It was -26 when the alarm went off at 6:30 a.m. yesterday. We were booked on the park's photo safari tour, which left at 8 a.m. We missed the first photo op when we failed to take a picture of my frozen eyelashes.
The photo safari is a guided snowcoach tour with a professional photographer; if you ever come to Yellowstone in the winter, I highly recommend this trip. The tour travels north through the geyser basin, and swings left along the Madison River, headed out towards West. Unlike the other park tours, since there's no final destination in mind you can stop and take photographs of just about whatever strikes your fancy, including wildlife.
Lisa, our guide, also taught the group about exposures, settings, and helped all of us navigate our own cameras. She was even able to give Steve tips for our little point-and-shoot (I was hogging the 35mm).
Despite the cold, it was a beautiful day with sun and blue skies and lots of steam. We saw a herd of bison, 5 bald eagles, 4 coyotes, a small herd of elk, and more trumpeter swans than we could count. There was a fresh elk carcass just off the road along the Madison River (about two miles west of the Madison junction), and we watched a couple of coyotes, 2 bald eagles, and several ravens feed on it throughout the afternoon.
When we got back to Old Faithful we heard that the Gibbon wolf pack has moved into the area. Cross your fingers that they stick around for a bit and we get a chance to see them, or at least their tracks.
Steve's photos:
Wendie's photos:
Landscapes
Bison
Coyotes
Eagles
amazing!!!! I feel so small, in a gooood way!
ReplyDeleteThese photos were your best yet. You guys helping me keep my sanity while producing year end insurance reserves and freezing in a real doozy of an Iowa winter.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful beautiful pictures!!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the compliments! Glad you're enjoying the photos.
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