I set out on an early morning in June to take a drive around Yellowstone's upper loop looking for wildlife, heading out from Gardiner towards Tower Falls. The light was gorgeous, golden and gentle; it seemed to be a good morning for photographs.
Just before Calcite Springs I encountered a black bear grazing right on the side of the road. I passed by slowly, but there wasn’t a place to park. I debated parking a ways up the road and walking back to where I could see the bear (from 100 yards at least, of course), but ultimately decided to drive on, largely in part to avoid being the one to start what would inevitably be a bear jam.
While I love to take photos of wildlife in Yellowstone, I’m not so determined to do so that I will brave the roadside crowds that can quickly turn crazy in summer. I much prefer quiet, intimate moments observing wildlife behaving as they normally do, unmolested by humans. That means I often miss out on some wildlife shots that other photographers might get.
But moving along from the crowd opens up different, and often more magical, opportunities.
So, I drove on, leaving the grazing black bear in the rear view mirror. And boy was I glad I did! For right around the corner, just before the Tower store parking lot, the rising fog and morning sun were dancing together among the eroded volcanic spires as Tower Creek plunged towards the falls.
See what the morning was like in this short video.
It was a serendipitous moment of light and color that I couldn’t possibly pass up. I found a nearby pullout, and walked back along the road to take pictures, passersby giving me funny looks and wondering what I was looking at.
I’ve written about this before, but being open to the present and the serendipitous moments that arise in Yellowstone is a big part of the magic of being here. The wolf that crosses in front of you as you drive a lonely stretch of road, a rainbow that pops up over the ridge top, or--like this morning--fog illuminated by early morning sun.
As it turns out, I did end up observing a sow grizzly with two cubs near Mud Volcano. Gorgeous morning with light and fog, AND grizzly bears? That's a pretty good day.
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