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This morning as I lay in bed trying to drag myself out and head for the gym I pondered what I wanted to do today besides work.  My wife and younger daughter were visiting family and my college girl had headed back to school for the final push before she ends her Junior year.  The forecast was for rain and snow believe it or not and as I drove to the gym it was still too dark to determine what the morning would hold weather wise.

On my way home from the gym the sky was blue with just a cloud or two and it did not look like weather to me but in this part of the Rockies this is subject to change by the hour.  I headed home, changed my clothes, grabbed a camera (wrong lens again) and headed to my favorite coffee shop.  Paid for my cup of joe and headed north of town.  For the most part all of the snow in the valley is just about gone or melting fast with some patches lying around.  As I passed the National Elk Refuge I was surprised to see so many elk just hanging out.  But then again, the snow was gone, the sun was out – why not just chill.

One thing that I like about this time of the year is the solitude you can find within a few miles of your home.  For the most part I did not run into anyone this morning.  Lonely? Nope!  I had all of my friends around on this morning.  I was surrounded on three sides for a while by three different groups of elk.  I wish I had a better lens with me but I hope you can get the picture (so to speak).  I sat at one point and watched a very healthy coyote hunt some ground varmints and I actually got a shot of him mid-air as he dived through a snow patch to grab his pray.  You can see it in the pics above – very cool thing to watch.

There are no leaves on the trees yet but you can start to see the buds plump up in anticipation of warmer weather.  Although I did not get any pics of moose they were hanging around this morning but just too far away for the lens I had.  I kind of marveled at the stark contrast of the still brown grass, leafless trees, snow-covered mountains, all against the blue sky.  I tried to get some shots that help illustrate this very thing.  At one point I just stopped and sat down in the middle of the road and took the shot of the yellow line.  All alone for sure!

Some of the other pics came from the Mormon Row area as they had just opened this stretch of road again.  Along this small stretch of road you can see all kinds of activity this time of year.  This is where I got the shot of the coyote and a couple of lone trees as well.  Its funny, this part of the valley is so spectacular at any time of the year and I never get tired of just hanging out up here.  Very soon the grasses will start to green up and the trees will burst with color.  At just the right time Mother Nature will speak to the wild flowers and summer will be on.

If you are planning to visit this part of the country this summer you need to visit this area at least once while you stay.  Feel free to contact me via email if you have questions about where to go while you visit – I am always happy to help share what I know.  The summer of 2012 is shaping up to be a fabulous one especially if you are into fishing.  Unlike last year when we had record amounts of snow and a very cool spring that left our rivers crazy mad – this year is looking awesome.

Watch for future Morning Coffee posts as the season changes and transforms into summer.  We hope to share with you some really cool stuff this year.  Feel free to email me at “sales@tetonmarketing.com” if you have questions. Oh and one last thing… Please slow down while visiting as we lost 6 moose this winter to automobile accidents.  People have been driving way too fast – besides you will miss too much if you are in a hurry.