After staying in a National Park campground just south of Red Lodge, MT, I headedup into the Beartooth Mountains on my way to Yellowstone. This drive has been described as one of the most beautiful drives in all of the United States. This view literally took my breath away.

To give you an idea of where the antelope rutt was taking place, this is a shot of the area. Can you find the antelope? They are on the top of the first ridge and/or up the following hill covered in sage.

Driving through Hayden Valley this afternoon I pulled off where two ladies were watching something in the distance. It was this grizzly bear. He was probably about 1/2 miles away. I was tempted to start cooking some bacon to see if he would come closer!! :)

This is my traveling companion. More on him later.

This was one of the losers. He eventually got tired of the game and ran off across the road.

This is a full-sized crop of the fish and fisherman in the previous photo.

This was the view behind me while watching a grizzly bear in the distance. And, yes, the sky is real!

Heading down from 11,000 feet the sun broke and the aspens are attired in all of their splendor.

In case you have ever wondered why I called my web site "Moments In Nature", here is one example. I was walking along the Madison River this afternoon just killing time until the sun got in a better position. Happened to be taking a picture of the river when this fisherman stepped out in the river and hooked a trout on his first cast. (White top-water fly – in case you are interested.) I zoomed in a bit and started shooting. Caught one frame with the trout splashing on the top of the water!! You can see the trout in the full-sized crop. It’s those moments that make an otherwise nice picture and incredible memory.

I raced back to Madison River to try to catch the elk in the late afternoon sun. Didn't make it. This was taken about a half hour after the sun went down. Tomorrow I will make sure to be there by about 4:00. BTW, how much is the ticket for going 80 mph in a 45 zone in a national park? I don't understand speed limits. They are just mountain roads filled with bison and elk!

I captured this shot of the dominant male chasing off the other suitor. Note that this action shot was taken from about 300-400 yards away.

This is a 100% crop of the previous picture. Note that I was shooting straight into the late afternoon sun. Hence the lighter brown glow from the back-lighting on his rump.