Last autumn, my painting was selectd for the Oil Painters of America Western Regional Exhibition in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. It was a fun event. I love Jackson Hole and I also love how close it is to two of my favorite places, Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Park.
Yellowstone National Park is one of my favorite places to visit on Earth. I am lucky to live only five hours away from this amazing place and I get to visit there quit often. So on our way home, my traveling companion, wildlife artist Debbie Edgers Sturges and I decided to take a little ‘detour’…
Now, I have been going to Yellowstone for over 25 consecutive years and have only seen a few Grizzly bears during my many visits. Even Black bears are exciting and unusual to see these days. Gone are the days when the bears would walk up to the cars like ‘Yogi Bear’ and beg the tourists for their picnic baskets. This was dangerous behavior and nowadays, the rangers quickly remove those ‘trouble’ bears into the back-country.
So needless to say, my friend and fellow painter,and I were more than excited to see a mother Grizzly sow and her cubs up close and personal. Yes, I was dangerously close to the bears. But, I am from bear country and I take bears very seriously, so I filmed the video from the safety of my truck.
Did you know?
- Adult Grizzly bears can run from a standing start up to 25 MPH in 6 seconds, and can cover over 109 yards in 6 seconds!
- A male grizzly can easily run 30 MPH.
- …and a female with cubs will lope at up to 15 MPH.
If that mother bear got upset with us, she could have charged over to the crowd in just a few seconds and all those silly tourists would have been clambering for the security of my pickup truck – if they were lucky!
I hope you enjoy this quick little video of highlighting the bears, bison, elk, geysers and more!
You might like some of my other fun travel posts:
Safety Tips for the Outdoor Painter
New Zealand: Painting & Playing in the God Zone
Birdwatching in New Zealand: In Search of the Rare Fiordland Penguin
How to Pack for Painting: Tips to For the Painter Traveling by Plane or Car
How to Build Pochade Box from a Cigar Box
Up Close & Personal with New Zealand’s Giant Longfin Eel
My Tour de France
Water Soluble Oil Paints: Facts, Tips & Why I Use Them
Turn an Altoid Box into a Mini Watercolor Set
I visited Yellowstone and its surroundings for only 5 days! It is such a special place, how lucky you are to be able to visit so often.Thank you for sharing your video.
Yes, Celia. I am very lucky to live so close to Yellowstone. I find a lot of inspiration each time I visit there. Thank you for enjoying the video and commenting. I really appreciate it!
Lori 🙂