The Wildebeest and Zebra of Yellowstone, WY 07/06/06 - 07/09/06

There are so many photos from our road trip this summer that I find myself categorizing them. As with this post dedicated to the animals we saw in Yellowstone. Wild animals, unafraid, undisturbed, especially in the U. S. where humans have encroached so thoroughly on their territory, is truly wonderful to see.

I was hoping we would see Buffalo. And we sure did. On the way to Yellowstone we passed a Buffalo farm, or some such nonsense. There were real Buffalo, but Buffalo behind a fence or in a corral is not the same as Buffalo roaming free. Thank goodness for these protected areas and the efforts of those responsible for the preservation of our wild animals.

So here is what we saw, not counting the gazillion chipmunks, like this little tike, that we somehow managed to avoid hitting as they darted across the road. Of course there were Buffalo (the Wildebeest of Yellowstone) and Elk (the Zebra of Yellowstone)Saw this feller strolling along the grounds of the Mammoth Hot Springs Lodge where we stayed in one of these little cabins with a hot tub

Beautiful Elk next to a calm stretch of river flowing through Hayden Valley with thermal steam rising from the ground behind the row of pines

Mule Deer Moose in a meadow next to the horse stables And horses looking at the Moose

Pronghorn at the crest of a knoll Grizzly Bear grazing A Coyote stepped into the road a car ahead of us, snagged a road kill, trotted up the bank and (I love this shot) in 30 second chowed it down then trotted off

There's a Wolf there in the center of the frame. It's way out there. A woman with her sighting scope was letting us scopeless folk take a closer look at it. But even with Will's zoom, this is as good as we could get.
We also saw the tail end of a Black Bear as it headed up trail and into the forest, but couldn't get a good shot of it. The only animal we didn't see was the Bighorn Sheep.
This was among one of my favorite adventures. I will look forward to going there again and getting off the road and on the trails and into the back country a little more.
Maybe the next photo installation will be the trails we hiked, along with some thermal activity. Then there's still Arches and the Grand Canyon, plus Spokane and Baker City.