End of the Season at Yellowstone

My season ended on October 1, along with an inch of fresh snow which arrived overnight.  But the sun was breaking through, driving conditions were fine and it was a fitting end to a great season..

Chris joined me for the end of the season, going out with me on my final two tours, one in the rain, and then having a couple days to explore the park before we headed out.   He managed to meet a number of my fellow employees including fellow photo guide, Doug Hilborn.    He was with me when some of the photos of the Trumpeter Swans were taken, although some were also the week before when friends and fellow photographers, Cathy and Mark Pemberton, were visiting.

Here are a few photos to end this seasons' presentations.   I already plan to return next summer so there will be more then.   This year, except for the weasel and the swans, wildlife photography was more limited than some years.  But I had fun with the geothermal scenes, especially as we had a lot of ground fogs, due to wetter than usual year, which added to the photo ops.

Perfect travel weather.  Snow flocking the trees, but not sticking to the pavement.  This taken from in front of my motorhome in the employee RV park at Old Faithful.

This photo and ones that follow are a sampling of the full season.  The elk calf still has its spots and was taken early in the season.

This photo and the one above are of Riverside Geyser in the Upper Geyser Basin (on the trail that leads from Old Faithful).

Chris chats with Jackie, one of the other drivers who was doing an evening tour along Firehole Lake Drive in the rain.

 I spent a weekend in the Tetons.  This is a view on the way in, from Island Park, Idaho.  Below is Mesa Falls which  I did a side trip into the Bechler Ranger Station, in the portion of Yellowstone which is in Idaho.  Mesa Falls is outside the park but along the route to Bechler.