A week without blogging. God knows there was plenty to blog about if I wanted to torture myself with the political circus that’s happening right now, but I’ve been on travel for work. Work, with a bit of play thrown in. I had a couple of days of meetings in Bozeman, Montana, which is just a hop, skip, and a jump away from Yellowstone National Park (if you define a “hop, skip, and a jump” as a 1 1/2 hour drive). My family and I have been in Yellowstone several times, but never in winter. I didn’t have a lot of time, but decided to spend a day and a half in Yellowstone after my work meetings were done.
Most of Yellowstone is closed in the winter. There’s only one road open, the road in the north part of the park between Mammoth Hot Springs and Cooke City on the northeast entrance. Travel in the rest of the park is by snowmobile or snow coach only. I wanted to see the interior of the park, so arranged for a snow coach ride from Mammoth down to the Old Faithful Area, where I spent one night in the Snow Lodge. Whirlwind tour that ended with another snow coach ride back to Mammoth, but it was certainly an incredible experience. I’ll share more photos and stories from my trip this week, but for now, here’s a look at some of the bison that overwinter in the park. It’s thought that about 5,000 bison are found in the park right now, a high number historically, and they certainly were found throughout the park on my short visit. They’re such massive, majestic creatures to begin with, but there’s something about the isolation and cold of a Yellowstone winter that really made them fun to watch and photograph.
It was 18 below in the north part of Yellowstone when I came across three massive bull Bison resting in the snow near the side of the road. As I watched, a lone Black-billed Magpie came flying in and landed on the head of the closest bull. The big bull tolerated it for a few minutes while the magpie perched on his head, but finally he’d had enough. With a shake of his massive head, the intruder was sent flying off and the bull resumed his nap. The Magpie in a great pose, the massive bison showing great detail in the fur and horns, and the warm steamy breath all contribute to what instantly became one of my favorite photos I’ve ever taken.
A little younger bison, not looking too impressed with the idiot in the car taking its photo.
Another massive bull, using that massive head to push the snow aside and reach the grass below. With what’s been a very snowy winter in Yellowstone, even the big bulls like this were seemingly struggling to move through the snow at times.
A younger bison, taking a break from feeding to strike a pose for the camera.