In Search of the Snow Leopard at Yol Valley National Park

Today I was going in search of the Snow Leopard. I've been very fortunate in always finding the things I've gone in search of in the past. But this was going to be a very, very long shot. We headed to the Yol Valley National Park, but by the looks of it we really could have been heading anywhere in Mongolia.

The park was beautiful and so was the weather.







And then we had a sighting, the Ibex, and main prey of the Snow Leopard.



I had plenty of batteries and more then enough room on my memory cards. I was totally prepared for a Snow Leopard to come running and take out an Ibex for dinner. So I waited....

And waited....

Today I would have to go home empty handed. But that's all part of traveling, sometimes you win and sometimes you lose. But at least I was out here trying, experiencing, living. Or maybe I really was cursed for entering that shaman's class room back at Lake Hovsgol.



Back at Three Camel Lodge with my batteries drained and my memory cards full of nothing more then slow grazing Ibex, we enjoyed happy hour up on the ridge above the lodge.





There were some familiar faces who entertained us.

The sunset was breathtaking.



I would be leaving early in the morning so I had to settle up my bill. The good news is that they take visa. However, if you want to pay with a visa card then you also have to provide a car and driver so you can drive to the top of the mountain in order to get a signal for the credit card machine. Fortunately I had both, so we headed out in to the darkness.

Success, we were high enough and it was a clear night.

What a perfect way to end things. I was so far out that the only way to pay my bill was to drive to the top of a mountain in hopes of finding a signal. Yeah, this was my kind of adventure, my kind of story.