Ahhh... Spring hiking in Yellowstone - LOVE IT! After a long hiatus, it felt particularly good to get out there. (I tweaked my knee skiing this winter and had been taking it a little easier.)
This hike was about 10 miles mostly around the Cache Creek Trail - with some divergence for sightseeing overlooks, river walking, a grizzly bear and a couple large ornery bull bison.
Yellowstone Views
Dipper
Gorgeous willow colors
The first ground squirrel I've seen out of their underground burrows this Spring...
Hiding and 'peeking' at me.
View of Lamar Valley
A grizzly bear - newly up and at it!
We made sure to keep our distance (I have a good zoom).. but he was in the open fields where we could see him for quite a way....
Fresh grizzly tracks in the snow (beside my foot for scale)
Grizzly trotting off...
These tracks really show his claw marks in the snow.
View of Cache Creek and Lamar River confluence.
We saw a few pairs of Canada Geese along the way. (Currently, I have a painting of Canada Geese on my easel, so it was great to watch them and study them up close. Tomorrow, I will put that information to good use!)
Pronghorn herd running across the trail above Lamar Valley
Another Sandhill Crane pair
Beautiful coloring in the sage...
Now, I am tired - but it was a wonderful day out there!