Just Ducky!

I love spring in Yellowstone National Park! Everything is so lush and green, the babies are beginning to arrive, and entrances that have been closed for the winter are starting to reopen. 

The road from the Chief Joseph Highway to Cooke City opened up this week, so the northeast entrance was the obvious choice for this trip. I was a little concerned when we got up yesterday morning to cloudy skies and light rain. Home is at 3,500 feet and the Chief Joe tops out at just over 8,000. If it's raining at home... well, you get the picture. My apprehension was not eased at all as we drove closer to the mountains. They were not even visible. We began our climb and quickly found ourselves swallowed up by the clouds. We never did encounter falling snow, but we were pulling out cameras when the snow-frosted trees emerged from the shroud. I intended to photograph the trees, but got distracted by the flowers. 

Our first destination stop was Trout Lake. I was a little agitated to discover six or eight cars and a dozen people in the parking lot. But we quickly started up the "back way" and left the rest behind. Imagine my surprise when we broke out of the trees surrounding Buck Lake in absolute solitude. We spent probably an hour photographing the lake and the ducks. We eventually made our way over to Trout Lake and down the trail back to the car. 

Beautiful Buck Lake

Someday, I am going to get a really good picture of a mallard.
They are my favorite!

I'm not sure what these ducks are called,
but they are plentiful in YNP.

There was no solitude when we reached Tower Junction. I knew that people had been seeing bears, so I was not surprised at the bear jam. Fortunately, the bears were not far up the road, so we parked and I walked up to join the crowd. As expected, I found a mama bear with three cubs! I was enjoying watching them, but it was starting to rain, so I returned to the car. 

Of the three cubs, this one was hanging closest to Mama.
The other two had already wandered off to play somewhere out of sight. 

Just a few miles later, we spotted a big grizzly bruin. He was out of sight by the time we got pulled over and got the cameras out, but we caught up with him when he flopped out in a mud puddle. Then he got up again and lumbered off into the trees. 

After a short wait in a buffalo jam, we decided that we were hungry, so we made our way into Gardiner. The sun came out as we were leaving and sealed the day with a rainbow. 

*** BONUS PICS ***

Just What the Doctor Ordered

The restorative power of nature is well established. (Do the names Henry David Thoreau or Walt Whitman ring a bell?) I actually read an article just this past week that quoted a medical study showing that time spent in nature was as effective in treating PTSD as any conventional intervention. ("Wilderness RX"; Annette McGivney; Backpacker Magazine, March 2018)

While I certainly don't suffer from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, the long, snowy winter that we just came through certainly had me eager to get outside. Both Dan and I were more than ready for our annual Pipestone 4-wheeling trip. Since you probably don't want to read a long, detailed, day-by-day account of our outing, here are just a few highlights. 

*HAPPY CAMPERS*

You haven't seen happy until you take an 8-year-old camping with his grandpa! Our buddy Grif brought his grandson along for the first couple days of our trip. Whether shooting his BB gun, riding in Grandpa's Razor, climbing around at Ringing Rocks, or helping me build a campfire, he never stopped grinning!

Colton wasn't the only happy camper!

*BLUEBIRD OF HAPPINESS*

We planned our trip a week earlier this year than usual, so we didn't have the plethora of bluebirds that we sometimes have had. Nevertheless, we did have one pair hanging around camp. More than once, either Dan or I (or both) jumped up from a meal or a conversation to grab the camera when that bright blue bird showed up! 

*HAPPY TRAILS TO YOU!*

For some reason, we didn't pile on the miles this year like we have in the past. We only covered about 150 miles over the eight days. But ride we did: through snow and mud puddles and through warm temps and choking dust; from creek bottoms to high mountain meadows; and from quick forays around camp to all-day excursions. Each trip was punctuated with quality time spend with friends. 

All in all, we had a great time! I was so very happy to get back outside. So, I suggest that you also follow doctors' orders and take a "happy pill"! Just consider yourself warned: This is heady stuff, and it's highly addictive! 

*BONUS PICS*

What happens when the sun is setting
in the west and shining through
pouring rain in the east!

We knew that white men had been here for a long time...

...but we weren't aware that the Indians had also left their mark!

Macro fun... this little weed was about the size
 of my pinkie fingernail.

This busy bee wasn't staying put for more than a couple of seconds
at a time.