I am interrupting my series of short stories from my trip to Yellowstone to put my 1 to 4 followers on notice about Melanie Fiona. Watch and listen as she teams up with musical genius Questlove from the Roots to cover Kanye West's "Heartless"

Darwin's view of Beartooth Pass

Indeed, Laura's young Plott Hound made our trip that much cuter. Here she is looking over beartooth pass wondering where she can dig her next hole.

the real moose drool

Our second moose encounter took place in the beginning of our drive up Beartooth Pass. I figured it would be fitting for me to pay homage to some of Missoula's finest brew by posing with this lady moose.

mama moose


young moose



Towards the end of our eastward trek through the northern portion of YNP, we encountered a mama moose and her "mooslet" foraging through the brush. I have seen a female moose in passing in the Sleeping Child Creek drainage, but not this close and for this long. We kept our distance and close proximity to the vehicle as we snapped pictures, as an angry moose would not be the most enjoyable of experiences.

Continuing our drive across the northern portion of YNP from Gardiner, MT to Cooke City, MT, we came across a major "bear jam". So early in our trip, I certainly did not expect much - a coyote, pronghorn, bison, or mule deer. All exciting species to see, but, no bear. However, I was surprised to see the park ranger's corralling the masses into safe viewing areas. This means it can be only one of two things: bears or wolves. Indeed, we were greeted by a mama black bear and two of her cubs. My first bears since coming out to Montana (no need for any bear defense techniques).

Welcome back, readers. This is the first in a series of pictures and accompanying short stories from my recent camping trip in Yellowstone NP, Beartooth Pass, and the Custer National Forest (near Red Lodge, MT). Each post will reflect

first short story/anecdote


After driving four hours from Missoula to the northwest entrance of YNP in Gardiner, MT, the first notable wildlife we encountered was this extremely healthy coyote. At first glance, this coyote appeared to be sizable enough to be confused with a wolf. But, based on it's location and relative proximity to the road, our excitement was quickly tempered a little bit. However, this is still a very large coyote. Nothing like the smaller, gaunt coyote I saw in Yellowstone this past winter.