The Day Off That Really Isn't

So what does a guide do on his one day off between trips? Well, between doing trip reports, trip accounting, laundry, repacking, getting snacks and water for the next trip, organizing client emails, posting to his blog, and going through photographs, there a few moments of laying on the floor with the dog thinking over the trip's highlights. There were many highlights but I'll take the time to mention two. First, aside from seeing bison, pronghorn, bald eagles, bighorn sheep, coyotes and wolves, to name a partial list, the wildlife highlight was watching a bobcat hunt ducks along the Madison River for nearly a half hour! By far the best bobcat sighting I've ever had! My second highlight is weather related. With temperatures dipping to -30°F some nights the amount of hot spring generated condensation was the best in years. Clouds of steam billowed from geysers and hotsprings filling the air with ever changing drama. Where steam contacted trees, needles, boardwalks and bison it froze in long feathers of rime frost. These are the kinds of formations we used to see regularly in the 80's before our warming trend made them rare. It was great to have them back for this trip. My next tour for National Geographic Expeditions starts tomorrow - I'm looking forward to seeing if the drama persists. I'll try keeping you posted on this blog.