One of the little details that I enjoyed on our Yellowstone visit this time was the frost building up on the old windows of my daughter’s vintage home. I loved looking through the frosty glass and seeing the moon still up in the early morning.
And how about these patterns on the kitchen windows?!?
This was another time when I wished I had brought my tripod and a macro lens along with me!
Happy Friday! Can you stand to look at yet another photo from the upper terraces at Mammoth? I hope so, because this is one of my favorite photos from the trip! I just love the combination of hot and cold, snow and steam- and the life that manages to survive in that landscape.
You might think that I was finished with bison photos- I see them every time I go to Yellowstone, after all. However, on this last visit I saw got to see bison doing something I knew they did, but had never viewed. On the last day of our visit (the same day we saw the bighorn sheep), my son-in-law pointed out a small herd of bison crossing the Gardiner River. This is probably a typical sight for him, but, for me, it was something new to photograph.
Every time we made the short drive from Yellowstone to Gardiner, Montana, we would see bison gathered at the river munching on the grasses. The steam rising from the water gives a misty appearance to the scene, contrasting with the icy banks. We stopped several times to take photos; I never get tired of this scene!
We were out on a drive looking at majestic mountains and beautiful expansive views, and I was down on my knees in the snow, shooting icy weeds and wishing I had my macro lens. No, that’s not a bokeh texture- that is sparkly snow!
I had fun with some creative edits on the above two shots using Topaz Simplify and textures.
The one below is probably my favorite edit. I used both Topaz Simplify and Impression, as well as textures. I desaturated the bright blue sky to create a monochromatic look, which is more pleasing to my eye.
And here is an edit of my sheep image from last Thursday’s post with a similar edit.
Here’s a glimpse of part of the fence on the board walk at the Upper Terraces of Mammoth Hot Springs at Yellowstone National Park. I was fascinated by the frozen steam and fog (rime ice) that clung to the railings, as well as to the trees in this magical place.
I had fun in Texture Effects adding a bit of color and texture (Flat Neon preset- majorly edited) to the background.
After I took the image back into Lightroom, I couldn’t leave well-enough alone- so I played with color to emphasize how icy and cold it was.
My idea of fun on a Friday!
On Monday, I mentioned here that I photographed one of my “bucket list” animals while in Yellowstone last week. Well, here it is- a Big Horn Sheep (or Sheep Horn Sheep, as Henry calls them)!
I have been coming to this part of Yellowstone 2 or 3 times a year for five years, and this is the first time I’ve been able to get a photo like this. It has become somewhat of a joke in our family- we drive by the sheep area every time we go into Gardiner, and I never see them. I’ve seen a few blurry sheep tushies scrambling up the rocks and once a ram walking quickly away- but never anything that I could really photograph. And they are there most of the time- just not when I’m there!
So you can imagine how thrilled I was when my son-in-law spotted this guy conveniently posed atop the rocks by a pullout! And he’s a beauty- look at those horns!
I’m very grateful to my eagle-eyed son-in-law for finally getting me this shot!
We had a delightful time with our two little guys on Thanksgiving! Miles read to us about the first Thanksgiving, and Henry entertained us just by being Henry. The food was fabulous- turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, roasted sweet potatoes, zucchini, peas, green salad, cranberry sauce, rolls, and, of course, pumpkin pie! My daughter and husband certainly have developed into excellent cooks! A new family tradition was started by Caitlin making the leftovers into a shepherd’s pie the next day. Yum!
Here is Henry showing how he made the handprint turkey which tops the pumpkin pie.
And here is Miles whipping the cream.
We miss our Yellowstone family!
It was 5 below as we walked along the board walk in the Upper Terraces at Mammoth Hot Springs. Although I’d been here before, this was my first visit to the terraces in the snow. The sun shining through the icy trees and steamy mist gave the scene an ever-changing magical appearance; these photos can only hint at the exquisite beauty we witnessed.
Yes, we are back home from Yellowstone! We actually arrived in Phoenix last night, but we spent the night and did some shopping before heading up the hill this afternoon. We got home an hour ago- and we’re already unpacked, the laundry is going, my photos are uploading (still!), and my husband is out at the store picking up something for tonight’s dinner.
I took a ton of photos (darn burst mode!), and it will take a week or so to go through them. Expect to see some darling boys (and dogs), some elk (of course), more bison, lots of snow, the hot springs, and some photos of one of my bucket list animals (a very common one at Yellowstone that had thus far eluded me)!
Greetings from Yellowstone! We are having such a great visit with our little Yellowstone family!
The photo above (taken with my iPhone) is of the historic Roosevelt Arch in Gardiner, Montana at the North Entrance to Yellowstone National Park. Miles’s school is nearby, and I snapped this photo after we met him for lunch. I have issues uploading photos from my 64GB card to the iPad, so you’ll have to wait til next week for more Images of Yellowstone and the boys.
Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!
On our way home from downtown on last week’s snowy day, we stopped at Watson Lake to see if the Dells were covered with snow. The sun had just started to peek through the clouds, and there was only a slight dusting of snow visible. I watched from up above as the heron waded along the shoreline- a peaceful sight.
Just as the fall leaves were changing color, they were blanketed by this year’s early snows. It seems winter is coming early this year.
melinda anderson photography 