Marmot from Grand Teton mountain range, Yellow-bellied Marmot (ground hog of the mountains)

The Yellow-bellied Marmot lives at higher elevations in the Rockies, Sierra Nevada, and other mountain ranges. It's a large rodent related to the ground hog that lives in burrows among boulder fields. We saw this one during a backpacking trip along the Teton Crest Trail on the Death Canyon Shelf after crossing over the Fox Creek Pass. It didn't seem to mind our presence at all and we were able to get this shot from a distance that didn't cause it any concern about our intentions. There had been thunderstorm activity on this day and it seemed the marmot was trying to warm up on the rock.

The Teton Range in particular has a high incidence of melanism among the yellow-bellied marmot population. Melanism is a condition where the animal's skin and fur has a lot of pigment and appears all black. It's the opposite of albanism, in which an animal has no pigment and appears all white. We did see a melanistic yellow-bellied marmot on this day. It's shown below for comparison. On previous trips, we've seen a regular colored yellow-bellied marmot and a melanistic one playing with each other near their burrow entrance.

Remember, it's not just a picture, it's a story!

A mule deer buck with antlers in velvet.  Antlered animals grow new antlers every year and require a layer of skin called velvet to nourish the antlers as they grow.  By the end of summer the velvet dies off exposing the antlers for the mating season.

This buck was next to the road in Yellowstone National Park.

Remember, it's not just a picture, it's a story.

Moose at Moose in Grand Teton National Park

This bull moose was foraging in the Snake River near Moose Village in Grand Teton National Park.  Seems like an appropriate place for them...either that an appropriate name for the place.  Visitors frequently see moose in riverside forests and wetlands throughout the park.  This bull moose and a second one were visible from the bridge that crosses over the Snake River at Moose and were leading to quite a traffic jam as visitors stopped to hike over to see the moose among the willows.

Remember, it's not just a picture, it's a story.

Lone Star Geyser, Yellowstone backcountry, double rainbow

A double rainbow in the mist of the Lone Star Geyser in the backcountry of Yellowstone National Park.  A three-mile hiking/biking path leads to this geyser.  When we watched this eruption, only five other people watched it with us.  Contrast that with watching an Old Faithful Geyser eruption with perhaps hundreds of people.

This geyser's cone is listed in "The Geysers of Yellowstone" as being over 9 feet tall making it one of the largest cones in the park.  An eruption occurs about every 3 hours and is typically 30 to 40 feet high and can last more than 10 minutes.

Remember, it's not just a photo, it's a story.