On the last morning of our Montana ski trip, my dad and I took a few last minute photos of Lone Peak at Big Sky before anyone else was on the slopes. We then piled into the car for the drive back to Bozeman. Since we had a late flight we stopped and took photos along the way. The Gallatin River was running swiftly and burbling around rocks and ice formations with ice flows moving steadily with its currents. We saw the river change colors, sometimes appearing green, as we craned our heads to see it from the road. “A River Runs Through It” was a constant refrain in my head. If it weren’t 5 degrees outside, we might have been willing to park the care in a safe spot and hike back a quarter mile to photograph the green swirls. As it was, we settled for easy stop off points including a small bridge that headed toward a campground. Next we turned off on Spanish Creek Road toward a state park and low and behold found ourselves driving through Ted Turner’s famed Flying D Ranch (the road itself is public). We saw 5 coyotes and watched an entire herd of buffalo cross the road. The coyotes were extremely skittish and I can understand why photography traps are used to photograph certain animals. I have no aspirations to be a wildlife photographer. Weddings are just fine for me. No sitting in tree blinds for three weeks in extreme temperatures. Nevertheless, I sure enjoy trying to get lucky with animal photos when on vacation. Now back to real life in Arlington where it’s a balmy 37 degrees.
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