Images of Dinosaur National Monument – northeastern Utah and northwestern Colorado, taken in May 2016.

The Split Mountain section of Dinosaur National Monument is an exceptionally diverse area to include mountains, valleys, the famous Dinosaur Quarry, early 20th century ranch sites and ancient petroglyphs.

After exploring the area and upon hearing that there were bighorn sheep in this area of the park, I decided that I needed to put forth the extra effort in an attempt to photograph them. You see, the bighorn sheep is my “white whale”! I’ve photographed bears eating salmon, humpbacked whales bubble net feeding and a pod of orcas in Alaska; green sea turtles in Hawai’i; flying fox fruit bats in American Samoa; alligators and wood storks in the Everglades; eagles, snakes, antelopes, deer, lizards, marmots; hoary marmots (obviously the more promiscuous Alaskan version of the regular marmot); moose, caribou; grizzlies; a lynx; and Dall sheep among other things but I have yet to capture a bighorn sheep! So it is with that desperate backdrop in mind that I got up at 4 a.m. one morning and lugged my 300mm lens out to a point where the Green River cut its way past Split Mountain. It was here that I was told that I had a possible chance to view these creatures just after sunrise. I arrived as the light of the day was breaking filled with anticipation and wishing that I had brought a pair of gloves, it was a little chilly. Long story short, I saw a tire on a rim float down the river but no bighorn sheep; Ahab would be proud…