January 2021 - Yellowstone
As part of our ski and snowshoe trip to Big Sky, we drove down for a day of snowmobiling in Yellowstone. We had just been to Yellowstone for the first time six months earlier in Summer of 2020 (pictures) but it felt totally different in the winter. Nearly empty of tourist, it gave the park a much greater wilderness feel, and the white snow over everything (except the hot springs!) was incredibly scenic. We saw lots of bison, we saw Old Faithful erupt twice, and a whole lot of other hot springs.
As part of our ski and snowshoe trip to Big Sky, we drove down for a day of snowmobiling in Yellowstone. We had just been to Yellowstone for the first time six months earlier in Summer of 2020 (pictures) but it felt totally different in the winter. Nearly empty of tourist, it gave the park a much greater wilderness feel, and the white snow over everything (except the hot springs!) was incredibly scenic. We saw lots of bison, we saw Old Faithful erupt twice, and a whole lot of other hot springs.
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| A plain full of buffalo in the snow | A family of Trumpeter Swans | |
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| Our first of three bald eagle sightings. So majestic! | ||
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| More buffalo in the snow | ||
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| Some little guys | Family on the move | |
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| Staring us down | A young buffalo running through the snow | Showdown! These guys faced eachother off, butted heads once, and then the loser walked off |
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| It's cold alright! | The Madison river valley | The Firehole Falls |
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| Bald eagle number 2 | He can turn his head nearly entirely backwards! | Snowmobiling action shot - passing another group |
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| Snowmobiling along the river | Entering a geothermal area, full of steam rising over the snow | |
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| Old Faithful! And many more geysers in the basin behind. | ||
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| The start of the eruption! | Thar she blows! | |
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| The river behind Old Faithful | ||
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| A buffalo right off the boardwalk forced us to turn around | Hanging out, enjoying some grass and some warm steam | |
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| Heading down a different boardwalk | Beautiful hot springs poking holes in the snow | |
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| The Old Faithful area | The ear hot spring | |
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| A second Old Faithful eruption | ||
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| Another beautiful hot spring | A small geyser going off | |
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| A coyote come down to the river | A lone bull | |
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| A red mudpit | ||
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| It's fascinating to see these shallow, slow streams cutting through the snow that would have frozen long ago if they weren't hot | It started to snow fairly heavily, but just in a tiny patch right overhead, so the sun was still shining | |
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| Back on the road! | Leaving the hot springs behind as we head back out of the park | |
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| Driving back past the river as the light fades | ||
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| The sun setting behind the mountains |