Sept 15, Tue – day 40
West Yellowstone, Montana
Weather - low 35 (2C) to low 80s (28C) cloudy with sun breaks



Today we had morning and afternoon shoots of Madison elk and Firehole thermals. Several of the thermals on the Firehole were producing some exciting spurts and we were able to capture them.



We’ve noticed a lot of Canada Geese in the park, on the rivers and in the fields feeding on the grains and grasses. These appear to be the larger, Branta Canadensis, variety of Canada Goose. This morning there were groups of these geese gathered in the large meadows along the Madison River. At first sight they looked disembodied, with only their heads sticking up out of the grass as they moved through the fields.



Going on along the Madison we encountered a bull elk on one side of the road and his harem on the other side. There were lots of people (major car/elk jam) and no Rangers yet. The bull went up and down the side of the road looking for an opening and found none. At one point, I took a shot through a pick-up truck window with the bull’s nose almost in the window on the other side. The people were local residents and stayed calm. The bull moved back, went up along the road, saw an opening and finally crossed. It was a road savy elk and followed the traffic rules, it looked both ways before it crossed, moved slowly and cautiously across the road, and then it ran like heck and disappeared up the hillside.



The adventure continues…



To see more of 'The Great Adventure 2009' images click HERE