A Day of Reflections
Blue skies in every direction greeted us this morning. Like the other days over the past week, it was below freezing last night, but the days have been mostly sunny and in the mid-60's to low 70's. We use the down comforter at night and turn the heat on briefly in the morning. The only inconvenience is that we have to unhook the water hoses every night. When we moved to Fishing Bridge, we decided it was easier to use the water from our tank.
Since it was clear and calm, we decided to re-visit Hayden Valley to photograph the Yellowstone River as it meanders through the valley. The meanders clearly tell the story of the region once being a low plain where the river had matured into an old-age stage that was "suddenly" uplifted during the mountain building of the Laramide period.
Trout Creek has some of the tightest meanders I've ever seen. Even the widest 10-22 mm lens can't begin to include them all. It makes Goosenecks of the San Juan seem like a river with a couple of curves. Trout Creek flows through a gorgeous meadow between two sage-brush-covered hills. A flock of Canadian geese staked claim to one portion of the meadow and creek, while the cinnamon teal ducks inhabited the area closer to the road. A flock of crazy-fast swallows had nests under the highway bridge. I tried to photograph them so I could identify them, but all I got was smudges across the frame. I didn't even get close to a decent photograph.
We ventured a few more miles north until we reached Alum Creek. This is one of my favorite areas in Hayden Valley. Like Trout Creek, Alum Creek flows from the west across a meadow, but it enters the Yellowstone River almost immediately after it crosses under the highway. Alum Creek also had its resident geese, as well as ducks and elk. Here, the Yellowstone River has lost all interest in its quest to reach Yellowstone Falls and drifts serenely around a giant curve near Alum Creek. There was almost no breeze today, and the river was a giant mirror reflecting the clouds floating overhead. It was very hard to pry ourselves away from such a beautiful place.
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| Yellowstone River Near Alum Creek | Alum Creek |
As we drove north toward Canyon, we saw a small group of bison feeding near the river. While we were watching the bison and enjoying the view across the valley to the snow-covered mountains, two bison swam across the Yellowstone River. They are surprisingly good swimmers.
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| Hayden Valley | Bison | Yellowstone River Near Otter Creek |
We returned to camp for lunch and kicked back for a few hours in the middle of the day.
The road from Fishing Bridge to Sylvan Pass was supposed to be a good wildlife area, so we decided to drive up to the pass shortly before sunset. Although the scenery was striking, the only wildlife we saw was a single marmot along Mary Bay. From Lake Butte Overlook, we watched a storm blow toward us; although the rain never reached our side of Yellowstone Lake.
The skies looked clearer to the north, so we drove back to Hayden Valley to look for wildlife. Evidently, the wildlife knew enough to stay out of the storm, because the only wildlife we saw was a herd of bison grazing in a meadow. They had at least four calves, so it was a good year for them.
As it turned out, we saved the best for last. As we crossed Fishing Bridge just before we reached camp, we looked across the bay to see the snow-capped mountains on the opposite side of Yellowstone Lake lit by the setting sun. The foreground was all soft shades of blue with the mountains lit by the warm sunset light. As we watched from the bridge, the light moved from left to right until it lit the peaks. Sadly, the images don't begin to show the light show we witnessed.
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