Obligatory Bison

GENEROUS SNOW PACK

No Muddy Water - Yet

very few visitors

The Stroll
(note injured horn)

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.. It's incumbent upon every visitor to Yellowstone National Park to photograph a bison in the road. So we did. They look less stressed from the continuing winter than was to be expected: the ones that survived.

Gibbon River At National Park Meadows

.. Our brief reconnoiter was just to Old Faithful for ice cream and then back to town for chores. We only stopped briefly to view the waters. We did see fish rising in Biscuit Basin. Must have been the phantom midge hatch.

Firehole River Just Above The Falls

.. The roads are mostly clear of snow but the continuing snowfall, (4" today,) will keep most visitors in their cars, (a fairly normal way to "see" Yellowstone - anyway.) There are only a few pull-outs that are navigable, while most have between 2 and 4 feet of snow blocking passage.

Nez Perce Creek At Grand Loop Road Bridge

.. The snow is wind polished and crusted; some of the 4 foot deep snow banks even held our considerable mass and girth as we ventured close to the waters for a better view. Persons of the rotund variety, (including us,) could easily find themselves chest deep in the white stuff if imprudence wins the day.

Upper Gas Station At Old Faithful

.. The river edges are still covered with overhanging cornices in many stretches. Too close a look and cold and wet awaits. The warm meadows and geyser basins are clearing nicely but not a trace of green grass is yet to be seen.

Old Faithful Inn

.. We did some dry-run photos for World Wide Pinhole Photography Day and have about mastered the digital techniques. The large format pieces are at the processor's right now. We'll see: aiming, exposure, reciprocity effects, and film choice are variables that we're not very conversant with yet.
..Time is precious right now and we'll continue to monitor the snow melt and grass greening inside Yellowstone National Park. But, the trip "down-canyon" to good fishing gets shorter every day and the gradual warming, punctuated with some spring snowfall, is making the trout crazy. We'll be there tomorrow.

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Opening Day Ice Cream

Biscuit Basin Bridge - Digital

Biscuit Basin Bridge - Digital Pinhole

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