Noxious Weed

 I thought this was a nice wildflower at Mammoth but couldn't find it in any of the plant lists for Yellowstone. That's because it is a yellow toadflax, linaria vulgaris, an invasive, exotic species. If I had known that, I'd have pulled it up by the roots and been careful not to let any seeds escape. 

Brewer's Blackbird

 
I think this is a female Brewer's Blackbird, Euphagus cyanocephalus. It was in the parking lot at the Alpine visitor's center in Rocky Mountain National Park. 

More Reason Not To Speed

 
 
 
 
These two moose were right by the side of the road at Rocky Mountain National Park, near the west entrance. Then they crossed the road, almost flattening a few onlookers. We didn't see a single moose in Yellowstone, so it was a treat to get close enough to take these pictures. 

Don't Try To Outrun The Bear

Just so long as you can outrun the other tourists who have stopped to look at it. This grizzly, ursus arctos, was hanging out along the road, near Mount Washburn.
 
 
  

Mixed Burn

On our way from Mammoth to Roosevelt Lodge, we saw these bighorn sheep. This area apparently burned in 1988 but the fires left most of the trees alive. Now there are seedlings, mature trees, and downed logs all together. 
  

You Are What You Eat

We hiked toward the top of Bunsen Peak today, but had to turn back because of the weather - it started raining, then got really windy, and may have even sleeted on us for a minute before things settled down. Whatever left this on the trail (the doo doo, not my foot) had been feeding on a hairy carcass of some kind. When you are hiking in bear country, like Bunsen Peak, they say it is wise to wear a bell so that you don't surprise a bear, to carry pepper spray in case one gets too close to you, and to keep an eye out for bear droppings. You can tell which are bear droppings because they have little bells in them and smell like pepper. 

Sunday Bug Blogging

 Hyles lineata, a White-lined Sphinx Moth. It looks and flies a lot like a hummingbird. I took this photo at Mammoth Hot Springs in Yellowstone. Compare this with the hawkmoth I blogged about a year ago. 

Saturday Bug Blogging

A hoary comma butterfly, polygonia gracilis. We were taking the trail through Norris Geyser Basin and my wife had the camera in her hands when this butterfly landed next to us. She had wanted to take pictures of some steaming mud or something, so I handed the camera to her for just a minute, and when this butterfly landed I asked her to take a picture of it for me. I could not have taken a picture like this if I had been out there all day (because you know, I was out there all day).
The composition blows me away. I love the way the antennae and the edges of the wings are echoed by the cracks and stains on the top of the post, and how the lines of the wings and body are echoed by the sticks and shadows on the ground. This image is not cropped, color corrected or photoshopped; it came out of the camera like this (except that Picasa and Blogger reduced it in size). 

Yellowstone 101

This is why you obey speed limits in Yellowstone National Park, especially around dusk. The car, big SUV though it is, is not going to come out the winner if an argument develops here.

Out on the lawn there arose such a clatter . . . actually that's an elk.

Lovecraftian Flowstone

I thought this looked like Cthulu.

This one doesn't look all that Lovecraftian but it does look like a strip of bacon, continuing the food theme. How about that great built-in flash on the D70S? These photos are from Jewel Cave National Monument.

Why The Badlands Really Are

Continuing on the theme of unappetizing food found while visiting federal land, this cow and these coyotes were just north of Badlands National Park, almost within sight of the gate. I took this photo from Highway 240.

Consumables

We stopped at the Desoto National Wildlife Refuge on the banks of the Missouri River, and had a look at the cargo from a steamboat that sank in the 1860's. Over a hundred years later, it was found buried in a field (the river having changed course in the meantime) and excavated. Every Friday since then they've had a tasting party with the canned food that was dug up*, but oddly enough they don't seem to be running out of it.
*This is completely untrue.