Some of my most treasured times in Yellowstone were in the summers of 2006 and 2007 when I had some extended camping trips with my family. We had some great times, learned a few things and had amazing experiences along the way. Here is a collection of photos from those trips. A much larger collection of photos from these trips is included in the Yellowstone gallery page. Check it out!
A Golden Eagle prepares to lift off with the ground squirrel it struck successfully from high above.
Layers of fog rise slowly above the Lamar Valley floor.
Soaked from a cold swim across the Yellowstone River, a young bison and mom head toward the greening Hayden Valley.
The winter melt has swollen this river that courses through the Hayden Valley. This young bison fought gamely, and successfully to make it across, but a few of the weaker in this large herd were not so fortunate.
Many 30 years ago, I traveled to and camped in Yellowstone with my young family, highlighted by meeting up with my parents who first introduced me to the beauty of our parks who had driven from Tennessee to explore the Great West.
A grizzly sow is on high alert as she leads her two young cubs through a sage meadow where large male boars are frequent.
A large black bear saunters through the summer grasses near Tower after an early morning foraging in the still-green valley.
In late spring and early summer grizzlies' diet consists heavily of flowering plants, not grasses, like cow parsnip and valerian.
A pair of black cub siblings pose on a large boulder, before dancing their way down a nearby trail, often walking upright.
A steep hike up a mountain trail brought me much closer to a grizzly than I ever desired. Only after backing slowly down the trail was I able to squeeze off a few quick images.