Yellowstone in Spring 2009

Our spring trip to Yellowstone National Park took place during the 2nd and 3rd week of May. As usual for spring in the park, we saw all types of weather. It was cold and heavy snow the first 2 days. The weather then turned a lot warmer and we had a lot of snow melt. The park rivers were at the highest mark that we had seen in several years. The park should have a good summer. There was a noticeable scarcity of both black bear and grizzlies compared to previous years. There appeared to be a lot more wolves, both close and spotting scope distance. As you can see by the gallery, we tried to take photos of a greater variety of wildlife. Some of the highlights on this trip was the mother badger and her family of four. They would put on quite a show for those willing to spend time at the entrance to her den. She would bring them out at least once during the day. The baby bighorns also put on a show on the cliffs of the Gardiner River near the northern entrance to the park. The wolves taking down the elk in the lake was a sad thing to see, but that is all part of the life in the park. All in all there is never a bad trip to YNP. Some are better than others. It still is a very magical place and we try to make the long trip from Texas at least once but most of the time, twice a year.