Category Archives: Wyoming

Wildlife Viewing over the Years

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Two small brown owls sitting close together, wide‑eyed and alert, with round faces, speckled feathers, and a soft green blurred background.

Wildlife Viewing upclose (but not too) and personal

This has been quite a year for wildlife. Stories have been popping up from all over the map — bears wandering through Connecticut, moose strolling around Gardner, and all kinds of unexpected visitors showing up in places they normally avoid. It’s made me think about the trips I’ve taken where I got to see animals in their natural habitat instead of behind zoo glass. Honestly, it makes me want to go on a safari someday. Lions and tigers and rhinos… oh my.

I’ve always looked for wildlife when I travel — whale watches, manatees, anything with fins, fur, or feathers. But two vacations stand out above the rest: South Dakota and Wyoming.

South Dakota: The Highway Wildlife Parade

South Dakota was the first place I ever saw so many wild animals just… out and about. Pronghorn grazed right beside the highway. Deer darted across the Badlands and Black Hills. We even watched a whole herd of Big Horn sheep crossing the road, stopping traffic like they owned the place.

Five big horn sheep crossing a paved mountain road while a white car waits, with rocky hillsides and green forest in the background.

And the best part? People actually stopped for them. There was a respect for wildlife I don’t often see around here. Even with all those animals, there was surprisingly little road carnage — unlike Massachusetts, where you can tell the seasons by how many dead deer line the roadside.

Here’s what we saw in South Dakota:

Four wild horses running across a grassy field, their manes blowing as they move together through open terrain with low shrubs in the background.

  • White‑tailed deer
  • Mule deer
  • Pronghorn
  • Rabbits
  • Bison
  • Big Horn sheep
  • Wild horses
  • Wild burros (the famous “beggin’ burros”)
  • Prairie dogs
  • And Birds, lots of birds.  Meadowlarks, Blue Birds, Swallows  and a Road Runner (where’s Wile E. Coyote?)

Wyoming: The Elk Jackpot

Wyoming happened because it was the only place with elk available for a timeshare exchange. I’d started looking in Utah, but I ended up near Jackson Hole — and I hit the wildlife jackpot.

I wanted elk, and I got elk. I didn’t hear the iconic bugle — the rut was over — but I did get to see part of the elk migration. A huge herd of does, calves, and bulls moving across open fields toward their wintering grounds. It was breathtaking.

A large herd of elk moving across a grassy field in a wide panoramic scene, with tall leafless trees in the background.

Elk were #1 on the list, but Wyoming had more:

  • Grizzly bearsA mother brown bear and two cubs walking across rocky ground with autumn foliage in the background.
  • Black bears (not always black, which got confusing)
  • Mule deer
  • Pronghorn
  • Chipmunks
  • Bison
  • Moose

One of my favorite moments was seeing a mixed herd — bison, pronghorn, and deer — all grazing peacefully together like they’d formed a temporary wildlife union.

I looked for wolves in Yellowstone, but the Lamar Valley was quiet that day. Beautiful, but empty. I found geysers instead.

Old Faithful geyser erupting in a tall column of steam and water against a bright blue sky, with rocky geothermal ground and forested hills in the background.

Wild Kingdom, Dusty Edition

I’ve had so many wildlife adventures over the years that I could practically write my own Wild Kingdom scripts. But that’s enough reminiscing for now.

With bears in Connecticut and moose in Gardner, maybe the next wildlife story will be closer to home than I think.

 

Yellowstone: Rare, Majestic and Dangerous

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Old Faithful doing what it does best: rising, roaring, and reminding everyone why Yellowstone is one of the most extraordinary places on Earth.

Yellowstone’s Summer of Chaos: Bison, Biscuit Basin, and a Park That’s Very Much Alive

Yellowstone is having quite a year. If national parks had mood rings, Yellowstone’s would be flashing “I’m busy, please stop poking things.” Between the bison‑tourist incidents and the ongoing hydrothermal drama at Biscuit Basin, the park seems determined to remind everyone that it is a wild, volcanic landscape — not a petting zoo with scenic views.

The Bison Situation

Before the ChargeEvery summer, Yellowstone’s bison attempt to teach tourists the same lesson: You cannot take a selfie with a 2,000‑pound animal.

And every summer, at least a few tourists decide to test that theory. This year has already seen multiple injuries, each one a variation of the classic Yellowstone story: human gets too close, bison reacts like a bison, and rangers sigh deeply.

I can personally attest that bison are grouchy and it doesn’t take much to set them off. I wrote about my own close call in Yellowstone Wildlife Adventure — and that day, I genuinely thought I might become the next chapter in Death in Yellowstone.  Once you’ve had a bison give you “the look,” you never underestimate them again.

Meanwhile, Over in Biscuit Basin…

While the bison handle crowd control, Biscuit Basin has been busy doing its own thing — which apparently involves hydrothermal explosions.

Not geysers. Not bubbling mud pots. Actual steam‑powered blasts that throw rocks, open new vents, and send milky plumes drifting down the Firehole River.

A major explosion in 2024 damaged the boardwalk (no injuries, thankfully), and the area has been closed ever since. Then 2026 arrived with a whole series of smaller explosions, including one in June that created new runoff channels and set off seismic instruments. Scientists say it’s all normal behavior for Yellowstone’s hot‑water system — unpredictable, shifting, and very much alive.

Is the Volcano Waking Up?

No. The scientists at the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory have been very clear: This is hydrothermal mischief, not volcanic unrest.

The magma chamber is quiet. The volcano alert level is normal. The aviation code is green. Yellowstone is simply doing what Yellowstone does — rearranging its plumbing.

Old Faithful, the Reliable One

With everything else acting up, Old Faithful is the only one behaving. It’s still erupting right on schedule, as if saying, “Don’t worry, I’m fine. I’m literally the only stable thing here.”

If Old Faithful ever did stop erupting, half the country would panic, and scientists would have to explain that it’s just taking a break. (That’s a joke — please don’t start packing emergency kits.)

So What’s Next?

Probably more of the same:

  • Bison being bison
  • Tourists being tourists
  • Biscuit Basin continuing its dramatic steam‑powered soap opera
  • And Old Faithful rolling its eyes at all of it

Yellowstone isn’t having “problems.” Yellowstone is simply reminding us who’s boss.

If You Go

Yellowstone is beautiful, majestic, and unlike anything you’ll probably ever see again — but it’s also dangerous. The park is filled with wildlife that would happily make a snack out of a careless human, and hydrothermal features that can change or erupt without warning.

 

 

If you visit:

  • Follow every park rule. They exist because the landscape doesn’t play nice.
  • Listen to the rangers. They know what’s safe, what’s not, and what’s about to become a problem.
  • Give wildlife space. A bison may look slow and peaceful, but trust me — they can turn grouchy in a heartbeat. (Yellowstone has bear and wolves too)
  • Stay on boardwalks and marked trails. The ground in Yellowstone is thin, hot, and unpredictable.

Respect the park, and Yellowstone will reward you with one of the most unforgettable experiences of your life.

When Travel Feels Like Imagination Come to Life

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Yesterday I shared my thoughts on imagination — that wonderful, boundless world we carry in our minds. But the more I thought about it, the more I realized something surprising. Those same feelings of wonder, disbelief, and pure childlike awe show up in another part of my life too: when I’m traveling and exploring the world.

There’s a particular kind of magic that happens when reality feels too extraordinary to be real. It’s the same spark I felt as a child pretending to see fairies in the woods, only now it comes from standing in front of places so breathtaking they feel like they were dreamed into existence.

🌄 The Grand Canyon: A Vision Too Vast to Believe

I still remember the first time I laid eyes on the Grand Canyon. The wonder of it was overwhelming — a dizzying spectacle of color, depth, and silence. People say it “takes your breath away,” and for once that wasn’t an exaggeration. I literally forgot to breathe.

It felt like a projection, a backdrop, something painted by a giant with an overactive imagination. How could anything so massive, so intricate, so impossibly beautiful be real? And yet there it was, stretching out before me, daring me to believe my own eyes.

Grand Canyon

🌋 Hawaii’s Chain of Craters Road: Fire Meeting the Sea

Another moment etched into my memory forever happened on Hawaii’s Chain of Craters Road. I had nothing but a disposable camera with me, but honestly, no photograph could have captured what I saw.

Plumes of brilliant white vog rose where molten lava met the ocean. The sky was a vivid, endless blue. The contrast was surreal — like watching the earth breathe. It was raw, elemental, and unforgettable.

🦌 Wyoming’s Elk Migration: Wildness in Motion

In Wyoming, I watched elk herds migrate across the landscape. There were fences, roads, and signs of human life all around, but none of it mattered. In that moment, those animals were exactly what they had always been — wild, free, and following ancient paths to their wintering grounds.

Elk Migration

It felt like witnessing a story older than memory.

🌡️ Yellowstone’s Geysers: A Step Back in TimeOld Faithful Erupts

Yellowstone added its own chapter to my collection of wonders. The primal energy of the geysers, the hiss of steam, the earth rumbling beneath my feet — it all felt like stepping into a prehistoric world.

Buffalo wandered through clouds of steam along the Firehole River as if they had been doing it for centuries. Maybe they had. Time seemed to fold in on itself there.

snuba at Turtletown 2020

🌊 Encounters Beneath the Waves

Some of my most magical travel moments happened underwater. I’ve snorkeled with manta rays and scuba‑dived with sea turtles, drifting through a world so peaceful and alien it felt like a dream.

I’ve watched humpback whales breach with breathtaking power, and I’ve been surrounded by dolphins spinning and leaping like acrobats putting on a private show.

And then there are the tiny wonders — like the little octopus I spotted off Maui, curious and delicate, reminding me that magic exists at every scale.

✨ Wonder That Stays With You

When I think of the places I’ve been, I hardly have the words to describe the wonder. How do you put experiences like that into sentences? How do you capture the feeling of being so small and so alive at the same time?

Maybe you don’t. Maybe you just carry those moments with you — treasures you can revisit anytime your mind needs a spark of joy or a reminder that the world is far bigger and more beautiful than we often remember.

These memories are my own living daydreams, the real‑world magic I get to enjoy over and over again. And in their own way, they’re every bit as powerful as imagination itself.

 

The Majesty of Elk

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🦌 The Majesty of Elk: A Wildlife Dream Fulfilled

For those who’ve followed my adventures for a while, you know that wildlife photography is one of my greatest joys. There’s something magical about spotting animals in their natural habitat—no fences, no enclosures, just raw, untamed beauty. And among the creatures I’ve longed to see, elk have always held a special place in my heart.

lunch of yummy berries

cinnamon colored black bear- but not Elk Wyoming 2017= photo credit Deb Neumann

🌾 The Elusive Elk

My quest to find elk in the wild has taken me across the country. In South Dakota, I encountered prairie dogs, wild horses, and sweeping landscapes that felt like scenes from a nature documentary. Locals assured me elk were nearby, but they always seemed to be just out of reach—like shadows slipping through the trees.

prairie dog with flower- Photo credit Deb Neumann

In 2014, I ventured into the mountains of Tennessee and North Carolina. There, I finally spotted some elk, but the experience was bittersweet. The herds were tagged and monitored, their movements restricted. They looked subdued, almost domesticated. I had imagined proud, wild creatures echoing their haunting bugle calls through the valleys—but the silence was deafening.

North Carolina 2014- photo credit Deb Neumann

🍁 A Journey to Jackson Hole

I began to think I’d need to travel all the way to Banff National Park in Canada to find the elk I’d dreamed of. But in October 2017, I made my way to Jackson Hole, Wyoming—just in time for the great elk migration.

Elk Migration

Elk Herd Outside Jackson Hole 2017- Photo credit Deb Neumann

Although I missed the rut and the iconic bugling calls, I was in the right place at the right time. The elk were moving south from Yellowstone to the National Elk Refuge near Jackson Hole. And that’s when it happened.

👑 A Vision Realized

I finally saw them—my majestic elk. Towering bulls with massive antlers escorted graceful females across golden meadows. The herds were vast, the energy palpable. These elk were everything I had imagined: wild, proud, and breathtakingly beautiful.

A pair of Bull elk

Elk Bulls Oversee the Herd Wyoming 2017 – photo credit Deb Neumann

It was a moment years in the making, and one I’ll never forget.

Antler Arch in Town Sq. Jackson WY

Elk Horn Arch Jackson Hole- photo credit Deb Neumann

 

RIP 399

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Grizzly 399

Grizzly 399 was , without a doubt, the most famous Grizzly in the Yellowstone/Grand Teton eco-system. She was so famous that when I went to Jackson Hole in 2017 even I had heard of her.  Sadly Grizzly 399 was killed in a car/bear accident about a week ago. She was 28. 28 is old for any grizzly but especially a wild bear. 

photo credit- unknown

Grizzly 399 was unique in that she was still birthing cubs every year.  This bear produced 18 offspring over the years. Another reason she became so famous is that she lived close to Jackson Hole so was more visible than most. It wasn’t unusual for her to be spotted along a roadside with her cubs. Fans even sent texts and posted on social media where she might be seen. That was how I was lucky enough to get a glimpse of the  bear and 2 cubs when I was in Wyoming and know that it was this famous bear,

My Sighting

I was heading back to the condo where I was staying after a day touring Yellowstone National Park. The geysers had been plentiful but wildlife had been scarce. I’d just crossed into Grand Teton National Park when I saw a lot of cars pulled off the road. I parked, grabbed the camera and trotted up to the crowd. I could see a lot of pointing and low talking so I approached one of the people in front of me. He told me Grizzly 399 was in the area with 2 cubs.  Right about then I heard someone say “There she is!” And cameras came out all along the roadside. I got as close as I could but having arrived late I wasn’t in the best location.  Here’s what I was able to capture.

3 bears out for a stroll

Grizzly 399 and 2 cubs -2017 photo Credit Deb Neumann

Into the woods

Grizzly 399 -2017 photo Credit Deb Neumann

Mangelsen Gallery

If you want to see really beautiful photos of Grizzly 399 you have to visit the Mangelsen Gallery in Jackson Hole. His work is some of the finest Wildlife Photography I have ever seen and he has some outstanding images for Grizzly 399 over the years. 

Ode to 399

28 is old for a bear and sooner or later we were going to have to say goodbye to this iconic grizzly. At least we know what happened to her. She could have denned up for a winter and never come out. No matter what it would be sad. Part of me is thankful that we know what happened to her and part of me is angry that it was due to humans that this amazing bear is gone. At the same time having driven those roads and seen how dark they can be I can understand how it happened. RIP Grizzly 399. You will be missed.

 

Photo credit -unknown