I always enjoy the winter in Yellowstone. My first winter trip to Yellowstone was in a blizzard that I camped in, and I was still hooked after that trip. I find it peaceful with it snow covered, and I love it when it’s cold. I went a couple of days early to scout for the tour, and even though I didn’t see much, it was still a fun time.
Pick up day is always fun, as I get to meet new clients and often reunite with former clients who are going on the trip again. Everyone is full of excitement and ready to get into the park and start shooting. On our first day in the park, the first drive is very exciting as you never know what is around the next corner. We didn’t see much, and we were in Hayden Valley looking for wildlife. In the afternoon we found a wolf pack on a hill side, and that was very exciting! They weren’t close, but they also weren’t super far. We watched them as they moved across the valley, and then all of a sudden, they changed the way they walked. A couple of them started stalking it looked like, and as I told the group this and to be ready, the wolves took off! They took off after a group of bison, and it was very exciting to see them running full speed, and then the bison running too. The hunt was unsuccessful, but it certainly was exciting seeing and photographing the wolves chase the bison! What an exciting way to start the trip!
On the way back from seeing the wolves, we spotted a great grey owl! I had never seen one in the winter in Yellowstone before. It didn’t super cooperate, but we got a few shots of it, and it was very exciting to see it! Two rare sightings on the first day was awesome!
The rest of our time in the interior of the park was hard to live up to what our first day was, but we still had some good animal encounters. We saw a red fox a couple of times, but it didn’t stick around long each time. We finally saw a river otter, after spending lots of time looking for it. A distant coyote with some fun shadows was a fun time of getting creative. I always enjoy the interior of the park in the winter because it feels like at times that our group is the only people around.
When we got to the northern range, the first day was a little slow, but the next morning was awesome. We hiked in and sat in an area hoping to see moose, but none showed up. When we drove back to this area to look again, we found a nice bull moose. He was on the move, but he was a good-sized bull moose and lots of fun to photograph. In the same area, while we were waiting on the moose to come back out, I spotted a red fox and the group left the moose. It was a great decision, as the red fox was very cooperative. We could tell it was hunting as it walked the snowy meadow, and it never got all that far away. As it was coming up to some grass sticking out of the snow, it got real interested, and I told the group to get ready, and shortly after it made a big leap into the snow! The red fox leaping in the air is one of those winter shots everyone wants, including myself, so it was very exciting to get a great shot of the fox leaping! The group was very, very excited about these photos!
The last day we decided to look for more wolves in the morning, but we never saw or heard any. We then looked for fox, and did find one that was hunting, but not as close as the one yesterday. I told the group I would make one more drive to look for wolves, and what a great decision that was! When we got to a certain area, there were lots of cars in a pullout. We could see some wolves as I parked, and we all got out of the car fast. At first the wolves were a few hundred yards away, but still neat to see. As we waited, a couple of them started to finally move, and we positioned ourselves in a different area. Slowly the wolves moved in our general direction, and they ended up coming in good photo range! The group was pumped to have seen and photographed wolves on our first day, and our last day! Another successful winter trip to Yellowstone, and already can’t wait for next year’s trip!
