Dear Visitors, Photographers and Guides,
Over the years, authorities have had to put down some of our favorite bears in Yellowstone and Teton National Parks.
Why? Because of Us!
We have been having serious issues with humans habituating both black bears and grizzly bears in YNP this spring.
The tourist season starts earlier and earlier each year, and we have very little staff or volunteers on the job yet.
The Park Service needs to begin addressing the new reality that we no longer have a shoulder season and bears and humans are comingling with no supervision.
As bears emerge from their dens in mid-late April, our sows (females) have figured out they can keep their newly emerged cubs safe from other predators by trying to graze next to the roadside. They perceive it to be safer than dealing with predators away from the road and the early grasses along the roadside provides an important food source for them.
We generally allow for this as our “roadside bears” or “human conditioned bears” are often habituated to cars and people, but do not perceive us to have a food source.
To observe them safely and NOT habituate them even more, park farther away and observe through spotting scopes, do not eat around them, and do not stay there for hours at a time!
We were parked on a hill about a 1/4 mile away and we only stayed for a few minutes before I got uncomfortable with the scene and the bear’s behavior and moved my group out of the area.
Things were fairly calm on this particular day and everyone was sort of behaving by standing farther away on the other side of the road out of sight from my scope view. But they definitely weren’t 100 yards away!
But…We have watched things get completely out of hand, and visitors get mad at us for trying to prevent the cubs from playing in the road or walking nonchalantly in between the cars.
Often, there is no one else except for guides like myself trying to manage the scene.
If the cubs are playing in
The Power of Water
The Power of Water: Melting snow on Barronette Peak, YNP.
It was putting on an incredible show.
Avalanche watching in Yellowstone-through a spotting scope and very far away, of course.
Sound On!!
Beryl Spring’s Back Yard Fumarole.
It’s Thermal Thursday!
You may want to turn your sound down a bit for this beast of a fumarole.
This magnificent feature can be found directly behind Beryl Spring: a wonderful roadside stop along the Norris to Madison road.
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A bird of a different color- a leucistic Red-tailed Hawk.
We’ve been anxiously awaiting her arrival this year, and she’s finally back!
She comes through Lamar Valley every autumn, presumably on her migration south.
She was a bit later than usual, but hey, when your a beautiful old lady, you get to set the time table.
We’re not sure exactly how old she really is, but we’ve been watching her every year since 2005!
Song birds that are born with this condition often have a high mortality rate, because they stick out like sore thumbs, but a raptor will have a pretty good chance at a long life.
Even if the white feathers on her head are getting thinner and are graying a bit more this year, it’s so nice to see this glorious bird, living its best life.
Seen on tour this week with Yellowstone Insight.
For more information on leucism, go to
https://www.discoverwildlife.com/animal-facts/leucism-vs-albinism-whats-the-difference/
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Where have all the bears gone? Look up!
Yes, this black bear is in the highest branches of a huge white bark pine tree!
It appears, the white bark trees have produced a very good crop of pine cones this year.
Each cone is full of yummy pine nuts that are incredibly high in calories. That’s just what a bear needs to gain as much weight as possible before hibernation.
Come find a little magic of your own in Yellowstone.
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Bison on Parade.
The bison rut is beginning to wind down as we enter into Labor Day weekend, but there are still a few boys out on the range just looking for love.
Enjoy the morning sounds of bison on parade.
If you need help planning your next trip to Yellowstone, we’re here to help!
You can find us at: www.YourYellowstone.com
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The sounds of summer.
The bison rut is an exciting time of year, but it can also be incredibly dangerous.
The sound you are hearing are males bellowing or growling, as I like to call it, as they compete for females.
Be safe and please, do not approach.
Note: this video was taken from my truck window during a tour with Yellowstone Insight.
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#baronessinthepark
Patiently waiting for the sun to kiss the walls!
One of my favorite places to visit at first light is the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone River.
If you need help planning the ultimate Yellowstone vacation, we’re here for you!
Yellowstone Trip Planning
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Early Morning Moose Musings: it was still quite dark out, but what a treat to see this tiny new life this morning!
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Yellowstone Trip Planning
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#baronessinthepark
Just a little bear chewing on momma’s tail.
On tour today with Yellowstone Insight
Don’t worry, there was a ranger on the scene and we were using a spotting scope to safely video them.
If you need help planning a trip, check us out at www.YourYellowstone.com
Yellowstone Trip Planning
#baronessinthepark
Where the Buffalo roam.
Scenes from this week: on tour with Yellowstone Insight and Yellowstone Trip Planning.
#baronessinthepark
Pruning the cherry trees: Yellowstone style!
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Video safely taken from inside the house.
I keep seeing ads about how to “See Yellowstone in a Day,” but why would you want to?
The world’s first national park, surely deserves more than one vacation day!
Be sure to build in plenty of time into your itinerary, time enough to enjoy the unexpected right outside your door.
Today’s view out my door in Gardiner, MT, included this incredible back yard elk nursery!
For help planning your trip, go to:
www.YourYellowstone.com
It’s not always about the big dogs in Yellowstone. We love the little dogs too!
We were shooting this video from inside the car at quite a long distance, so I don’t think it could hear us.
But, I left the sound on because it was also fun to hear the excitement in our voices, as my guest and I chatted about how cool it was to watch this little red fox just going about its day.
On tour with Lamar Valley Touring
Outrunning a Snow Storm.
Even on a snowy day, Mother Nature is magnificent!
Just look at that wall of snow coming our way!
Don’t worry, if you don’t like the weather, all you have to do is wait five minutes.
On tour today with Lamar Valley Touring
Yellowstone Traffic Jams-episode 2
Yellowstone Traffic Jams: episode 1
Don’t worry, I was going a lot slower than it seems as I approached them. Then I had to put the phone down to slowly go around the cow.
Mountain Goats may not be native to the Park, but as guides, we certainly enjoy watching them living their life in the extremes.
According to the Yellowstone Resources and Issues Handbook, they were introduced to the surrounding Absaroka and Madison mountain ranges in the 1940-50’s and have moved into Yellowstone on their own.
Over the years, there has been growing concern as to what will happen if the population becomes too high. Goats use the same habitat and resources as our native bighorn sheep, and Park biologists are often on the lookout for potential negative effects to our native sheep.
Today, they have become a tourist attraction and a fun challenge when trying to find them against the white winter backdrop.
And boy, do we love to watch them climb!
Seen on tour with Lamar Valley Touring.
