BACK TO PHOTOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL

 Hi All,

It has been a long time since my trip to Yellowstone in January 2019. You know that travel was cut short for a year and a half due to the Covid-19 Pandemic. We stayed quiet with little activity here in San Diego.

A lady who I had coached in Youth Soccer way back insisted on doing our grocery shopping weekly for almost a year. It was a blessing but certainly added to our lack of getting out and about. We amused ourselves with lots of reading, taking two daily walks in the neighborhood, and for the last 6 months have taken on a corgi puppy. 

We are still learning her ways and she, ours. Much as there is frustration at times, she always brings a smile to our faces. We start formal training lessons next week. In the mean time I am trying to practice with some guidance from an online course.

As I write this we are also having a housekeeper start work with us. I have never liked doing housework, and as I get on it is a bit of toil to get the job done thoroughly. I am looking forward to this new hire.

Hope that you all are doing well and coping with the ongoing surges of the Pandemic.

MINNESOTA - THE LAND OF MANY LAKES AND BEARS

This trip was originally scheduled for 2020, but I opted out due to the Pandemic. I had never truly visited the state of Minnesota, but had always wanted to visit the Boundary Waters and camp and canoe in the area.

The trip consisted of a week visit to Crane Lake,  located in the far Northeast part of the state. I flew from San Diego to Minneapolis and arrived there around noon on the 18th of June. I was met by  the co-leaders, Connie and Scott Nagel. We were then off for about a four hour drive to the small village of Crane Lake https://www.visitcranelake.com. We were housed at the Norway Lodge, http://www.norwaylodge.com/lodge/, where we had the full use of their large cabin for the duration. The tour included all breakfasts, and lunches, as well as two dinners. Connie and Scott have been visiting this lake for a number of years and are well acquainted with the Norway Lodge which is where they have stayed in the past.

We will be visiting The Vince Shute Bear Sanctuary, https://www.americanbear.org, The International Wolf Center, https://wolf.org, and the town of Ely. There is also a photogenic water fall in the area, Vermillion Falls, which we will visit when the light works best.  We will also spend a great deal of time cruising Crane Lake in search  of loons, bald eagles, mergansers, and other wild life. 

We arrive at the Norway Lodge about 1800 and after a quick unloading of gear headed out for dinner at the Voyagaire Lodge which was a short walk from our lodging. I enjoyed the first of several dinners of walleye, the mild and popular fish of the area. This was battered and fried, and served with french fries and a draft of Moosehead beer.

Back at the Lodge /House we made plans for Saturday. Mark would not be joining us until Sunday evening.

SATURDAY:

A relaxing morning in the village area. Cathy and I went for a nice walk out of town, before breakfast. It was good to get out and do a walkabout and enjoy a quiet morning in a small town. In the afternoon we went out on pontoon boat to explore the lake and see what we could see. The boat operator was the host of the Lodge and knows the lake quite well. He knew of several spots where we would see Loons. As we approached a nest he would cut the motor to a very  slow speed and we would basically float into photography range. 

We also stopped at one of the day-use sights for a rest stop and had the chance to photograph a few wildflowers. Thanks to the app SEEK, I was able to identify my sightings.

    Bristly Sarsaparilla

                                Northern Blue Flag

Then there was a small island with Herring Gulls and chicks, as well as a loon on a nest. 

Afterwards we came across a merganser with a family of 12 chicks!!  

It was a great afternoon on the water. 

This evening we dined at Trail's End, which is located on Echo Lake a short drive form our "home".

SUNDAY, JUNE 20TH:

The forecast for today was rain off and on, and it did. So we drove into Ely to play tourist. We visited the International Wolf Center. We enjoyed their presentations and were able to photograph a wolf in their natural display. Regrettably we were inside the Center and had to photograph through glass. A large white wolf came through and chewed on a carcass of a deer for a short time.

We then went into the town of Ely looking for some lunch and browsing a couple of shops. We enjoyed lunch at the  Chocolate Moose, and then browsed a couple of shops. I do not think any of us were truly into the browsing/shopping mode. 

Back in Crane Lake we relaxed, and viewed, edited, and shared some of our pictures. We also enjoyed getting to know each other a little more.

MONDAY, JUNE 21st:

Happy Summer  Solstice!!

This morning we were up early for a quick breakfast before heading off to the Vince Shute Bear Sanctuary where we spent four hours photographing black bears. 

The primary focus of The American Bear Association is the management and operation of the Vince Shute Wildlife Sanctuary. The Sanctuary consists of 500+ acres of forested land in a remote area of northern Minnesota. A number of bears frequent the site and tolerate the presence of humans within a two-acre clearing at the heart of the property.

Just our party of eight photographers, and two photographers from National Geographic were there for the morning.

We saw and photographed cubs climbing and resting in trees, adults roaming around the open area, and climbing trees. These bears are free to roam wherever they want and come and go as they please.

We saw and photographed cubs climbing and resting in trees, adults roaming around the open area, and climbing trees. All of my photography was from the viewing platform which is about 20 feet above the ground and enclosed so that the bears can not get on it. A couple of the group went down and wandered on the ground with the bears. This is relatively safe as the bears are acclimated to having staff out distributing food (dried fruit, nuts, and seeds.), and poop scooping.

We again went out on the lake in the afternoon. 

 I am really enjoying my new camera and its features.

WINTER IN YELLOWSTONE 2020 - 4

SUNDAY, JANUARY 19TH:

This morning we were off to Mammoth Hot Springs for sunrise. As the sun rose I was able to get some nice low light on the slope. The play of the light with the steam coming off the Hot Springs made for a few interesting images. 

We then headed for the Lamar Valley in pursuit of animals.
As we had a sunny day the drive was quite lovely. We found some large and stocky big horn sheep browsing the hillside.

Then we found found a Ram sitting and posing for pictures in a lovely setting. We spent a good bit of time with him, and then drove to Cook City. This was our turnaround location as the highway is closed from here East. There is more here for the snowmobiler than anything else. as we returned to the West we stopped several times to take in the beautiful landscapes with peaks and valleys.    

Once again came upon the big horned sheep, and spent more time with them. They had created quite a following so it was slow going along the "Ram Jam".

We also saw that the other natives make use of the Highway as an easy path to move along.

MONDAY, JANUARY 20TH:

Today was the last day of the Photo Tour. A few of us went off to Mammoth Hot Springs area for a last chance of getting a sunrise. We did succeed though we set up before reaching Mammoth Hot Springs. 

After sunrise Klara and I parted ways with the group as they headed back to Gardiner to finish packing and having some breakfast. They were then off to Bozeman, and their flights home.

Klara and I then headed off to the Lamar Valley to see what we could see. We did not see the "bear going over the mountain, but had a couple of good sightings of elk and bison. 

Our fist encounter was with a couple of elk on a ridge who entertained us with some sparring. Another group of photographers joined us in the area and we all settled in for our photography. 

We then moved on so that we could let Klara's dog, Beeps, have a chance to get out of the car and stretch her legs. We
then found another turn out where there was a small herd of bison close by. It made for some good photo ops, and they were not anxious to move on.

There were several people along the way looking for wolfs. The only canine we saw was a lone coyote. It was now mid-day and time for us to make our back to Mammoth Hot Springs, and points North. We stopped at the Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel to pay a tourist visit which included a stop the restaurant for a cup of tea, and a "little something", as Winnie The Pooh would say.

Finally we were off to Bozeman where we would spend two nights, and enjoy some family time around two delicious restaurants, a bookstore, and most of the day at the Museum of the Rockies. This museum is a delight and I thoroughly enjoyed learning more about dinosaurs and their discovery in Montana. 

A BOZEMAN LIGHT SHOW ABOUT A BLOCK FROM OUR MOTEL.
Though this trip was a challenge because of the snow and cold, I thoroughly enjoyed it. If one is properly prepared Yellowstone in winter is a delight.