What a great start to the week! I’m back at Caddo Lake in Texas. The sunrise was sensational as expected in this Bald Cypress swamp. If you look closely, you can see Venus still visible in the sky above the closest cypress tree. I can’t wait to see what the rest of this week brings!
With the iconic silhouette of East Mitten in the foreground, another incredible Monument Valley sunrise appears this past August.
What a fun trip to Kodiak in September. The COYS were out in force. COYS (cubs of the year, i.e., born this year) seemed to be everywhere. One day we had 13 different COYS in our viewfinders. This is one of the triplets, appearing somewhat wistful with a bit of salmon from a recent meal still clinging to its nose.
In a couple of days, I’ll be experiencing more of the wonders of Caddo Lake. Sunrise is always gorgeous.
Happy “Owl”-o-ween and a high four from a Barred Owl.
Next week I’m returning to Caddo Lake on the Texas-Louisiana border where sunrise takes your breath away. We move through the Bald Cypress swamp on a pontoon boat, watching in awe as the colors of the red sky deepen as the sun moves above the horizon. I’ve been there twice, both times spectacular. They say third time’s a charm. What incredible wonders await?
A bull Elk posing near the Madison River in Yellowstone National Park.
According to the National Park Service, the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone is geologically much younger than the Grand Canyon in Arizona but visual proof of its grandeur provided by artist Thomas Moran and photographer William Henry Jackson, who had joined geologist Ferdinand Hayden’s federally funded survey expedition of the Yellowstone region in 1871, was the inspiration behind the creation of Yellowstone as our first national park in 1872. I took this photograph from Artist’s Point, looking at the Lower Falls of the Yellowstone River, near Thomas Moran’s viewpoint.
What a difference thirty minutes makes. The colors of sunrise change constantly. I took these images thirty minutes apart, the first, 30 minutes prior to actual sunrise and the second, as the sun was cresting the horizon. You’d think the color intensity would lessen but that is not always the case as the clouds turned a fiery red at sunrise. The Madison River offers the perfect setting for sunrise in Yellowstone, with a spectacular view of the clouds, the river, and the thermal mist. Depending on where the sun is, the same scene might look vastly different.
Yellowstone fog and mist from the thermals wafted over the meadows, hiding, then suddenly revealing, the creatures hidden behind the curtain. A Bison bull stood, hardly moving a muscle, as the air clouded, then cleared, then clouded again.
Old Faithful was predicted to erupt at about 11:30 on our last morning in the park. The storm was on its way so the background was deepening storm clouds. Old Faithful erupted right on schedule. It wasn’t one of its taller eruptions and it was over in under 5 minutes but to me, the column of steam gushing out at the end of the eruption and being carried off by the wind was quite spectacular.
No two sunrises on the Madison River in Yellowstone are the same. Our last morning was filled with color, thermal mist, and even a couple of fishermen, barely visible in the upper right of this image.
It’s been only about ten years since the US finally declared the American Bison as its national mammal. Efforts to preserve these creatures from extinction began in 1872 in Yellowstone National Park. In 1905, Theodore Roosevelt helped form the American Bison Society (ABS) in an effort to save bison from extinction—the first national effort to save an American wildlife species. Bison now roam Yellowstone freely and create what are known as Bison jams when visitors, awestruck by these two thousand pound ungulates, stop in the middle of the road to watch them. As we drove through the park on our last afternoon here, we encountered a herd of Bison on either side of the road that created a Bison Jam by cars stopping in the middle of the road. Fortunately for us, there was room in a pullout and we were able to photograph the Bison up close and personal from inside the vehicle.
Yellowstone National Park is a very special place. In the past ten years that I’ve been privileged to visit here, each visit has been memorable for a specific animal. This visit, Elk have been the species most visible and the most photogenic. A small band of Elk has been hanging out near the 7 Mile Bridge that crosses the Madison River. This bull Elk was the most dominant, herding his harem around the meadow and keeping them away from rival males.
Sunrise on the Madison with clouds and reflections.
We ended our first day in Yellowstone National Park near the 7 Mile Bridge over the Madison River. A small band of Elk had gathered there and one cow arrived with a pair of twins. This twin calf was trying not to lose sight of its sibling and mother.
There are not many sunrises that are memorable for their sounds. This one, taken at Alum Creek in Yellowstone National Park just about one year ago, was the most magical sunrise I’ve ever photographed, and it was magical more for its soundtrack than its beauty. It was spectacular both because of the color and because of the thermal mists that hung close to the water, but the soundtrack was the Wapiti Wolf Pack, about a mile away from us, serenading us the entire time we were photographing the colors. It doesn’t get better than that!
Close encounters are one of the things that make an airshow so exciting to witness. Two of Canada’s Snowbirds appeared to be on a collision course as they whizzed past each other. It was a heart-stopping sight, that’s for sure!
This is the U.S. Navy F/A-18F, nicknamed the “Rhino,” as it lifts off to showcase its tactical capabilities, speed, and power. Based at the Naval Air Station at Lamoore, CA it was loud and its roar vibrated through our bodies but it was good vibrations!
Off they go, into the wild blue yonder! US Air Force Thunderbirds epitomize the lyrics of the official Air Force song. I am awestruck at their precision and amazed that they willingly do this. In this diamond formation, they fly a mere 18 inches apart. It gives me goosebumps! What a spectacular feat to witness.