October's come to southcentral Montana...early mornings are crisp and cool, the days are sunny and warm. I'm still getting used to the fact that it doesn't rain here -- at least not much. The green valley and abundunt crops all owe their existance to plentiful irrigation. We shared our little part of heaven with a herd of black angus cattle for a few weeks, but they've been returned to their owner's pasture now and the air is quiet again.
I've been trying to sneak in a few more day trips to Yellowstone before the pass is snow covered and closed. While there are several ways to get there, my favorite remains the Beartooth Highway. If you haven't had the pleasure to travel to the top of a mountain range and drive along in the 10,000 feet plus altitude, you really must do it. You'll be treated to the kind of scenery that you can only imagine in your dreams and, except for mid-summer, you'll share the road with very few tourists. I should warn you though, there are some hairpin turns and steep drop-offs that may be a little hard on the faint-of-heart.
Be sure to stop at the rest stop...and take along a few nibbles of soda crackers or the like...the cute and friendly little chipmunks will take bits of food right out of your hand...but it's smarter to just lay them on the sidewalk and watch the little guys run out and get them, rather than taking a chance on being bitten. They are extemely photogenic, so be sure to get out your camera as well.
This is a shot from a trip we took last week to Mammoth (on the north side of Yellowstone) in search of the illusive rutting elk. It has been too hot for the rut to begin...so our efforts were only meagerly rewarded. We saw 4 bulls - this is the biggest one - and about 12 cows and calves in Mammoth, but no other elk on our trip. Buffalo have descended into the Lamar Valley and are everywhere is large herds. We were lucky enough to see 2 wolves near Slough Creek. It was magical to see them, but unfortunately they were too far away for my camera lens to capture.
