Kevin Palmer

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  • It’s a beautiful time of year around here. Every day the hills get a little greener and the snowline in the mountains climbs a little higher. Last week I hiked to the top of this hill near Dayton to watch the sunset. From here the northern end of the Bighorn Mountains can be seen stretching into Montana. Just as the sky was at it’s most colorful I started hearing the sound of hooves pounding the dirt in the distance. The sound got closer until one cow after another came running down the hillside on the other side of the fence. This continued for several minutes as I soon lost count. At the end was a cowboy on an ATV with his dog chasing the last few members of the herd. It was loud, dusty, and smelly, but fun to watch. I had no idea a cattle drive was going to happen, but don’t think I could have planned it better if I tried. It was probably the Wyomingest sunset I’ve ever seen.
    Cattle Drive Sunset
  • The radar showed hail up to softball sized falling in this area. But I was glad for these horses sake that it missed them.
    Wet Horse Rainbow
  • The Wolf Moon of January rises above grazing cattle while the colors of sunset fade away.
    Under a Wolf Moon
  • I encountered this storm in Joliet, Montana, while driving to Red Lodge. It was spitting out plenty of lightning bolts, but I wasn't successful in capturing any.
    Storm in Joliet
  • With Nebraska having the highest cow population density of any state, it's not difficult to find a cow at the end of the rainbow.
    What Are You Looking At
  • While driving through the mountains, I spotted a couple moose in the distance. They were grazing among the lupine wildflowers at the edge of the forest. Almost as soon as I pulled over, this cow jumped over the fence and crossed the road right behind me, followed by her calf. I was glad I had my camera ready with the telephoto lens attached. A moose on 4 legs is already the tallest mammal in North America. But judging by the fence posts, this moose was 8-9 feet tall standing on it's hind legs. The collar this cow is wearing is part of a 2-3 year moose ecology study by the University of Wyoming.
    Leaping Moose
  • While driving through the mountains, I spotted a couple moose in the distance. They were grazing among the lupine wildflowers at the edge of the forest. Almost as soon as I pulled over, this cow jumped over the fence and crossed the road right behind me, followed by her calf. I was glad I had my camera ready with the telephoto lens attached. A moose on 4 legs is already the tallest mammal in North America. But judging by the fence posts, this moose was 8-9 feet tall standing on it's hind legs. The collar this cow is wearing is part of a 2-3 year moose ecology study by the University of Wyoming.
    Moose Crossing
  • It may have been past midnight, but this roadside pond was teeming with life that was very much awake. Green eyes reflected back at me as cows shuffled around. Bats swooped through the air to catch the swarms of insects. The calls of an owl, geese, killdeer, and other unidentified birds added to the chorus of crickets and squeaking mice. The water was a near perfect mirror, which is a rare sight in windy Wyoming. Earlier in the spring it’s necessary to wait until the early morning hours to see the Milky Way. But at this time of year the core of the galaxy is up completely by the time it gets dark. The shooting star was just an unexpected bonus. There was no meteor shower happening, but on any given night about 6 meteors are visible per hour from dark skies. These are called sporadic meteors, and somehow I captured 2 bright ones in less than an hour. In the center of the image is Jupiter next to the fainter planet Saturn.
    Second Sporadic
  • Paved roads were few and far between. Cell phone signal was non-existent. Hills and bluffs sometimes blocked the view. Mosquitoes swarmed around me and stubborn cows formed a roadblock. These are some of the challenges of chasing storms in Montana. Elsewhere crowds of storm chasers may converge on a supercell. But here it’s not uncommon to be the only one on a storm, and I feel an extra responsibility to report what I see to the National Weather Service. When everything comes together just right the supercells here can be truly incredible. This storm first went up over the Crazy Mountains before tracking east along the Musselshell River, into a part of Big Sky Country I’d never been. It was one of the roundest, most obviously rotating supercells I've ever seen. Evening sunlight snuck in underneath to turn the hail shaft gold. Just when the storm was at its most photogenic I came upon this scene of an abandoned house on the open prairie. It was exactly what I was looking for.
    Melstone Supercell
  • In late September a high speed solar wind stream reached earth, causing a G1 geomagnetic storm. The aurora borealis became visible in the northern part of the United States. Around here the weather was completely clear and there was no moon making conditions perfect for viewing the northern lights. I went to the grasslands outside of Lodge Grass, Montana, where there was very little light pollution. The aurora was at it's best shortly before midnight. While the pillars danced from right to left, nearby cows mooed and coyotes howled. Quite a few meteors and satellites lit up the sky as well. The geomagnetic storm is ongoing and the aurora may be visible again tonight.
    Lodge Grass Aurora
  • I stumbled upon this little guy, lying motionless near the top of a mountain at 9,000 feet. There was a large herd of more than 100 elk in the valley below. But I wasn't expecting to find this baby elk bedded down until I nearly stepped on it. As snow melts in the spring elk migrate to higher elevations, where cows typically give birth at the end of May. The calves weigh about 35 lbs and are able to stand up within minutes of being born. They are kept hidden away for their first couple of weeks before later rejoining the herd. It was soon apparent where the mother was, as I heard her barking at me from down below. After I left she came back to retrieve her baby.
    Newborn Elk
  • A moose cow and calf share a look while grazing on a snowy morning in Grand Teton National Park.
    Moose In a Snowstorm
  • Among the forests at the rim of the Grand Canyon lives a large population of elk. They have lost their natural fear of humans, and will often approach at close range. This can lead to dangerous encounters especially during rutting season in the fall or when there are calves to protect. Late one morning this elk wandered through my campsite looking for food. I saw her rise up on her hind legs to get to the hard to reach parts of the juniper trees. Her balance was impressive and when she did it a second time I was ready with my camera. The average elk cow weighs 500 pounds and consumes at least 15 pounds of food per day.
    Standing Elk