyman in summer 2009.

Bears

Bears are great opportunists. They are omnivores and will eat just about anything that is available. Most wolf kills are taken over by bears at some time. Most of their food, however, is vegetation. During calving season, though, they actively look for deer and elk calves. This photo was sent to me by Laurie Lyman in summer 2009.

In May 2007,during a bear study class near Rainy Lake, we heard about a bear jam on a nearby road. It seems that this SUV had hit a deer the day before and the scent was still in the grill. The black bear cubs showed a serious interest in taking it apart. Eventually the park rangers ran the family off (second photo). The third photo, taken the next day, is a cinnamon colored black bear taken the next day.

The upper photo is a large cinnamon colored black bear that we saw during a bear study class in May 2007. Later in the same class I climbed into an old (empty) bear den.

On my last day in the park in April 2009, I saw this griz feeding near a stream north of Roaring Mountain. He totally ignored the dozen or so people watching him and simply went about eating.

The first photo is of a griz that I saw on an elk carcass (you can see the antlers just below and to the right of the bear). This was in October 2008. Bears at this time of year are trying to put on as much weight as possible for hibernation.

The second two photos are of a bear that I saw on Dunraven Pass in August 2009. He was really close and only concerned with feeding.

These two photos of grizzlies were sent to me by Laurie Lyman and are from the summer of 2009.

The first and third of these photos were taken in September 2007 while visiting near West Thumb with my wife. This mother bear had taken good care of her two cubs of the year and they were ready for hibernation.
The photo in the middle is my "inspirational bear". Shortly after being diagnosed with cancer I saw this bear near the Lamar River bridge in June 2008. I found out that with the proper "inspiration" I can run!

I photographed these grizzlies near Yellowstone Lake in May 2008.

Bison

If any animal would symbolize the American West as well as Yellowstone National Park itself, it would be the bison. Hunted to near extinction, they have made a remarkable comeback here. At the park's founding they numbered just a few more than 20 animals. There are now around 25oo in the park.
When the calves are born in the spring they have that interesting orange color. Within a few months, however, they have that more familiar brown color that they will keep for the rest of their lives. Unlike the elk, bison have a very strong instinct to protect the herd members. When one is hurt or attacked the rest will gather for protection.

Ahh. There's nothing like a good scratch. That photo is from Laurie Lyman.

These two bison were part of a larger herd that I photographed in Little America in August 2009.

Deer

I saw these mule deer bucks on Dunraven Pass in September 2009.