The alarm went off sharply at 06:00, waking me from a wonderful dream. It was a dream where I traveled around in a camper van I built while photographing some of America’s most impressive critters. Just kidding, it was no dream at all! My alarm woke me right into that great life I was living, and I was excited.
The whole day had been planned around getting onto the Lamar Valley road and trying to find the first baby bison of the year. But before anything else, a pit stop was in order. Without a second thought, I swung open the door to the frozen air and hopped out of the car to do my business. (It pays to be a dude sometimes.) Just as I had found some relief from the gin and tonics consumed the night before, a huge bison woke from his slumber just 20 feet away. If I wouldn’t have already been peeing, there is no doubt I would have peed my Patagonia pants that very moment. I was frozen in fear and frozen from the cold air. His breath clearly visible as he stared at me, I was quite literally caught with my pants down. Once again, this large animal decided to give me some grace, and slowly walked away towards the tiny stream which ran near the car, clearly satisfied he enacted his revenge from startling him the night before. Maybe this massive bison couldn’t find a reason to be threatened by an animal like myself who wields such unimpressive man parts when compared with him. I made a mental note to be more careful when getting out of my car, composed myself, and hopped into Ethel for the short drive into town for coffee and food.
Once loaded up on caffeine and breakfast burrito, I drove through the stunning Yellowstone gates and entered Lamar Valley. I keep saying it, and I’m going to continue saying it, “We are so lucky to have these huge national park areas, and I hope we are able to keep them protected! Maybe we can even add more land to them some day.” It was established by the U.S. Congress and signed into law by President Ulysses S. Grant on March 1, 1872.
As I drove down the winding road, my eyes were quickly scanning between looking in the fields for bison, and directly in front of me on the road for bison. This is their home and they have no problem choosing to walk down the nice paved road instead of the cold, rocky ground.
The scenery was stunning. Huge snow packed mountains on either side in the distance, and still more snow in the Valley. I was pretty surprised at how few bison I saw compared to my recent scary and unexpected encounter the night before which you can read HERE (where I stumbled up a hill to their surprise). But as the drive continued, there seemed to be more and more herds.
Each time a herd was spotted, I’d park Ethel, eagerly grab my camera, and peer through my telephoto lens to see if there was a baby. You can tell the babies because of their small size, duh! The real cool thing is their color is so different. But every time I looked, my eyes were greeted only by more handsome critters milling about, each one fastidiously searching the ground for any delicious green shoots coming in early. Just like the bighorn sheep in Grand Tetons National Park, I was starting to feel a little dejected. “Maybe I was too early,” I thought to myself. It was about lunch time, so I pulled over and opened my refrigerator which still had some breakfast burrito in it. As I sat chopping away and watching some bison in the distance, a tiny red-looking thing on wobbly legs awkwardly scampered out of the dense animals and into plain view. It was a baby bison and it was the cutest damn thing I’d seen since diving with sea lion pups in California.
The mother dutifully followed the youngster around as it clumsily trotted across the field. I raced like a mad man for my camera and started making images. They were a long way away unfortunately, but taking these photos was a highlight of my trip to the Lamar Valley.
This little critter was impossibly cute, full of life, and fearless. It was humbling to see such a young and vulnerable animal in a cold and harsh environment like Yellowstone National Park. This juxtaposition of innocence and unforgiving nature made an impact on me. Knowing the intensity of the world she was born into reminded me how important it is to fight for the things which are important, and to protect things which are vulnerable. With that in mind, and just to be safe, I quickly wolfed down the rest of my burrito in case a competing photographer came by and threatened my food.
I could have stayed and watched for hours, but just like all animals, these didn’t stay around. Momma bison did a fantastic job of managing her rambunctious little one. She fastidiously steered her path around the herd, keeping the baby towards the middle of the group, always protecting. As the baby bounced around and the sun continued to rise, the whole herd gradually got to their feet and moved on.
Seeing the baby was thrilling, and a dream come true. In our parks, there is no limit to what you’ll find. Tiny, red-colored bison, huge bears, bighorn sheep, elk, anything you want really. I wanted this to provide a little inspiration for you to visit the parks this year and show your support for them because just like the baby, our parks are under threat now. Like I said, things which are important, and vulnerable are worth protecting. I hope as the future unfolds, we as a people, can be as good a protector as the momma bison.
