Terri’s latest Sunday Stills challenge is Hooves and Claws in honor of National Bison Day which was celebrated on Saturday, November 1, 2025. She tells us that “this week’s Sunday Stills photo challenge is not just about bison, but about members of the animal kingdom that possess HOOVES and CLAWS.”
I decided to focus only on animals with hooves and mostly on bison and buffalo. Sadly, the hooves aren’t visible in all these images. The header image is of a small herd of American Bison at Land Between the Lakes in Kentucky.
Bison at Custer State Park, South Dakota
Wood Bison in Yukon Territory, Canada
Water Buffalo in Costa Rica
Budweiser Clydesdales
Many thanks to Terri for her Sunday Stills challenge Hooves and Claws
Terri’s latest Sunday Stills challenge is World Animal Day which was celebrated on October 4, 2025. Two animals that were on my bucket list were Whooping Cranes in Texas and Elk in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Seeing these animals in the wild was an amazing experience.
Whooping Cranes
According to the International Crane Foundation – North America, Whooping Cranes were near extinction with fewer than 20 individuals in 1941. Today, over 849 Whooping Cranes exist in the entire world.
We traveled to the Texas Gulf Coast one year hoping to see some of the Whooping Cranes who winter in and around the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge. These birds breed at Canada’s Wood Buffalo National Park and migrate to Texas every winter. Today there are more than 500 of these beautiful birds.
We found these magnificent Whooping Cranes near Goose Island State Park, south of the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge. I posted about this amazing experience at Magnificent Endangered Whooping Cranes.
Pair of Whooping Cranes, near Aransas National Wildlife Refuge, Texas
Cataloochee Valley Elk
One fall we traveled to Waynesville, North Carolina in search of Elk in Cataloochee Valley on the eastern side of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. I posted about our Elk viewing adventure at Cataloochee Valley Elk.
In February, 2001, the National Park Service began an experimental reintroduction of elk into Cataloochee Valley by releasing 25 elk from the Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area on the Tennessee-Kentucky border. Another 27 elk from Canada were released in 2002. Today there are approximately 200 elk.
The breeding season, also known as the rutting season, is in the fall. During this time the bull elk make their bugling calls to attract females and challenge other bulls.
Female Elk, Cataloochee Valley, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, North Carolina
Many thanks to Terri for her Sunday Stills challenge World Animal Day
Let’s take a walk on the wild side with Egidio’s challenge “Going Wild”. I love being in wilderness areas and photographing the landscapes, wildlife, wildflowers, and birds I see there. For this challenge I chose images from my three favorite wilderness areas.
Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge, Georgia
The Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge is closer to my home than any of my other favorite wilderness areas. We have been there many times and always enjoy the wildlife and birds we see there. The butterflies on wild thistle in the header image was taken in the Okefenokee.
Young alligator in the Okefenokee National Wildlife RefugeGreat Egret in the Okefenokee Swamp
Everglades National Park, Florida
We have visited Everglades National Park in Florida many times through the years. There are several entrances to the park with Flamingo being the most remote area. The Everglades is a bird lovers dream with many varieties all throughout the park. No matter where you go in the Everglades you are likely to see alligators.
Egrets and Spoonbills gathering in a pond near the Flamingo Campground in Everglades National ParkThis alligator ignores the human invaders of his territory at Shark Valley in Everglades National Park
Denali National Park, Alaska
Denali National Park is the most remote wilderness area I have ever visited. I loved the feeling of being miles away from civilization while we were there. The scenery is breathtaking and the wildlife abundant. Most of the wildlife we saw was too far away for a good photo even with my telephoto lens.
Polychrome Overlook, Denali National Park, AlaskaMoose in the Denali Wilderness
Celebrating 12 Years of Wandering Dawgs
I started the Wandering Dawgs blog in March, 2013 as a way to document our 4 month RV journey from Georgia to Alaska and back. In the beginning, the only people who read my posts were friends and family. Today, I have blogging friends from all around the world! I recently celebrated the 12th anniversary of Wandering Dawgs! Many thanks to everyone who reads my posts and leaves me comments.
Ritva’s challenge is Portraits. She says “Whether you choose to ask a stranger, do a self-portrait, take the portrait of a friend, family member, or acquaintance, or photograph animals and birds, the goal is to connect with another person or subject and tell their story through your image.”
I enjoy nature and wildlife photography and am not comfortable asking strangers if I can take their picture. I didn’t have to ask this young man to pose for a portrait. I was holding up my phone taking pictures of a Junkanoo Band from the Bahamas performing as part of a St. Patrick’s weekend celebration when he walked over to me and posed. He liked having his picture made!
I’m much more comfortable capturing bird and other animal portraits.
This bear and the female elk seemed to pose for me.
I will end with my favorite portrait of Blondie, our beloved Yellow Lab who was part of our lives for many years. She’s been gone since 2017. I still miss her every day.
For this challenge Anne asks us to share what has enriched and/or changed our life.
I’ve had many changes in my life but what changed my life the most was surviving ovarian cancer. In July, 2010 I began a ten month battle with ovarian cancer. I am grateful that my cancer has not returned since I finished treatment.
Most cancer survivors I know say that the cancer changed them. I know it changed me. I look at the world differently now. I have learned that life can change in the blink of an eye and no one knows what tomorrow will bring. I have learned that life is too short to put things off. I have learned it is important to enjoy life every day. I know that every day is a gift.
Two of my passions are travel and photography. One of the things that kept me going during treatments was planning an RV trip to visit family and visit a few bucket list places. We began the trip two weeks after I received the good news that I was in remission.
The RV trip was just what we both needed. We called it the “Celebration Journey”. Every day was an adventure and I was never at a loss for something interesting to photograph. The header image of the two seahorses was taken at the Tennessee Aquarium in Chattanooga near the end of our journey. The rest of the images are of some of the highlights from the trip.
We camped with a view of Cypress trees at Lake Bistineau State Park, LouisianaWe met some Texas Lounghorns at Copper Breaks State Park, TexasWe explored the Petroglyphs at Petroglyphs National Monument in New Mexico with my brother and his wifeWe visited the Great Sand Dunes National Park in ColoradoWe saw lots of Elk in Rocky Mountain National Park, ColoradoWe saw herds of Bison in Custer State Park, South DakotaWe went to the headwaters of the Mississippi River at Itasca State Park in Minnesota with our daughter’s family
After we returned home I continued to enjoy my photography and we have been on many more fun adventures since then.
Wandering Dawgs 