Not a Bored Walk

The moonlight illuminates this magical night in Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming. From the photographer: “An eerie stillness surrounded me that was only punctuated by the haunting bugling of bull elk in rut somewhere out in the darkness around me. I had hiked in to the Grand Prismatic Springs in the Midway Geyser basin from a totally empty parking lot about a mile away. During the day there were times the parking lot was full, and the boardwalks were very well used. But this night I was the only human out there in that steamy quiet wilderness, and I felt very alone and vulnerable, as I realized that there was wildlife all around me out there somewhere in the dark. At time the mist billowed across my path and I could not see more than one meter ahead of me with the meager light from my headlamp beaming into the mist, until I emerged from the wall of steam, often stepping directly into view like this. I certainly had to cover my lens as I passed through that mist as it covered everything instantly in moisture. But I knew I was there, exactly where I wanted to be. Great moonlight, and a very unseasonably warm evening as well. I knew I was lucky tonight. The boardwalk tonight was not a bored walk at all.”