Yellowstone: the introspective landscape- Part XI

Chapter 5 continued...

The Luck of the Shoshone-

excerpts from my new photographic book-


...Finally, the trail begins to flatten out. Steam rising off to the side of the basin. We’ve made it to Shoshone. Now Shoshone is not just another geyser basin though it is to some people when they compare to the Upper, Mid, Lower Geyser Basins and Norris Geyser Basin. If the fifth largest basin in Yellowstone was located anywhere outside of the park, it would be the second largest geyser area in the world behind Yellowstone. Shoshone also does not have the two major distractions of those others. First there are no tourists except for a lone hiker, group of hikers or canoeists (Shoshone Lake is a canoeist’s destination as well) and subsequently no boardwalks! Even as tired as we were, we were thrilled to finally have made our destination. Now we just had to set up camp then begin our exploration after dinner. It was then that I realized that the park service had moved the campsite to the far south side of the basin lengthening our hike another mile! Probably a good thing since the last time I camped there a problem grizzly was stealing food- off the bones of hikers! After a few curses directed at the whole National Park Service, we grudgingly marched across the geyser basin. Finally, we found our designated campsite just before the swampy delta mouth of the Shoshone River. Too tired after dinner, we just slept. Finally, we found our designated campsite just before the swampy delta mouth of the Shoshone River and made camp.

The next morning we were awoken by the sound of Sandhill Cranes flying over head on a beautiful late summer day. Frost covered the grass. We were briefly visited by a flock of Crossbills- a species I’ve been trying to find for my birders life list for some time and here, they fly in for morning coffee. I love birding made easy! Once on a trip to southern Arizona to find a rare humming bird, I drove to the only know place where its range juts into the states from Mexico, step out of my truck in a red tee shirt and this rare elusive bird I drove hundreds of miles to find flew almost into my face. As I say, “Birding Make Easy!”

continued...