Lichens... Boulders...

I love the boulders out West... some as big as your car, some as big as the largest room in your house! I like to stand next to them, climb on top of them, study the designs of the lichens and the weathering over the millenia.

Outside the Box...

In Yellowstone: This is what happens when, after a long day of seeing the sights, on the way back to your cabin... you spot a Moose. A MOOSE! This is the first one I've seen on this trip. It's close to the side of the road... but it's dark, much too dark to take a photograph. Handheld, long exposure... result: an abstract looking photo, but I can tell it's a moose and I have many good memories from this photo.

Going back...

Technically, this is not a great photo... but it captures one of the most exciting days of my life. This Grizzly was walking down the road, just in front of the parking area for Trout Lake in the Lamar Valley of Yellowstone. As I approached in my car, from behind, he crossed over into the treeline and then went down into the valley. He was heading West at a rather good pace, not paying much attention to anything but his destination. I heard, later, that a Griz was seen on a carcass in the western part of the valley that afternoon, so I suspect this is the Griz and that was his goal.

 

White-tail Deer on a snowy Valentine's Day morning

The white-tails were abundant away from the flooded low areas along the Maumee River this morning. I had a nice early walk as the newly fallen snow covered the ground.