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Figure 1. Bison, Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge, CO.
Wildlife, especially large mammals, is thought to live in remote areas. People are usually not associated it with big cities.
There are always exceptions. About 15 minutes away from downtown Denver in Colorado, you can see free-roaming bison. This place is established as Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge, considered one of the most polluted places in the US before. After the extensive clean-up, this places is pretty much restored to its previous status and open to visit. One of the experiment is the reintroduction of bison. Although there are fences around the refuge to prevent bison leaving here and creating traffic hazard, the roaming area is still very large and you may not see them during your visit. So they can still be considered as wildlife or free-roaming. They thrive and exceed the carrying capacity. A round-up of 27 bison has been done in December, 2013. There are 60 bison now.
Bison is really the magnet and many people come here to see a bison. It is bizarre to see bison so close to a big city (and 10 minutes from Denver Airport) as you can see Denver skyline here, but it is certainly fun. Visitation increases every year and it hits over 300,000 in 2013. It is expected that more than 1 million visitors would come here in the near future.
In addition to bison, mule deer, white-tailed deer and black-tailed prairie dog are also easily seen here. In winter, you may see bald eagles, which is part of the reason this wildlife refuge is established here.
Figure 2. Bison, Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge, CO.
Figure 1. Grinnell Lake and Upper Grinnell Lake, Glacier National Park.
Grinnell Glacier is one of the glaciers in Glacier National Park. The Grinnell Glacier Viewpoint Trail from Many Glacier is a popular hike in summer. To save some efforts, you may take a shuttle boat to the shore of Lake Josephine and start the hike from there.
Highline Trail is another way that you can see Grinnell Glacier. Typically people start from Logan Pass and enjoy the scenery on their way to Granite Park Chalet. They may hike 4 more miles of the Loop Trail to get back to the Going-to-the-Sun Road. Take a shuttle bus and head back to Logan Pass.
About 1 mile before reaching Granite Park Chalet, there is a spur trail leading to an overlook, the Grinnell Glacier Overlook. This trail is short but steep. You only need to hike 0.6 mile to the overlook, but have to climb up about 1,200 feet. It would take you about one and a half or two hours to finish this side trip. If you have extra gas and time, it is worth the efforts.
Figure 1 shows the Upper Grinnell Lake and the Grinnell Lake. You can see Grinnell Glacier as upper right in Figure 2. In fact, you can see Lake Josephine and Swiftcurrent Lake from other angles. This place is rocky and windy and there are lots to explore when you are here. Even you just stay here for 10 minutes, it is still quite a memorable. If you can get a place in Granite Park Chalet or nearby backcountry campground, you may have more time to enjoy this place.
Figure 2. Grinnell Glacier and Upper Grinnell Lake.
Figure 1. Roosevelt Elk, Elk Meadow, Redwood National and State Parks, CA.
What do you think about elk? Should they be seen in the Rockies such as Yellowstone? In fact, elk are wide spread not only in the western states, but in eastern states as well due to conservation efforts. In California, Redwood National and State Parks are one of the place to see elk. These are Roosevelt elk, which is a subspecies of elk different from the more common Rocky Mountain elk. The size of a Roosevelt elk is the largest among all elk subspecies.
One dependable place to see elk in Redwood National and State Parks is the Elk Meadow. This shot is taken in autumn when the sun is still low. While people tend to prefer a close-up of wildlife, an environmental wildlife photo can also be attractive when the condition is right. In some way, it is like a landscape photo with wildlife. While this kind of photo may not be appreciated by many people, it is seen more often in a painting with a large size, perhaps at least 18 inch by 24 inch. So viewers can still see the details of the wildlife.
Yes, size does matter for some kinds of pictures like this one. It looks better with a larger size, though it still looks good with an ordinary monitor size. When the lens is out of range for a close-up, it may just provide the good chance for an environmental wildlife shot. So don't give up, or complain for not having a longer telephoto lens. Think different and this would give you fun, too.
Figure 1. Swiftcurrent Creek and Cracker Flats, Glacier National Park, MT.
I made a one week trip to Glacier National Park around Labor Day. This is about the 10th time I have been in this park. Since I planned to do a lot of hiking, I chose late August so that most parts of trails would be free of snow. The downside is that wildflowers have passed their peak. Perhaps early August is the better time for this year, but it is difficult to make an adjustment as this varies with the snow amount in winter. In general, this is a good trip and I've hiked 88 miles in 7 days. This is the first time I hike intensively in such a period and I definitely learned something new from before.
After having hiked for five day with a total of 60 miles, I decided to rest for one day and drove around. In the afternoon, I got a photo as shown in Figure 1 near Many Glacier Hotel. The foreground is Swiftcurrent Creek and the background is Cracker Flats. I should have felt this spot has the potential to be a good photo as I have passed here many times before. Fortunately I executed it this time. I do have some shots with the sky, but I still like this shot best. In fact, this is the first shot I took and it turned out to be my favorite out of almost 100 shots. This photo has good features such as color, contrast and composition. In addition, this is not a traditional Glacier shot.
One of the key elements to make this shot successful is the lighting. It is generally regarded that sunrise and sunset have the best lighting. This is not entirely true, depending on the terrain. In fact, you can get even better lighting when the storm is breaking or forming, for example. And this can happen any time of the day.
Another factor to make this shot work is the exclusion of the sky. Most photographers tend to include the sky in the landscape shot. Although it looks more natural and tells the story better, it may make the photo lose its strength in some situations. This is a mental barrier for most landscape photographers and it takes some time to break it.
Figure 1. Sandhill Cranes, Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge, NM.
Sandhill cranes are one of migratory birds commonly seen in US. They migrate to southern states like California, Arizona, and New Mexico in winter.
Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge in New Mexico is the mecca for sandhill crane watchers and photographers. The habitat is restored after the work of decades and that's why population of sandhill cranes come here again. Snow geese are also very common here. Even I don't consider myself birder, I am thrilled by what I see and hear when I came here first time. Flocks by flocks of cranes just take off, fly over and land in close range. Usually you can hear their vocal sound when they approach. Although this is not my first time seeing a sandhill crane, this is the most impressing. More importantly, I become more interested in watching and doing bird photograph.
The experience in Bosque del Apache changes my thought about bird watching. Later I try to seek them in other places such as Monte Vista National Wildlife Refuge in Colorado, Merced National Wildlife Refuge and Modoc National Wildlife Refuge in California. For me, it's always fun to see these birds.
I miss Bosque del Apache. Wish I can make a trip there in this coming winter.
Figure 2. Sandhill Cranes at Sunset.
Figure 1. Upper Cathedral Lake, Yosemite National Park, CA.
Cathedral Lakes Trail is among the most popular from Tioga Road in Yosemite National Park. It is a 7 mile round trip hike to Lower Cathedral Lake. To reach Upper Cathedral Lake, you will need to hike one more mile and find it worth the extra efforts. You may need to give yourself more time if you are not used to high elevation above 8,000 feet.
Cathedral Lakes offer the classic High Sierra scenery. A lake is with peaks as the backdrop. It looks particularly good for Upper Cathedral Lake. The unusual shape of the glacier-carved Cathedral Peak together with the lake contributes one of the most memorable scenes in Yosemite National Park.
I've hiked this trail three times. The first time is after October snow. I couldn't find the trail after I was very close to Lower Cathedral Lake. So I saw nothing and turned back. The second time is in September. I hiked to both lakes and decided to be here again in summer. I found this place in summer works quite well for me. Although it is cold light, the CPL helps the color saturated and I like it very much. In fact, I hiked further to Cathedral Pass and stayed at Sunrise High Sierra Camp for one night.
Although Cathedral Peak can be seen easily from Tioga Road, the view from Upper Cathedral Lake is so striking. It also gives different pleasure from Yosemite Valley. I highly recommend take this hike.
Figure 1. Snake River Overlook, Grand Teton National Park, WY.
Snake River Overlook is one of the hot spots in Grand Teton National Park. Snake River meanders with the Tetons as the backdrop. It looks great on the site as well as in the picture. Usually you can see photographers waiting here at sunrise for the signature scene of this park. In addition, Ansel Adam makes this one of his best known photograph. This photograph is also carried on NASA Voyager II to show the aliens, if they exist, what planet Early looks like.
If you have seen Ansel Adam's photograph from Snake River Overlook, you will find something has changed. The trees are much taller than his days and Snake River is not an entire curve now. The same happened in other parks, too. For example, taller trees obscure many scenes in Yosemite and you won't be able to get the same photo as before. Fortunately, Snake River Overlook still looks good enough for me even I can't get exactly the same photo as Ansel Adam.
If the trees keep growing and obscure the entire Snake River, what will the park do? I don't know. I'll just enjoy this scene now and leave the debate to the future.
Figure 1. Black-Throated Sparrow, Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, CA.
Since I have moved to San Diego, I went to Anza-Borrego Desert Park quite often. It is a two hour drive from San Diego. Winter is more popular than summer in this desert area. The temperature can hit enjoyable 80s in February.
My reason to go to this state park is to see the endangered bighorn sheep. It was categorized as Peninsular bighorn sheep. It is now considered the same as desert bighorn sheep. Because of the northern end of the Peninsular Range, it is still called Peninsular bighorn sheep or Peninsular desert bighorn sheep.
The popular place to see this Peninsular bighorn sheep is the Borrego Palm Canyon Trail. In winter months, you can see families, friends and couples hike this 3 mile round trip trail. In addition to bighorn sheep, you may see some birds. One time when I was at the bridge after marker 10, I saw a bird in the tree. Usually this size of bird would fly away at a distance like that. But when you are out there often, something unexpected would happen like this time. This bird was just cooperative and stayed put. I have plenty of time to adjust my position and get a little closer to get a shot of it. This is a typical bird shot with good bokeh, background and reasonable sharpness. It is not easy to use a 400mm lens for a quality like this, and I don't have many shots like this one as this is not my focus. But when I get the opportunity, I'll just take it.
The best thing is I did see a Peninsular bighorn sheep, and it's a big ram, after seeing this black-throated sparrow. While I just saw a sparrow and a sheep, it is worth the 3 mile hike and 4 hour drive.
Figure 1. Autumn Morning in Yellowstone National Park.
Thermal features such as geysers and hot pools are the main scenic attraction for tourists and the reason why Yellowstone National Park was established in 1872. In addition, the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone is also a must-see. Most people go to the northeastern part of the park for wildlife such as grizzly bear, wolf, elk, bighorn sheep, moose, and pronghorn.
After I spent more time between Tower Junction and Canyon Junction, I have very good feelings here when I drive on the road. While it is not as exciting as seeing geysers and the Grand Canyon, the huge space makes me feel relaxed and comfortable. If geysers and Grand Canyon are entrees like steak, this part would be salad or veggies. It also diversifies the experience of touring Yellowstone.
This shot was taken when I drove from Canyon Junction to Tower Junction and was somewhere between Chittenden Road and Tower Fall. It is a partly sunny morning in early September. The sun was blocked in most parts of the sky, but still found some holes to peek through. While most of the time I enjoyed taking a shot on a sunny day, I like this shot very much, even after two years.
Typical autumn shots tend to emphasize the color of leaves. This shot is not in this style but still suggests strong autumn feelings. The lighting works very well along with the color combination. I left the sky to the minimum on purpose as I believe leaving too much sky would weaken the picture. In my co-authored book Yellowstone National Park: Past and Present, we use it as a full page photo to showcase the scenery between Tower Junction and Canyon Junction. It is not easy to get a strong photo for every part of the park. I am glad I've got one before I know some day I would write a book about it.
Figure 1. Bighorn Sheep, National Elk Refuge.
In winter, National Elk Refuge is one of my favorite places to watch wildlife. The major activities at this time is the sleigh ride to watch big bull elk. You can buy a $18 ticket at the visitor center, a bus takes you to the sleigh and the guide will take you in the refuge. You can still see these elk from the road side, though it is usually far away.
So National Elk Refuge is all about elk? Not entirely. It is true this refuge was primarily established for the wintering range of elk. Other wildlife benefit, too. For example, I have seen bald eagles, golden eagles, trumpeter swans, goldeneye ducks, Canada geese, bison, bighorn sheep, coyotes and even river otters here. If you are lucky, you may also see wolves.
In addition to elk, bighorn sheep is another most watchable wildlife. Just like elk, they migrate here in winter. You will have to drive to the back side of the refuge. You should be able to see them on the slope at your left hand side. It is almost guaranteed to see them in winter. In fact, they come down to the road side very often because they are so used to people. They may come directly to the car and lick the salt on it.
The mating season of bighorn sheep is at about November and December. You may see some behaviors at this time as this ram tries to determine if the ewe is ready by smelling.
Figure 1. Upper Geyser Basin, Yellowstone National Park.
Winter in Yellowstone always attracts me. While other places can claim white Christmas like scenery, none can rival the unexpected combination of fire and snow.
Although there are many thermal areas in Yellowstone, Upper Geyser Basin offers the most opportunities and is the best place to get the unique winter scenery. Wheeled vehicles are not allowed in most of the thermal areas. Visitors have to rely on snowcoach or snowmobile tours to get to the places. In addition, these tours have to be guided. Good shots take time to explore and wait, which is usually not allowed in a tour. While visitors still need to rely on a snowcoach/snowmobile tour to arrive Upper Geyser Basin, they can stay in Old Faithful Snow Lodge for days and walk to Upper Geyser Basin at their will.
This shot was taken on the trail near Biscuit Geyser Basin. The round trip from Snow Lodge is about 4 miles. Although I have been here once, I decided to do it again because I didn't really spend much time before. Yellowstone is so dynamic even without snow. Some dormant thermal features may turn active and vice versa. Including the change of snow, it is full of imagination and is never enough to go to the same place again. I am glad I came here again and I've got some good shots like this one. It is not the traditional warm style. It is not the winter wonderland type, either. My goal is to show the oddity of Yellowstone winter and this shot works for me.
The snowfall this winter is still below the average. It is not as bad as 2011-2012 winter and so the opportunity to get good winter shots is still good. You are not always guaranteed to get good winter shots in winter as snowfall may not be consistent through the years. Let's hope the snowfall next winter better than this winter!
Figure 1. Coyote near Mormon Point, Death Valley National Park.
I made a trip to Death Valley in late December, 2012. In addition to some short hikes, I tried to see if I have the luck to see any wildlife.
Yes, there is wildlife in Death Valley, though the name suggests to the contrary. Death Valley National Park uses desert bighorn sheep as the symbol of the park, just like mountain goat in Glacier National Park. It is not easy to see bighorn sheep in Death Valley as they are elusive. Titus Canyon is one of the good places to see them, but you would need a high clearance vehicle for this. Mormon Point at Badwater Road is another place the park suggests. I've tried to go there some years before, but I had no luck last time. I hope I can see something this time.
I still didn't have the luck to see bighorn sheep at Mormon Point this time. But I got the compensation. There were two coyotes at roadside when I arrived there. One quickly went away, but the other stayed. I saw most roadside coyote in Yellowstone, and then Yosemite. In fact, the first coyote I saw was in Death Valley near Scottys Castle. I didn't expect to see a coyote in this park since then, but sometimes you are just lucky!
This is the most cooperative coyote I've ever seen. I spent about 50 minutes with this coyote. I don't mind spending one more hour with him if I can afford. He was still at roadside while I left. In many cases, a coyote stays at roadside for handout from tourists. But this is not the case as his behavior didn't suggest it. It could be a diversion as there were two when I first saw them. Any way, I would never know why this coyote stayed at roadside for such a long time.
But it's good to see a coyote in this park. This is also one of the highlights I've experienced in this park.
Figure 2. Another shot of the same coyote.
