Rachel and I decided on the spur of the moment that we needed to take a vacation and so we loaded clothes, food, guitar, cameras, etc., hopped into the car and drove off to the east. We had decided to pay a visit to Bryce Canyon and Zion National Parks. And after that, we decided to head north and visit Yellowstone National Park too. We were gone for 11 days and (Rachel) drove 3371.4 miles. We had a great time. Below is a selection of photos from our trip and further trip info. I really enjoyed taking these pictures and I hope you enjoy viewing them. Remember that you can click on any photo to enlarge it. Anyway, let's get going ...
First up, up a few shots of some cute little chipmunks; Uinta Chipmunks (Tamias umbrinus) to be specific ...
Common Raven (Corvus corax) ...
A selection of Utah Prairie Dogs (Cynomys parvidens). This threatened species is only found in Southern Utah.
Some of the AWESOMELY BEAUTIFUL scenery we saw ...
Some Mountain Bluebirds (Sialia currucoides) ...
Pronghorn (Antilocapra americana) ...
Some miscellaneous stuff:
A female finch (sp?) ...
Western Fence Lizard (Sceloporus occidentalis) ...
Red-Tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis) ...
Yellow-Rumped Warbler (Setophaga coronata auduboni) ...
Canada Geese (Branta canadensis) ...
Moose (Alces alces) ...
Bison (Bison bison) ...
... even though it is not rutting season there was plenty of head-butting ...
... and "leapfrog" ...
... and this fella just wanted a good scratch.
We also witnessed some bison fording a stream ...
... including a little calf that was swept away but managed to finally make it safely to the other side ...
Elk (Cervus canadensis) ...
Sandhill Cranes (Grus canadensis) ...
Bighorn Sheep (Ovis canadensis) ...
Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) ...
We saw two American Black Bears (Ursus americanus). On our first day in Yellowstone we spotted this fairly distant bear ...
... but on our second day in the park we lucked out finding a more photogenic bear.
We also saw two wolves (Canis lupus). Both were quite distant but we were thrilled with the drama of the first sighting. This wolf had taken a bison calf and the mother came back to check on her dead baby and harass the wolf ...
And this is the "best" photo of the second wolf which is in the center just beneath the snow patch.
Black-Billed Magpie (Pica hudsonia) ...
Mule Deer (Odocoileus hemionus) ...
Coyotes (Canis latrans) that were too far away for nice photos, but you take what you can get ...
As with the Black Bear, on our first day we saw only a VERY distant Grizzly Bear (Ursus arctos horribilis). This one was just a bump in a field about a mile away. Every once in a while you could see that the bump had moved a bit, but it wasn't a very satisfying experience.
Luckily on our second day in the park we chanced upon better looks at a sow bear and her two new cubs ...
Some trip details ...
Day 1 : April 30, 2019 : Svensen, Oregon to La Grande, Oregon : 345.5 miles
Bighorn Sheep: 7; Mule Deer: 2; Red-Tailed Hawk: 8; Osprey: 6;
Turkey Vulture: 4; Black-Billed Magpie: 2; Ring-Necked Pheasant: 1
Also noted: Canada Geese with goslings; Yellow-Rumped (Audubon's) Warbler;
Day 2 : May 1, 2019 : La Grande, Oregon to Layton, Utah : 487.3 miles
Coyote: 1; Yellow-Bellied Marmot: 2; Red-Tailed Hawk: 45;
Northern Harrier: 1; Kestrel: 5; Turkey Vulture: 2; Osprey: 1;
Black-Billed Magpie: 7; Sandhill Cranes: ~50;
Day 3 : May 2, 2019 : Layton, Utah to Brian Head, Utah : 269.3 miles
Pronghorn: 20; Yellow-Bellied Marmot: 1; Red-Tailed Hawk: 9;
Turkey Vulture: 1; Black-Billed Magpie: 2;
Day 4 : May 3, 2019 : Brian Head, Utah to Bryce Canyon NP and return: 203.6 miles
Mule Deer: 5; Utah Prairie Dog: 4; Uinta Chipmunk: 4; Red-Tailed Hawk: 2;
Turkey Vulture: 3;
Day 5 : May 4, 2019 : Brian Head, Utah to Zion NP and return: 210.3 miles
Pronghorn: 6; Utah Prairie Dog: 4; Uinta Chipmunk: 1; Red-Tailed Hawk: 1;
Turkey Vulture: 2; Wild Turkey: 1; Mountain Bluebird: 2;
Day 6 : May 5, 2019 : Brian Head, Utah to West Yellowstone, Montana : 557.4 miles
Moose: 2; Pronghorn: 55; Mule Deer: 3; Hoary Marmot: 1;
Golden Eagle: 2; Red-Tailed Hawk: 19 Turkey Vulture: 2; Osprey: 5;
Kestrel: 1; Black-Billed Magpie: 9; Great-Tailed Grackle: 1
Black Ibis: many, near Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge; Yellow-Headed Blackbird: 1;
Day 7 : May 6, 2019 : West Yellowstone, Montana to Yellowstone NP and return : 257.5 miles
Bison: 841; Elk: 66; Pronghorn: 17; Big Horn Sheep: 13; Mule Deer: 6;
American Black Bear: 1; Grizzly Bear: 1; Chipmunk, sp?: 1; Tundra Swan: 1;
Red-Tailed Hawk: 3; Black-Billed Magpie: 3; Sandhill Crane: 9;
Day 8 : May 7, 2019 : Snow day in West Yellowstone, Montana : 2.8 miles
N/A
Day 9 : May 8, 2019 : West Yellowstone, Montana to Bozeman, Montana via Yellowstone NP : 214.7 miles
Bison: 560; Elk: 243; Grizzly Bear: 3; American Black Bear: 1; Big Horn Sheep: 6;
Mule Deer: 24; Wolf: 2; Pronghorn: 26; Coyote: 3; Ground Squirrel, sp?: 3;
Turkey Vulture: 8; Golden Eagle: 5; Osprey: 2; Red-Tailed Hawk: 4; Northern Harrier: 1;
Bald Eagle: 1; Sandhill Crane: 6; Trumpeter Swan: 2;
Day 10 : May 9, 2019 : Bozeman, Montana to Pasco, Washington : 523.9 miles
Pronghorn: 12; Mule Deer: 8; Coyote: 2; Golden Eagle: 1; Osprey: 8;
Red-Tailed Hawk: 10; Turkey Vulture: 17; Kestrel: 1; Great-Blue Heron: 1;
Wild Turkey: 1; Yellow-Headed Blackbird: 1; Black-Billed Magpie: 11;
Day 11 : May 10, 2019 : Pasco, Washington to Svensen, Oregon : 292.2 miles
Bald Eagle: 2; Osprey: 8; Red-Tailed Hawk: 5; Turkey Vulture: 11;
Black-Billed Magpie: 4; American White Pelicans: 23;
Total Miles Driven: 3371.4
Oh man this is solid gold!
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