The Sound of Silence

 Shhh... Hear that? That is the sound of Yellowstone National Park after the tourists go home and the children go back to school. Ahhhh...

We have been planning this camping trip to Yellowstone for quite a while now. Last year, we came down early in September to try to photograph the elk in rut, but we were a little too early. The woods echoed with the bugling of elk, but there was no "action"! So this year, we deliberately went later in the month. Annnd... we missed it!

I love this little footbridge at the outset of the Beaver Pond Trail.

Beautiful scenery,
but not a single elk in sight!

We arrived at Mammoth Campground just before noon and scored a campsite - barely. We got the camper set up and ate lunch, then set out for the area where we found elk last year. Walking past the hot spring terraces, we noted that there weren't that many people. We met one couple coming out from the Beaver Pond Trail, and saw only one other group of hikers going our way. They took the other fork in the trail, and we quite literally had the park to ourselves. The only sound was the wind. After a strenuous climb up through the pines and the beautiful yellow aspens, we broke out into the meadow where we expected to find the elk. Empty! We sat for a few minutes photographing the scenery and listening for an elk call. Nothing. So we got up and moved on. That is when Dan spotted four cow elk moving quietly through the woods. Well, at least we weren't going to get "skunked"! But, they really weren't what we were hoping to find.  

The wind was still blowing and the clouds were spitting snow, so we decided to head back in the general direction of town. Dan was walking slightly ahead of me when movement in the trees caught my eye. I got his attention and pointed out the cow that I had seen. We waited, because elk are rarely solitary. Sure enough, the bull was there with her. The wind was in our favor as we watched the bull watching us. The trees made it difficult to get pictures, but we were giving it all we had. The bull finally trotted off a little and we followed. He stopped again, but once more, not where we had a clear shot. From there, he melted silently into the trees, and when the wind shifted and carried our scent, he and his harem took off. Much more satisfied with our outing, we headed back to the camper and dinner. 

Not a peep out of this guy. 

The next morning found things a little more typical of YNP. We drove by the groups of photographers standing guard over a carcass in Lamar Valley and through a bear-jam on Dunraven Pass. As we drove, we saw two bears, antelope, bison, deer, and elk. Later in the day, though, the peace returned as we drove to the road closure near Indian Creek Campground. Here again, we had the area mostly to ourselves. Driving back to the camper, we decided that we had had another successful weekend in Yellowstone.

Unlike the rest of the animals,
this little guy was NOT silent.
He gave us quite the scolding!

Peace and solitude