After Old Faithful and lunch at the Geyser Grill, our group loaded up and headed towards West Yellowstone through the beautiful and iconic Madison River Valley.
The Madison River was the inspiration for Norman Maclean’s novel A River Runs Through it, which was later adapted into a film starring Brad Pitt and directed by Robert Redford. Once you’ve witnessed the picturesque Madison River Valley firsthand, the motivation becomes clear. This small valley, with its rocky walls and winding river, looks like they were taken straight from a painting. The Madison is also an excellent place for photographing big bull elk during the elk rut as the males bugle and battle for control of groups of females known as harems. We would have several opportunities with these magnificent herbivores, which are the largest member of the deer family.
The following day and a half were spent chasing wildlife at sunrise and epic sunsets at thermal features in the Lower Geyser Basin, yielding some incredible opportunities. The bears had evaded us up to this point, but the following day would hold a wildlife spectacle that Russel and I had never seen before, even after years of running trips through Yellowstone.
Days 3-5: Artist Point to Grand Teton
In the predawn hours of Day Three, we made our way eastward through the Madison River Valley towards the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone and Artist Point, one of the most iconic views of the enormous falls of the Yellowstone River. Conditions were warm and sunny with some picturesque clouds moving through the sky. The waterfall proved as dramatic as ever, and from there we packed up and headed south into the Hayden Valley, a hotspot for spotting big predators like bears, wolves, and coyotes.