“BLACKTAIL PLATEAU”
Late August is an idyllic time of golden landscapes and dreamy white clouds floating across azure skies in Yellowstone’s Northern Range. The Blacktail Plateau is my favorite place in the park at this time of year. It is home to the resident Leopold wolf pack, as well as large herds of elk and bison that inhabit the area year-round.

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“BREAK-UP, YELLOWSTONE LAKE”
This photo was taken near Steamboat Point one Memorial Day weekend. The ice, which can cover the lake for five months, had broken up only a few days earlier, and prevailing winds had brought huge chunks of it to Yellowstone Lake’s northern shore. Steamboat Point is named for the numerous steam vents, or fumaroles, that are found in the area.

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“BUFFALO JUMP, MONTANA”
Tipi rings and eagle-catching pits can be found by the careful observer at this gem of a state park just east of Three Forks, Montana. Occasionally bits of bison bones can be found at the base of the jump, but it is illegal to collect, deface or remove any item from this or any other Montana state park. Buffalo Jump is also a good place to look for raptors year-round.

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"CASTLE GEYSER"
Castle, one of the few predictable geysers in Yellowstone, is located in the Upper Geyser Basin, a short walk from its more famous relative, Old Faithful. Its cone, made of siliceous sinter, or geyserite, builds at the rate of about half an inch to one inch per century. Castle is one of the world’s oldest active geysers.

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"GHOST TREES"
The constant emission of steam and vapor from thermal features alternately thaws and refreezes snow accumulating on Yellowstone’s plant communities, especially its trees. “Ghost trees” abound in the park’s thermal areas such as this one near Old Faithful. I was drawn to this scene by the shadow of the smallest tree in the picture. The Old Faithful area, Norris Geyser Basin, West Thumb Geyser Basin, and Canary Spring in Mammoth are traditionally good places to observe this phenomena.

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“GRAND CANYON OF THE YELLOWSTONE”
In 1871, Hayden Expedition survey artist Thomas Moran described Yellowstone’s Grand Canyon as “beyond the resource of human art”. Undoubtedly his paintings and sketches helped persuade Congress and President Grant to make Yellowstone the world’s first national park. This view of the canyon and the Yellowstone River was taken from the Brink of the Lower Falls (on the North Rim) during peak run-off in late May.

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“GRIZZ COUNTRY”
On this late October day an extended Indian summer gave way to Greater Yellowstone’s first real blast of winter. This view of prime grizzly habitat and high country east of Yellowstone National Park was taken north of Cody, Wyoming along State Route 296, more commonly known as the Chief Joseph Highway. Grizzlies are slow to mature and to reproduce, and require vast amounts of undisturbed, intact habitat to make a living.

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"HOT SPRING RUNOFF"
I was struck by the purple-black algae (Zygogonium) growing in the middle of this run-off channel in the Porcelain Basin at Norris. To the upper left, two stray tadpole-like strands appear to be swimming back upstream to warmer waters. The picture also reminds me of Zen gardens I frequented when living in Japan in the 1980s.

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"ICE-OFF, YELLOWSTONE LAKE"
Yellowstone Lake usually freezes over by late December, and ice-off typically occurs by the last week of May. This cold mountain lake is North America’s largest at high elevation (over 7,000 feet), and together with its tributaries represents the last remaining stronghold for the native westslope cutthroat trout. May through July are especially important months to be wary of grizzly bears that fish the lake’s tributaries for spawning cutthroat.

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"KINTLA LAKE, GLACIER NATIONAL PARK"
I took this shot late one September afternoon, in between the passing of two cold fronts that had drenched the remote northwest corner of this rugged park. The clouds hung low over the lake, casting a luminous reflection, and providing a warm yet brief reprieve from the rains. Hopefully, the next time I visit Kintla Lake, the weather will be more conducive for a canoe trip!

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"OLD FAITHFUL, -45F"
Late February is usually not the coldest time of the year in Yellowstone, but this was the case in both 2002 and 2003. In 2003 I was prepared, and one of only two people outside early that morning photographing the eruption of the world’s most famous geyser. My eyebrows and hair frosted up in the 20 minutes I was out there, but I was very happy to have no problems with the camera, or the resulting photo.

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"SLOUGH CREEK, SEPTEMBER"
This is a good trail to hike with three or more friends, given that it meanders through high-density grizzly bear habitat! September is no exception. The views are astonishing, and the fishing is reportedly good, but always be bear aware when traveling in the Slough Creek drainage, or anywhere else in Greater Yellowstone.

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"STORM POINT TRAIL, YELLOWSTONE LAKE"
If you could only take one hike near Yellowstone Lake, this trail stands out. Ranger-led walks to Storm Point are usually held from early June to Labor Day, but always be prepared for windy, wet and cold conditions whenever you go. In summer, bison, yellow-bellied marmots, red squirrels, waterfowl, and the occasional grizzly bear are sometimes seen. The feeling of Yellowstone’s vastness and wildness is palpable from Storm Point.

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"THERMAL FROG"
Unusual patterns and shapes emerge with the infinite variety of temperature and pH gradients abounding in Yellowstone’s thermal features. The colors often indicate the presence of bacteria or algae, and this “frog” figuratively leaped out at me one cloudy day in the Porcelain Basin in the Norris area.

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“WOLF TRACKS”
Gray wolves (canis lupus) still roam across wilder regions of North America and Eurasia, inhabiting rain forests, boreal forests, arctic tundra, and ecosystems in between. These supremely adaptable and social predators live in packs, and primarily target weakened, younger, and older members of ungulate species such as caribou, moose, elk and deer residing within or near their territories. Evidence of scent marking can be seen to the bottom left of the front (larger) foot.

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"ENSIGN LAKE AT DUSK, BOUNDARY WATERS"
This October view is looking north from an island campsite on Ensign Lake. The lake was still warm enough to swim in, and the wildlife easily outnumbered the people encountered on this fall trip in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness.

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"MOOSE TO SPLASH LAKE PORTAGE"
Early fall can be a good time to paddle the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, especially when the weather cooperates. Most of our portages and paddling were as calm as the waters in this photo, but we encountered steady winds and one to two foot waves returning to the put-in at Moose Lake, just off the Fernberg Road east of Ely, Minnesota.

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"PADDLING THE BOUNDARY WATERS"
Opportunities for solitude abound in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, such as for this lone boater fishing not far from the Canadian border. He actually caught a few fish, my camping buddy later confessed, but he somehow lost the evidence!

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"SUPERIOR STILLNESS"
This twilight scene was taken on an October Indian summer day from Lake Superior’s Wisconsin shoreline. The lake’s waters are notoriously known for being anything but placid. Superior, at 32,000 square miles the largest of North America’s Great Lakes, is also the largest freshwater lake in the world, and can produce waves 20-25 feet high.

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