Lamar Valley Cottonwood

While the snowpack was not super deep, the daytime temps were pretty cold and once the sun dropped the temps quickly plummeted below zero.  The cold overnight lows helped produce the great whoar frost on many trees in the Lamar Valley.

 

Winter Cottonwood. Lamar Valley

 

Lone Bighorn.  Upper Lamar Valley

Upper Lamar Valley and a bighorn. Moments after this shot one of the Mollies chased a wounded bull elk across Soda Butte a couple hundred yards from where I took this image. The wolf however did not cross the stream and the elk sauntered off a few miles toward the north facing hills of the Lamar Valley.

 

Winter Morning & The Gardner River

 

Long Exposure.  Gardner River

 

Long Exposure.  Gardner River

Note: The nearby town of Gardiner is spelled differently than the Gardner River.  The town and the river are named after the trapper, Johnson Gardner of the American Fur Company. The town of Gardiner is a misspelling.

 

River Of Tracks.  Lamar River

I could see doing an entire project on tracks in the snow...  Obviously, not all animals wander in a straight path.

 

Jeff Hull watching a lone wolf calling out to the 19 member Mollies.  Slough Creek, Yellowstone

 

Leo Gaertner, the co-owner of Buns "n" Beds in Cooke City, Montana gets the lunch time BBQ going.  His prime rib and pork ribs are fantastic.  Buns "n" Beds is a great lunch and dinner stop.  They also offer simple cabins for around $65 a night.  The drive from the Lamar Valley to Cooke City is less than a half an hour.