​Yellowstone can be a crazy place to be in.  People say “go in early June, it’s not as crowded then.”  And, this is what I’ve done for many years, normally end of May and first week of June.  This year, in early June, the week after Memorial Day weekend, the park is packed, swarming with people and screaming kids.  I remind myself that everyone is there to have fun in some way but it can try my patience a bit at times. 

Yellowstone is famous for its surprise wildlife encounters, sometimes I don’t get the pic or a very good one anyway or the one I want.  One day, heading back to my base for lunch, I rounded a corner and was face-to-face with a very large bison traveling directly toward me.  At first I did not notice the calf at her right side as I slammed on the brakes but then I saw the baby, probably no more than an hour or so old, traveling along with its muzzle and body glued to mom’s side.  OMG cute, maybe one of the cutest things I’ve seen here.  I could imagine mom saying, “Just stay near Joey and we’ll be at the next pasture soon.” I can’t imagine the havoc she caused behind me with the intense traffic, rounded curves, and drop off heights as she calmy and quietly plodded along with the baby trotting as fast as it could to keep up.  An incredible site and I could not get a photo!

Then about five miles further on I swing around yet another curve and there is a group of four female elk tending to a very recently born calf to nudge him along down the hillside.  Again, we all throw on our brakes and come to a stop, this time I can pick up the camera and aim, holding the camera with one hand, toward the little group as they rallied around the calf, eventually nudging the calf away from the road and down the slope.​

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And yet on another day, just as I entered the park from the Gardiner side, almost right in front of me, is a baby pronghorn and mom.  The baby, most likely about three weeks old, is running around the cars, it's first sight of such large beasts, and doesn't want to follow mom, who is heading back to the herd.  I'm amazed I am the only photographer on the scene and there is only about 10 cars, everyone patiently waiting for the little guy to move away from the road and watching the drama unfold.  Finally she convinces the little one to follow her down the slope and out into the flatland. Crazy times in Yellowstone!

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Every year a pair of Sandhill Cranes has chicks (actually not called chicks, but called colts instead)  just before the Lamar Valley area.  Sometimes as I drive by I spot them and other times they cannot be located.  I was able to stop once during the first week and then once again during the second week.  The chick, they only had one, had gown so much in that one week! It was crazy how bit it got.  

Sandhill Crane chicks grow rapidly, gaining about 1" per day in the first month.  In three months they are almost fully grown.  They are called "colts" because of their long, strong legs and their ability to run shortly after hatching.

The top two images are from the first week and the bottom images are from the second week.  You can see how much the youngster has grown. Look at those legs!

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As I was driving along the road that runs through Lamar Valley and on to Silver Gate I saw someone stopped alongside the road.  I jumped out to take a look (no cars were behind me) and asked them what they had seen. They said a moose across the river with calves.  I parked the car a bit further along the road and ran back.  Normally, at that point, there are a couple of bison in a very small meadow that dips to the the river below but thankfully they were not in the meadow at this point.  I made my way down the slope and sighted the mama moose with her two calves.  The calves were standing at the edge of the river watching mom.

The mama wanted to get across the river, which was running very fast, but the babies were standing on the edge and were not having any part of crossing that raging river.  The babies were smarter than the mom at this point.  The river would have certainly washed them away.  They were very young, probably just a few days old, and would not have had the strength to cross that river.  Mama tried four times to encourage them and they held their ground. Finally, she walked back to them and made her way back into the forest.  I was so glad I did not see the tragedy that might have happened.