Yellowstone 2021 - Part 2

Another day we stopped at the Sheepeater Cliffs to look for Pikas.  We did not see any Pikas, but we spotted four Yellow-bellied Marmots, which is an animal we had not seen at this location before.

Back in the Lamar Valley, we spotted these coyotes feeding on a carcass which was hidden in the sagebrush.

Heading back towards Gardiner, we found many cars parked and people out watching something.  It turned out to be a carcass on the hillside that various animals had been feeding on.  We were told that wolves had been seen earlier, but when we arrived, a Black Bear was feeding there while ravens waited for a chance.

The bear soon left and the rangers stopped traffic as it wanted to cross the road.

After the bear left, a group of coyotes came to claim their turn.

A Mountain Bluebird (very distant)

As we drove around the park, we saw increasing numbers of recently born bison calves, which are nicknamed "Red Dogs".

A Mule Deer used to traffic along the road

Back at the carcass hidden in the sagebrush, there were a few wolves that had been feeding there.  They were very wary of the people watching from along the road that they wanted to cross.

Lamar Valley panorama

Yellowstone 2021 - Part 1

 We spent the first two weeks of May based in Gardiner, Montana, to visit the northern part of Yellowstone National Park, especially looking for wildlife in the Lamar Valley.  Below are some random images from our first drive into the park.

Osprey and nest at west end of the Lamar Valley

Coyotes seemingly indifferent to either the bison or the cars

Red-tailed Hawk

Along the highway in the north-east corner of the park is a place named Ice Box Canyon.   We had driven by it in the fall and wondered why it had that name, but visiting in early May, it became clear.

In the north-east corner of the park is Baronette Peak.  Mountain Goats are frequently spotted on the steep walls of this mountain.

A few miles out the north-east entrance to the park are the small towns of Silver Gate and Cooke City.  Here are a couple images of Cooke City emerging from the winter snow in early May.

Staged at the end of town was one of the snow plows that was about to be put into use for the major effort to clear the Beartooth Highway.

This machine was equipped with some serious traction chains!

One of many Pronghorns we saw

A Black Bear feeding right next to the road

(a quick shot out the car window, as rangers were not allowing stopping).

Beautiful country

Nine Mile Canyon - 2021

 After Moab, we spent a couple of nights in an RV park near Helper, Utah, to revisit a well known Native American rock art area along Nine Mile Canyon Road.  This area has been called "the longest art gallery in the world" as rock art panels are found scattered along about 20 miles of this road.  Most of the rock art panels are petroglyphs, but pictographs are sometimes seen.

Most of the sites are not protected by barriers so it is up to visitors to respect these historical resources.

Remains of an old barn

Nine Mile Canyon has several locations with these unusual "long-necked sheep" petroglyphs.

An interesting array of symbols

We had forgotten just how spectacular and colorful the canyon's scenery is!

Interesting petroglyph of a man leading a horse with rider

A few strange figures mixed in with more common figures

Not only was this balanced rock neat, but it has a small tree growing on top!

Many panels contain lines of marks or arrays of dots.
We wonder if they record counts of something.

Like many other sites, images of bighorn sheep are predominant.

But these are clearly deer.

The most famous panel in Nine Mile Canyon is this one called "The Great Hunt".

More fantastic scenery

A posing lizard

 

Another interesting petroglyph panel

This pictograph used to be on private property.  The owner asked some Boy Scouts to paint a "No Trespassing" sign and was surprised to see the spelling and that they painted the sign across the pictograph.

There are a few prehistoric Native American structures in the canyon.
This granary would have been hard to spot without a BLM erected sighting tube along the road.

Panels portraying owls are uncommon and this one has two!

A couple of "horned snake" petroglyphs

Colorful lichens growing in very circular colonies

A pretty little patch of cacti

We often saw Mule Deer along the road.
This was a very large herd we saw as we were leaving the canyon.