We stayed at this place for a long time.
It was a big flock made up mostly of mothers, with yearlings that would have been born last spring..............
For a long time I was so focused on the mothers and their babies that I didn't realize there were actually males in the mix, who were all sitting quietly at the top of the hill.
Large and majestic, and calmly surveying their frozen world.
They were with the flock but separate at the same time.
Sharing the same space, but sitting to themselves while all the females and their young slowly grazed their way across the field.............
10 minutes later we were pulling the Tahoe into a now-closed campground.
From the highway we had excitedly noticed one lone bison crossing over a snow covered trail.
Breaking hard, we pulled into the campground that was located on the left side of the road.
By the time we were driving down the trail the bison was already wandering across an open field, headed for the river.
He walked slowly and methodically, lumbering in that prehistoric and focused way that they have.
He never looked back so I never managed to get a good picture of him..........
Undeterred, I snapped these two quick pictures anyway and LC, Kory and I silently watched him until he disappeared into the brush.........
A few minutes later we pulled off the highway yet again.
Putting the Tahoe into four wheel drive, we headed down a snow covered and narrow road that dead ended at the river within half a mile.
We had caught sight of this guy from the highway.
Watching him for a few minutes we quickly realized that he was intent on eating, and whatever he had found under the snow on the hill had his complete and undivided attention.
We would try and catch him again on the way back towards town.
Time to move on...............
A view of the snow covered road as we headed back towards the highway............
The further into the Shoshone National Forest and the further into the North Fork we traveled, the more animals we began to see.
It wasn't winter yet.
There would be more. Many more.
But they were definitely beginning to come down out of the mountains with each new snow fall and it was exciting to see them.
These sheep were first seen walking along the side of the road, but as we slowly approached them they veered off the road and into the snow.
One more nursery - all mommas and soon year-old babies...............
Views through the wind shield as we continued further...............
We stopped at Pahaska Teepee which is now closed for the season:
Pahaska (which I started calling Tahitiville as a joke when we first moved back to Wyoming because I could never remember the name) is nothing short of gorgeous.
Located only a few miles from the East Gate of the park it includes cabins (ranging from small A-frames to huge reunion cabins). There is a beautiful restaurant, a small (and not particularly well stocked) grocery store, and a large (and very well stocked) souvenir shop.
Cabins range in price from moderately expensive to "Not In THIS Life Time" expensive.
We ate at the restaurant on the way to Cody, as we were traveling back to Wyoming in late September.
After spending so much money for over-priced and unappetizing burgers inside the park quite a few hours earlier, I was hungry but had no stomach to pay too much again for food.
When I looked at the menu, one of the cheapest things listed was a small bowl of chili and that is what I ordered.
It cost $6 and the bowl was tiny.
6 spoonfuls worth in fact.
A dollar a spoonful.
But on THIS day the entire joint was shuttered for the winter.
On this day there were no tourists and no overpriced chili.
On this day there was only us and the most beautiful views you could imagine.
It was our turning around point...............
Heading back the way we had come...............
There was very little snow left in Cody proper by the time we had this adventure, but close to the East Gate there was plenty. of snow
The entire drive between Cody and the park gate is stunningly beautiful and hugely interesting, and this is truly a magical place in the winter.................
And yes.
We DID find him again.
By the time we made our way back to the intently grazing lone buffalo, he had stopped eating and instead was simply standing in the middle of the snow covered trail.
What was he doing just standing there?
Just.........digesting his food?
We had no idea.
LC slowly veered around him, turned the Tahoe around at the end of the short trail and headed back up the trail again so that we could try and capture a picture of this big guy straight on.................
He stared at us.
Kory never made a sound.
LC and I whispered, and I lowered my camera so that I could turn it on without disturbing him.
There is no doubt that we were too close, so no sudden movements and no sudden noises was the order of the day.
Before I raised my camera we both agreed that if this monster of an animal made even one movement we would book out of there immediately.
I took a few pictures and then we left, figuring that we had pushed our luck far enough.
This bison, who was not more than 20 feet away from us never moved the entire time we shared the trail with him.................
One last picture as we slowly drove by him.
We were off in the snow banks.
He had the road..............
OK.
We had gone further and seen more.
We had seen so much in one astounding trip, and as we walked together during one last stop at one last snow covered campground, LC and I talked excitedly about the elk and the sheep and the buffalo...............
Keep close to nature's heart, and break clear once in a while, and climb a mountain or spend a week in the woods. Wash your spirit clean..........John Muir
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