so how can words and images match a journey to, on, within, and from planet yellowstone?
solo. no car. no stove. no preconceived plan.
wondering what it would be like to be amidst one of the largest super volcanoes in the world after longing for adventure after seeing documentaries a few winters ago. meeting fellow solo travellers from london and arizona at an old hotel west of yellowstone which hadn't opened yet, where we worked for our night's stay. meeting a swiss traveller via alberta, canada, who had a car. waiting and deciding when to enter as snow came down and then later entering as a group of four camping and touring the thermal sights. camping in the backcountry for several nights. two of the nights in a bone graveyard near blacktail creek and another in a bison filled meadow. the silhouettes of seven wolves up on the ridge on a cold night. bison and elk skulls and bones dancing near the fire. whiskey on hand to weather the rainstorms that night. terrain within the same few miles from rolling hills and rocks like scotland to sagebrush and other desert flora. pronghorns, elk, bison, and a coyote to boot. to imperial meadows to camp for the last afternoon and night as a group. creeks where trails had been before. being charged by a bull bison with few options for escape. saying good bye to the group as i started another journey, this one solo for ten days. cold, cold yellowstone winds and storm fronts from all directions. the sounds of the meadow at night, the howling of wolves and later coyotes on many nights and some mornings. the snorting and heavy breathing of bison five feet from my tent in the middle of the night. a lone black wolf on an afternoon scout coming down from the foothills. rain and hail and more rain. a lone wolf howling at night a few hundred feet from my tent as i held my breath. the lineup of odd sounds of meadow creatures at dusk and beyond. trudging through the mud to see microbes which had formed ethereal colored thermal streams of water and mineral deposits from the geysers which joined to form the pools and stream beds. watching the insects skipping on hot water, remembering this being the key to the start of all life. boiling white and then brown mudpots. all these thermal wonders off the main roads and boardwalks of the park, free of tourons and their shuffling feet and editorial comments. waiting out a snowstorm hobo style in a restroom, rigging the heater. being eyeballed by bull bison as they scratch their massive heads and horns on lodgepole pines to get at the pitch. laying on the ground recovering from a back injury and then lighting a fire as a bison digs for worms twenty feet away. mornings colder than the night, snuffing out sunrises. waiting for the sun late morning and afternoon as i scout for new areas to photograph. trying to know when fronts will hit and for how long and what directon they will head. countless pots of ramen cooked over the daily fire. later in the trek eating "food" right by the place where it stayed hung for most of the time up fifteen feet high, along with toothpaste, toothbrush, lip balm, sun screen and everything else with a scent bears might catch. talking to bears hundreds of times every day and night to give them a heads up. thinking of the people who have been visited in their tents for not packing and hanging the clothes they cooked in. burning a tick from my arm with fire the old fashioned way, wondering how long it was there. hitchhiking. laughing at the sight of all the thermal areas when the sun was out. huddling in the rain and snow, waiting for small windows of sun. feet hurting, back too. meeting characters along the way. camping in snowstorms. waiting in the rain, hail and snow for rides. more beautiful, soulful cries from wolves, victims of human ignorance. wincing as tourons feed those in the wild, corrupting to their level. in awe of the sights, sounds, activity and wonder. cognizant of cause and effect now more than ever...
so how can words and images come close? they cannot of course but they will have to do. for a photograph cannot render something as does the complexity of our eyes but it can reveal something we don't see ourselves. and words fall short trying to describe and recount as it cannot begin to tackle what all of our senses take in. an experience i had which no one has quite had and will never completely understand. that is the ultimate high. the ultimate reward.
rick byerly
15 days on planet yellowstone. stay tuned for more words and some images.
uniquetake photography from
pittsburgh fine art photographer rick byerly
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