OUT WEST #12

Morning in the Bighorn Mountains, Wyoming

So, how about the moose? The next morning after the evening we watched the Red-tailed Hawk we went back into the valley where the North Tongue River flows along highway 14A. The rock cliffs above the valley and the aspen groves below were in beautiful morning light and the colors suggested that fall wasn’t too far away. The hawk wasn’t there anymore but we watched Mule Deer and some elk far in the distance. Later, after we had packed our tent and camping gear, we drove through the valley again, and finally we found this young moose bull munching on willow leaves. Hard to beat a morning like this…

Young Moose bull

OUT WEST #7

Aspens in color, Bighorn Mountains, near North Tongue River, Wyoming

Going out west early into mid September is not a guarantee for having leaves with great fall colors. We knew that, but going up higher in altitude can always be a game changer. The highest peak in the Bighorn Mountains is over 4,000 meters and this photo location near our campsite at North Tongue Campground in Bighorn National Forest was still at an altitude of 2,400 m. Higher elevation triggers earlier frost and so it was no surprise to see some aspens in their beautiful fall colors.