end of June

I can't believe June is nearly over.  It does not seem like 2 months has passed.  The past 2 weeks have been gray, cloudy, and windy with occasional thunderstorms.  No kayaking, no bike rides to report.  When its not raining I have been wandering out into the forest looking at the new flowers popping up. They like the rain.

Tetons in the clouds, the view is never the same.

One evening a friend and I went out to Pilgrim Creek pond looking for a Moose.  Instead we found a field of Lupine and Arrowleaf blooming and glowing in the late evening sun.  This Yellow-bellied Marmot was sitting on a downed Cottonwood tree.

 Last weekend the weather pattern cleared for a few days.  This photo was taken from Jenny Lake looking across Cottonwood Creek.  Saturday of that weekend I was able to take a one day class on Snow and Mountain Safety given by Exum Guides.  We learned to use ice axes and crampons on a fairly steep snowfield.  The melting spring snow was soft and easy to dig into. This is not always the case, the instructor told us.

Yesterday a friend and I drove to a Native American Pow-wow event presented by the Shoshoni tribe.  On the way back we passed a pond with a few Avocets and a large group of Wilson's Phalaropes.  It seems too early for these Phalaropes to have finished nesting and be on their way south again.

Yellowstone day trip

 Driving along Yellowstone Lake I saw a large group of  . . . . . . .  "Wait a minute they are not big enough to be geese."   I turned around and went back.  A large flock of Barrow's Goldeneye  !!!!!










There are geothermal vents in the sand of the lake's shoreline.

This large Bison decided to present itself to the visitors at Mud Volcano.

Glacier Lillies  !!!   I was coming down Dunraven Pass and saw yellow flowers on the hillside.  These flowers are so pretty.

Park beauties mid-June

Flowers are in full bloom, Swallows are building mud nests, and trees are completely leafed out. An early summer storm has descended on the area.  Yellowstone Park may have several inches of snow.
     This is a Cliff Swallow on a wire near an old building.  The old wooden porch was home to a cluster of Cliff Swallow nests.





This is a flower called Elephant head.  Each blossom resembles a tiny elephant trunk.







 

 
My room-mate has a 4WD car. One day we ventured out on a gravel road to the east.  This is Spread Creek looking west back toward the mountains.

A week of a slowly moving cold front has brought cloudy skies and rain to the mountains. 

Grouse !!

 I walked this morning on the trail behind the big Visitor's Center at Moose.  The usual Yellow-rumped Warblers, and Golden-crowned Kinglets were singing.  I took a side trail into the forest looking for another avian singer, instead I heard the low booming sound of a Ruffed Grouse drumming nearby.

 A most cooperative Ruffed Grouse displayed for me several times while standing on his log.

 Lupine have started to bloom along the roadsides.

Spring is bursting out all over.  Grand Teton with afternoon clouds, and Aspen along Cottonwood Creek have new spring green leaves.