Young Moose

While camping at a forest campground along the Madison River, I enjoy walking along the river at sunset .  It is quiet and only the fast flowing river is gurgling - the only sounds present.  As I look for signs of wildlife, I spotted a young moose in the distance.  It had not noticed us, and Nikki and I sit quietly on the river bank and enjoy its presence.

The Moose

As the sun sets in the West

I walk down to the river

To enjoy the quiet as dusk falls.

Puffy clouds linger motionless in the sky

And the raven comes to drink 

At the shore of the fast flowing river.

In a distance, a moose quietly approaches the river

Grazing on the new grass and the sprouting willows.

She is small, maybe a juvenile that just left her mother

As she prepares to have her next calf in the spring.

The young moose is tentative, stepping here and there,

Drinking from the water to quench her thirst.

What will her life be?  

She is save here

Having been born into the park, 

Protected from the fiercest predator 

That hunts with guns.

The river flows in its eternal rhythm,

The clouds turn pink in the afterglow of the setting sun.

Nikki sits quietly on my lap as we enjoy the scene.

All is still and my world is at peace.

Meggi Raeder, May 2018

Bakers Hole, Montana

... the journey will continue.
Til next time,
Meggi and Nikki

Yellowstone and Beyond.. The journey starts...

2 Months Roadtrip in my small RV

View 2018 Yellowstone and beyond... on Two On The Go's travel map.

Tuesday, May 1, 2018, Sacramento, CA, to Fernley, NV

Our journey has begun! After meeting with my friends in Sacramento, we are off on our way to The Tetons and Yellowstone. We are 4 single women each with a wonderful dog and we travel separately each in our own rig. We met in Sacramento, the rigs are loaded and we are chomping on the bits to be on our way.

Marilyn and Sissy (and Jackie - not in the picture), my travel companions

Initially, we have several travel days before we arrive in the Tetons and Yellowstone, our first major stop, but we are taking it slow to allowing time to stop and 'smell the roses'.

Through Nevada we are following HW 80 East to Salt Lake City before turning north through Idaho to Jackson, Wyoming. Driving over Donner Pass yesterday's snow was still next to the roadside at 7280 ft. And rolling down the hill, spring colors emerged on willow trees graced with the lightest of green of the new leaves - quite a beautiful sight. Beyond Reno we experienced Nevada desert with a slight green hue of spring.
We spent the night at the Desert Rose TV Park in Fernley, a clean and no nonsense park with mostly long term residents.

Wednesday, May 2, Fernley to Battle Mountains, NV

Easy driving on HW 80. Wide open desert with sagebrush shrubs. Long stretches of flat land interrupted by mountain ranges.
I stopped on Lovelock and walked the historic center with the gorgeous courthouse surrounded by lush greens. 10 years ago I stopped in Lovelock in streaming rain. Now I had sunshine and warm weather. The Courthouse built about 100 years ago was as lovely as I remembered it. It’s an impressive building with its massive columns and grandiose staircase. A new Gazebo had been built behind the courthouse and a playground where children amused themselves. The gazebo was surrounded by a fence where hundreds of locks had been placed by lovers locking in their affection for each other. I had seen this in Paris and Prague on bridge and fences, and I am sure other EU cities copied this idea. On some of the famous bridges the locks had to be removed since the weight was too much for the fencing and specifically the bridges. Now, here in the small community of Lovelock, Nevada, the idea has sprouted and the fences around the Gazabo were heavy with locks.

 

Lovelock, Courthouse

Impressions of Lovelock, NV

I continued to Battle Mountain, NV, a small community founded by the railroad and mining in mid 1850ties. We stopped at the City Park, a clean RV park with good amenities. Like the night before, a lot of permanent residents make this park their home. Since RV parks have weekly and monthly rates, parking a bigger RV and living in it might be much cheaper than a rental place. These small communities might just not have enough rental spaces?

We had a good Mexican dinner in 'town' and a card game at Marilyn's rig before we all retired into our small "homes" for the night.

Nikki is adapting well to our travel life as she has done so in past journeys.

To be continued...

Til next time,

Meggi

How the Wolves Changed the Rivers

How the Wolves Changed the Rivers

This is a remarkable story how the reintroduction of the wolves into Yellowstone in 1995 changed not only the ecosystem, but also the landscape.

Pl watch the 4 minute beautiful video and rejoice in the ability of nature to regenerate!



Til next time,
Meggi

Yellowstone-Teton Video

Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation Video by Scott McKinley

Watching this beautiful video only strengthens my believe that we must put our efforts 

to preserve all nature around us, must fight against the forces 

that are callous and don't care whether the planet is diminished 

only for the good of mankind.

This short video won Grand Prize - Best of Show at International Wildlife Film Festival 

in Missoula Montana! 

Published on May 5, 2012

Video by Scott Mckinley Productions, Produced for Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation for Ad campaign. Licensed music by Kenny G.. This short video won Best of Category at the International Wildlife Film Festival in Missoula Montana! The majority was shot on location in Yellowstone National Park, Grand Teton National Park and The National Elk Refuge in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.

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I hope you enjoyed this journey to Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons - 

Majestic places in all seasons around the year.

Please join me in my upcoming Photo Workshops:

Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things 

you didn't do than by the ones you did do.

Explore. Dream. Discover.

~ Mark Twain~

Copyrigth M. Raeder-Photography

See Tahoe Through the Eyes of Renowned Fine Art Photographer Jon Paul Spring is a beautiful time in Tahoe and Hope Valley – Explore Tahoe’s hidden places with renowned Tahoe Fine Art Photographer Jon Paul, owner of the Jon Paul Gallery and Wildlife Photographer Meggi Raeder. Date: May 3-6, 2013 Early Bird Registration til Jan 15, 2013 Pl see all details here.

Amur Leopard                  ©M. Raeder-Photography

Spring Wildlife: Cubs, Pups and Kittens Wildlife Photography at its Best An amazing opportunity to photograph wildlife babies:  wolf pups, fox kittens, lynx kittens, Badger pups and more! Come face-to-face with these wonderful babies! Date:  June 28-July 1,  2013 Optional Activities June 25-27, 2013 For further details pl click here.

Til next time,
Meggi