Setting Our Sights on Yellowstone, part one

 Moving from GTNP to Yellowstone requires a big mental adjustment. Mostly because Yellowstone is so much larger than Grand Teton. From the Gros Ventre campground in Grand Teton almost any desired location can be reached in 45 minutes or less. In Yellowstone, one might be faced with a drive of 2 hours or longer, and that does not allow for wildlife sightings while enroute, or the very common bison jams.

It is important to adjust to the cadence of nature. 

For the first 4 days of our visit, we stayed in a Forest Service campground near West Yellowstone, Montana. We used this time to get used to the idea of longer drives and to explore the vast National Forests around West Yellowstone...

                       

Entering Yellowstone from the west entrance requires driving along the Madison River. I have definitely endured less appealing commutes...

The next image, taken before the sun had fully risen, shows 5 waterfowl that had spent the night together on the Madison...

Some of the National Forest roads lead to secluded spots on the Madison. At one such place we observed an Osprey on its nest...

Glancing back at the river I saw a bird rapidly flying up-stream....

It was a Spotted Sandpiper that landed on the opposite bank...

A short distance down-stream was this interesting tree remnant looking like a gnarly hand...

The only complaint that I have about the national forests is the number of people who prefer to rush down the gravel roads on noisy machines that raise clouds of dust and intrude on the solitude... 

 

But it is public land after all, and those who prefer noisy activities have just as much right to use it as those who prefer peace and quiet. 

  Thanks for visiting, be well, and come back soon.