River Otter

The thumbnails look dark, but if you click on the pictures you can see the river otter eating a freshly caught fish.

I'm not always around water in my alpine desert home but there is a lot of water in Yellowstone National Park. For more watery vistas, check out Watery Wednesday.

More animal shots

Lots of geese were everywhere.

This big horn sheep was resting not too far from where we saw the bear.

There are many herds of elk near Mammoth Hot Springs.  It was fun to see the babies.  The rangers said that if you saw a young elk, you might see a bear close behind but we luckily that time we didn't.

Gardiner, Montana is a little tourist town just outside the north entrance of Yellowstone National Park.

This was my world not to long ago.  For other glimpses of places from around the globe, check out My World Tuesday.

Up close and personal with geysers

A warning sign about the fragility of the ground off the boardwalks, but look at how pretty it can be!

Lots of other people like macro shots and post them at Lisa's Chaos, check here!

North of Fishing Bridge

In an effort to see as much of the park as possible, we headed north towards Mammoth Hot Springs.  The Dragon's Mouth Spring scared the snot out of our kids when they were little because of the roaring sounds coming out of the cave.  

We pulled over here for a pit stop and it's a good place to see where a fire burned the forest and then how it comes back.  Apparently lodgepole pine trees can remain standing for up to 25 years after they have been burned.  The park doesn't cut the timber down because it provides habitat and fertilizer for the forest and its animals.

Skipper needed a pit stop too.

Yellowstone Falls

The happy campers in front of Yellowstone Falls.  The falls drop over 300 feet (91.4m).  The river has carved out an amazing canyon.  In certain light the rocks look yellow, hence the name Yellow Stone.

The intensity and power of the water going over the falls just cannot be shown in a picture. Believe me, I tried!  I took a million pictures but none of them capture the water's energy. When I got home it occurred to me that I could have taken a video with my cell phone.  Maybe next time.

The woman in this picture was very afraid to look over the falls even with a fence in front of her!  You do feel like you could get pulled over by the force but it's safe.

There are so many other scenic places around the world, check here for more at Scenic Sunday.

Watching a grizzly bear chase ducks

We had turned around in the Lamar Valley and saw a car pulled over to the side of the road.  Of course we stopped.  There was a bear in the pond.

The bear was swimming after two ducks.  We had to stop and take pictures.  I don't usually put so many pictures in one post but this time I have to do it.  They are worth enlarging as well.

The bear is very intent.

The ducks are not too concerned.

They can take off at any time and fly away, but only go a few feet.  Amazing.

The bear accepts the challenge.

He really wants a duck!

He's leaping like a fish.  Maybe he thinks he's fooling those fowls.

No, they just take off again.

The bear is either tired or frustrated, but eventually gives up.

He thinks he's going to get out and go up the hill, but....

wait a minute!

What are all those people doing over there?  Did they watch me?

Oh, how embarrassing.

Can I go this way?

"You can't duplicate that!" is what a Yellowstone guide said after we all watched this in awe.  For more cute critters and stories, check out Camera Critters here!

American Bison

The first animals we saw in the park were the American Bison or buffalo.  They can get up to six feet tall and weigh up to 2,000 pounds.  They can also run up to 30 miles per hour.  They are impressive, especially when they are crossing your path!

Just a note, this is my 200th post.  I missed the 100 mark.  My blog will be a year old on July 22.  Time flies when you're taking pictures and posting them for a wonderful new community of friends from all around the world.  It's been a truly inspiring experience.