Sunday, September 7, 2014

September 7, 2014

Not much today. I got up and drove out to Soda Butte and got there just as the sun was coming over the mountains, blinding everyone. At this sight, you're looking almost straight east and the morning sun makes it impossible to see anything.

So, I drove over to Slough Creek and the wolves were just settling down for the day's nap. Just a little moving around before they all disappeared in the grass.

So, I drove up to Bozeman to replace my lost water bottle and holster.

On the way back, I checked the weather and decided that I'm leaving tomorrow – Monday. They are predicting snow here Tuesday night and Wednesday morning and then cold after that. I'm not equipped for cold and I don't feel like dealing with snow just yet. And since my enthusiasm is starting to want, now is a good time to leave.

So, after I eat the steak that's on the grill right now, I'm going to go up to Cooke City and post the remaining entries. That'll be the end for this year.


September 6, 2014

More wolves and a fishing comic adventure.

I got up late and only made it to Slough Creek in the morning. There were lots of people there, so I decided to take the camera to show what I mean by too far for photos. It's about 1.5 miles out to the wolves and this is the best I could get:



You can just barely make out that it's a dog shape. I'm hoping the new scope next year will help with this problem.

Then, I went fishing. The plan was to go down the Hellroaring trail and fish where Elk creek enters the Yellowstone River. There are some very spectacular views on the hike down:



This is the area I planned to fish:




All those rocks provide shelter for the fish. The only problem was that, when got there, this is what I saw:



That's a fishing guide and he had 3 clients with him. That meant that this place was taken and I would have to find someplace else. So, I ate lunch and decided on another spot about 1/4 mile upstream on the other side of the river that I know of. So, I hiked back up to the main trail and crossed the bridge over the Yellowstone River:



The view from the bridge is pretty good, too:



Then, it was following a faint trail through the sagebrush:



And then down a wide gully to the river bank:



I was fishing and getting lots of strikes and caught a couple of 17 inch cutthroats when I had an adventure. I was out on the end of the rock point you can see in the picture above when I hooked a large fish. I got it to the rock, but I was several feet above the water, so I slid down to a small niche in the rock closer so the water. When I did, my water bottle, which was attached to my belt with a velcro loop, got scraped off, fell in the river, and started floating downstream. I resigned to having lost it and got the fish almost out of the water when the line broke. Drat! I lost both the fish and the bottle. I really didn't want to lose the bottle as it was a new one with filters built in. It also had my water bottle holster that I use all year long. Then, I noticed that the bottle was caught in an eddy about 20 feet from the rock. Maybe I could catch it on a hook and get it back. 5 casts later, I had it hooked and was reeling it in. When I got it to to the rock, I grabbed the line to lift it out of the water, so I set the fishing rod down. It immediately slid off the rock and into the river with the bottle. I started pulling on the line from the rod, but the drag on the reel was set too light and all it was doing was unreeling line, not pulling the rod up. However, if I pulled in faster, the rod would rise a little out of the water. So, I pulled as fast as I could and got hold of the rod tip. It came off the rod. More furious pulling and I finally got all the rod out, but, somewhere in the process, the water bottle came loose from the hook and went floating downstream. I was left there with the rod all in parts and a great pile of flyline all tangled around my feet.

I decided to call it a day and hiked out.



September 5, 2014

More wolves.

First thing in the morning, I drove out to Soda Butte and saw several wolf pups. The light was wrong for photos and we were a bit down the valley, so the distance was too far, as well. But here's what I got:






In the first picture, there is a fifth black pup behind the tree in the bottom left.

Then, I was going to go back to camp and do chores, but I stopped at Slough Creek and the Junction Butte pack was out all morning. I counted 8, but may have seen as many as 12. It was tough to keep tack as they were all moving around.

One interesting wolf thing happened while we were there. Wolf 889 (that's her collar number and how she's identified) seemed to be trying to join the pack. She is the sister of the alpha female of the pack and hasn't got a mate. The hunting is hard this time of year and the Junction Butte pack has lots of members to help hunt. They are much more successful than a single wolf. It remains to be seen if she is allowed in.

After lunch I went into Gardiner and updated the blog and did some email stuff, then it was back to camp for chores and dinner. After dinner, it was back out to Soda Butte where I saw 3 pups tussling for just a few seconds. Josh suggested that one woke up and had to go to the bathroom and, in the process, woke 2 others, so they had to have a wrestling match.

Friday, September 5, 2014

September 4, 2014

Surf and turf!

The day started out clear and cold. I had to scrape the frost from the truck windshield before I could leave camp. I got out to the Soda Butte area just in time to see the wolves bedding down. OK, that wasn't my main purpose, anyway.

So I went back to camp and got ready to go fishing. I changed into lighter clothes, made a sandwich and mixed up some gatorade. Then it was off to the Specimen Ridge trailhead for the hike into the Sulfur beds on the Yellowstone River. The hike in is pretty easy, but the hike out is tough. 400 foot climb in about 1/3 of a mile. It averages a 25% grade.

Once in, I moved downstream to the treas and, in the shade rigged up. I got lots of bites and looks, but couldn't catch anything for a long time. I kept moving downstream where there are lots of big boulders and pools ans still the same thing – lots of strikes, but couldn't catch anything. Finally, after about an hour, I started to catch some. I got 6 total, 2 were 18 inches, 2 were 12 and 2 were 10 inches long. I also had 2 that broke my line.

After finishing in that area, I packed up and headed upstream towards the logjam area about ½ mile away. Right where the trail comes down to the river was a family fishing with a guide. I talked to the guide and he said he wasn't planning to go up, so I kept going.

About halfway, though, I changed my mind. The first part of the hike is across an old thermal area with nothing growing. Then there is a short stretch of thin forest that gives way to a grassy flat area that goes all the way to the logjam. Soon after I came out of the forest, I looked up and saw a dead bison on the trail. There wasn't any animal around it, but I wasn't going to get any closer. So, I turned around and went back, climbed up the hill an went back to the trailhead. My fishing day was done.

Back in camp after a shower and early microwaved dinner, I decided to see about getting a photo of the Lamar Canyon wolf pack. They are the only regularly seen wolves that are any where near close enough for a reasonable photo. Once there, I met Josh, a fellow I had met here back in June. He is also doing photography and had the same idea. So, we sat and talked and the wolves never showed up where we were. They were seen briefly about a mile further down the valley, but by then, the light was gone and it was too far, anyway.

The only adventure of that part of the day was a group of bison decided to cross the road right where we were parked and come right between the cars:



We were all moving behind cars or getting in them as they were in front of us, behind us, and in the road. They moved on, though and quiet returned.
September 3, 2014

Mostly chores today.

I went out to Slough Creek early today, but nothing was happening, so I continued out to check the bison carcass. Nothing there, either. On the way out, I saw a bunch of cars at one of the western turnouts, but the wolf watchers were putting scopes away, so I just kept going. On the way back, they were at another turnout, further east, so I stopped.

There were 2 wolves stalking an injured bison. It was a large cow and she was limping badly. As the wolves got closer, she tried to fight. Then, 4 other bison came running over and rescued her. They drove off the wolves and walked with her back to the herd. The wolves left in the other direction and, eventually, went into the trees.

Almost everybody had left, and I was talking to a fellow and his mother from Iowa when we heard coyotes yipping. We went back up the hill and saw 2 of them nosing about, so we watched for a while.

After that, it was laundry, shower and some email.

I did stop back at the bison carcass and carried my big lens up the hill above the turnout to see if I can get good pictures should anything show up. It looks like I will be able to. All I need are wolves or bears on it. It's been 3 days and something has been moving it around, but it looks to be mostly intact.
September 2, 2014

I got up early and left to see if any wolves could be found. Lots were.

On the drive out, just a mile or so from the campground, I saw one jogging along the road. I tried to take a picture, but the camera settings were all wrong and I didn't get any pictures before it ran off into the woods.

At Slough Creek, the usual people were up on Dave's Hill, so I climbed up with my scope. It was cold, but clear. My truck thermometer said 35 when I left camp and there was a bit of wind at Slough Creek.

We saw lots of wolves. At one time, all 11 members of the Junction Butte pack were in view. The pups were a cloud of energy while the others took turns trying to keep up. At one time they had a tug-o-war with a piece of tarp that had blown into their area. Finally, after a couple of hours, everybody settled down and disappeared over a hill. It was a good morning.

Then, I drove into Cooke City to do some email and other internet stuff. Along the way, I stopped and checked out the bison carcass near the confluence of Soda Butte Creek and the Lamar River. It had been turned over, but nothing was feeding on it. This is strange. There should be all kinds of animals competing to get at it. I didn't even see any ravens.

One of the internet things I wanted to do was use Google Earth to measure the distances we've been seeing the wolves from. It works out to around 1.5 miles.

After lunch and a short, unintentional nap, I went fishing on Lava Creek. I caught 8 small brookies. One even jumped out of the water to get my fly that was about 3 inches above the surface. I caught him and let him go.

Tomorrow will be more wolves, I hope. The weather is supposed to be nice the rest of the week. I'm going to sign up for the campsite for 6 more nights. Right now, I'm planning to leave on the 9th and get home on the 10th. If the weather changes, I might leave earlier.
September 1, 2014

Another slow day.

I slept in and didn't leave camp until around 7:30. I went out the northeast entrance road and stopped at Slough Creek. Many cars and a bunch of people up on the hill. When I got there, it was the tail end of the morning wolf viewing. I saw 4 wolves milling around and burying something. Then, they all settled down.

I did hear that the wolves from yesterday didn't return back empty handed, so to speak. They found a well picked over antelope carcass and came back with a leg.

Then, I continued up the valley and stopped at the confluence of Soda Butte Creek and the Lamar River to see if I could find the bison carcass I had heard about. Finding the eagles and ravens pointed it out to me quickly. It's going to be a big traffic jam on the road when the bears and wolves find it as there is very little room to park and, because of the bushes, the space to see it from is very small. It is possible, however to park a ways away and walk up the hill on the other side of the road from the river and see it, so I may do that. It looks to be close enough to get good photos.

Then, it was over to Gardiner for internet and bread, but I forgot the bread. I'll get it in the store here tomorrow. While passing through Mammoth, I saw that the bull elk have begun collecting their harems:



Finally, it was back to camp for a shower, nap and chores.

The weather is finally clear, so I'll try fishing Lava Creek tomorrow.

Monday, September 1, 2014

August 31, 2014

2 wolves and an elk.

Today was spent in one place – Coyote turnout in the Lamar Valley. I got there around 6:30 in the morning and left at 7:45 in the evening leaving only once for a bathroom break. The reason for staying there was that 2 wolves had driven an elk into the river and were trying to catch her:






The pictures aren't very good because it was well over a half mile to the action. Most of the time, the elk would stand in the river and the wolves would be lying in the grass a hundred yards away or so. The elk stayed in the water because that was the safest place for her. Chest deep water on an elk means the wolves have to swim to attack her and that doesn't work. Every hour or so, the wolves would go in trying to chase her to shallower water, but she would always escape. This would go on for a few minutes until the wolves were exhausted from all that swimming and would go back to lying down.

Other times, the elk would get out of the cold water and the wolves would chase her back in. Once she got so far from the river that the wolves almost caught her before she could get back to the safety of the river.

In between, it would rain on us and then the sun would come out and then it would rain again. In the morning Doug McLaughlin, the man I'm going to buy the scope from and who takes all the photos for the wolf charts was there with hi big furry dog, Jake. I talked to him about the winter gear I'll need for a January visit to Yellowstone.

All day long, people would stop and see what we were seeing, so I would tell them the story and let them see the wolves and elk through the scope. Sometimes they would get to see a chase and sometimes just a wolf standing or stretching. Some people stayed several hours and saw several chases. Lots of people got to see their first wolf today and were pretty happy about it.

Finally around 7:30, the wolves tried again and, after failing, turned for home. They left the valley with the elk standing in the middle of the river – still alive.




August 30, 2014

Today was mostly driving because the weather was mostly rain.

It started cloudy and I went out to Slough Creek and saw the Junction Butte wolf pups for a while. They were digging holes and chasing birds and acting like puppies, except they weigh about 40 pounds and are the size of full grown German shepherds.

Then, it started to rain and the forecast was for rain all day. So, instead of fishing, I went to Bozeman and bought a tripod for the scope I'm planning to buy in January. By the time I got back to camp, it was dark and, after eating dinner, I went to bed.
August 29, 2014

Wolves and bears and bighorns. Oh, my!

This was a long and busy day. It started around 6:30 and it's now 9:30 pm and I've eaten dinner while I write this up.

First, I didn't sleep well, waking constantly, so I planned sometime during the day to go out and get some sleeping pills in case it happened again.

But the first order of business was to see if any wolves were about. I stopped at Slough Creek and there were people up on Dave's Hill, so I got my scope and slogged up there. They were seeing a lot. Most of the Junction Butte pack were out and doing all kinds of wolf things. Just before I got there, they had attacked and killed a hapless coyote that had blundered into their area. Later, one of the pups was chasing a flock of starlings as they flew around the area. Others played with the coyote's tail, about the only thing left. All in all, I saw 8 wolves, but others counted 9. This was way too far to photograph – it was at the limits of my scope.

After that, I went over to Gardiner to update the blog and get the pills and some coke. Then, it was back to camp for lunch and some chores. Before I got there, there was a bighorn ewe and lamb right along the road across from the Calcite Springs overlook parking:



After a short nap – actually, I drifted off while reading – It was down to Roosevelt Lodge for a long hot shower.

Now what to do? It's about 2:30 and I don't want a nap that might mess up tonight's sleep, so I had to come up with something. When I left Slough Creek this morning, the wolves were starting to bed down, as they normally do in mid-morning. But, these were bedding down in a very visible place. Maybe, you could still see them.

So, back to Slough Creek. I climbed up Dave's Hill and started scanning with the scope. At first, I didn't see anything, but finally, under a tree, saw what looked like a black wolf lying in the short grass. But, it could be a log – it wasn't moving and the distance and heat waves coming off the ground made it difficult to focus. I waited a while and it still didn't move. Then, I decided to see if I could see it from a knob near the road. That way, I could easily periodically check to see if it really was a wolf or not. When I got down there, a woman names Genna was sitting in her truck waiting for some kind of wolf activity. I showed her what I was seeing and she wasn't sure if it was a wolf or not, either. But, as she was studying it, a nearby gray wolf we hadn't seen turned over. OK, we've got at least one wolf down there.

Since it was easy to check if the black thing moves, I decided to go to Cooke City to check email and see about the wolves near Soda Butte. Nothing was happening there, but when I got to Round Prairie, near Pebble Creek, I saw this:



The first black bear I've seen on this trip. It wasn't just moseying along, it was making a beeline for the road. It swam the creek:



Shook itself off:



And then crossed the road behind a very surprised couple who were just passing:



After checking the email, I went back to Slough Creek. The black thing was gone, so it was a wolf. I stood around for a while but nothing was happening, so I decided to go over to the Soda Butte area. That place promises to get me the best wolf pictures of any. It's fairly close to the road and the light is good in the late afternoon and evening. All I need are wolves. Genna had come back and she followed me over. We sat around for about 2 hours and nothing showed. Rick McIntyre came and his radio collar receiver indicated that neither of the adult wolves was in the area. Other wolf watcher luminaries came by, but no wolves ever materialized. OK, I'll try again tomorrow.

In the meantime, tomorrow I'm going to fish Lava Creek above Undine Falls. It's full of brookies and fairly easy to get into and out of.










Friday, August 29, 2014

August 28, 2014

Today was chores and driving. Lots of driving.

I needed to do laundry, so instead of going out to see wolves, I went straight to Canyon and did the clothes. I got back to camp around 10:00.

My legs were hurting from yesterday's climb in and out of Calcite Springs, I decided to go for a drive.

The day before had pointed out 2 things I could use. My fishing sunglasses are wrap-around types and fit fairly close. Because of the lack of air circulation, they fog up easily, making them useless after a hike. I needed to do something about that. The other was that one of my water filters that I use to make the river water drinkable had a notice that said to not use the filter if it had been frozen. Well, it spent all last winter in the back of the truck in the garage, to it definitely had been frozen. I needed to replace that.

I had gotten the filter at REI in Boulder, so, when I was getting gas, I asked the girl inside if Bozeman had one and she said yes. So, it was off to Bozeman – about a 2 ½ hour drive. They had the filter and an anti-fog spray that may help my sunglasses problem. After lunch, it was back on the road.

I came back through West Yellowstone and than across the park back to camp. All in all, nearly 300 miles of driving today.

One leg still hurts, so I'll hold off fishing for a couple of days and see if I can't get good photos of the Lamar Canyon wolves.
August 27, 2014

I finally got to really go fishing today.

First, I went back out to Soda Butte to see if anything was visible, but nothing showed. They had been seen earlier, but were all back in the trees when I arrived.

So, I went back to camp and made a lunch to take with me down into Calcite Springs. I hadn't been in there for 2 years, and the last time I was there, the fishing wasn't nearly as good as previous years. With the road construction, nobody was able to get in there last year, so I was hoping things had improved. One concern I had, though, was that I had seen somebody fishing in there with a guide. If the guides are taking people in there regularly, the fishing will probably degrade.

The hike down was mostly uneventful, except a big tree has fallen over the place where the trail goes over the edge of the canyon, blocking it. I had to find a new way down to the first part of the trail.

There was no worry about the fishing being bad. I landed 15 cutthroat in 2 hours and didn't even go down to the logjam. The largest was 18 inches, and 2 more were 14 inches. The rest were in the 10 to 12 inch range. Maybe it was because they haven't seen my ugly red humpy flies in 2 years, they were so enthusiastic. I'll go back in about a week.



After a rest and a shower, I went out to Soda Butte. It turned into a circus. There were around 20 cars at the same turnout as yesterday waiting for some activity. Then a woman came up and said she had seen a black wolf moving away from us down beyond Soda Butte. We sent her to tell Rick McIntyre, the wolf biologist, who was just a hundred feet away. Soon after that, Rick left heading that way. We stayed around for a while when Laurie Lyman, one of the people who help Rick, stopped by. She was talking with him on the radio and he was saying he was seeing the whole pack and telling her where to look. After a while, it became evident that there were too many ridges and trees blocking our view, so we all piled into our vehicles and headed down to where he was. Of course, by then the wolves had moved into a dense forest and we only got sporadic glimpses of them. Then, they were spotted further up towards where we had been waiting originally. So, we all hopped back into our cars and moved further up the valley. By now it was getting dark and I called it quits. I saw 3 pups for about 10 seconds.
August 26, 2014

Today I got to watch wolves for over 2 hours, sort of.

I got up around 7:00 am and drove out past Soda Butte on the northeast entrance road. There was a large group of cars parked in and around a turnout, so I joined them. They were seeing the Lamar Canyon pack. This is a newly formed pack of just 2 adults and 6 pups. The only problem was that there was dense fog lying just over the area we were looking into. You would see these ghostly wolf shapes moving about and then the fog would settle and you couldn't see anything. Finally, the fog lifted and we got about an hour of 40 lb “puppies” playing. In all, we saw 5 pups and the mother. Dad was out hunting somewhere.

I went back in the evening and was rewarded with a 2 second view of one of the pups moving between trees. This area seems close enough that I may be able to get photos, so I'll keep trying. They seem to be staying here for a while, according to the wolf biologists.

The rest of the day was camp chores – waste water disposal and filling the fresh water tank.

Tuesday, August 26, 2014

August 25, 2014

Well, the weather is finally getting better. I was able to fish a little this afternoon in Tower Creek, that runs beside the campground. I caught 8 small rainbow trout and had several more get away.

The morning was spent in a nearly futile search to see wildlife. Each place I went either nothing had been seen or they had just gone into the woods and weren't visible.

At Slough Creek, though, there was a close encounter with antelope. There were several in the area and, just as I was getting ready to leave, a male joined them. They all skirted the turnout and the male posed for me. He was about 50 feet away:




The original image is so sharp, you can see his eyelashes. At the point that photo was taken, he was looking to take the group across the road, but traffic was making him hesitant. So, he took them back around the turnout:




And crossed there.
August 24, 2014

Still cold and rainy. Several weather reports say it's supposed to start clearing tomorrow and be nice on Tuesday.

That huge motorhome was noisy last night. Their heater sounds like a jet taking off and it kept waking me. So, about 7:00 I decided to just get up and see if the Junction Butte wolf pack were visible. When I got there, the people said there was a single wolf laying curled up out in the open. We watched it sleep for an hour. People came by and helped us watch. It was probably 2 miles or more away.

After a while, it sat up, howled a bit – and we faintly heard the pack answer. Then, it walked down the hill and out of sight behind another hill.

The only other things were a group of 3 bison swam across the Yellowstone River:



And an antelope posed for me:



This evening, a fox made the rounds through the campgound looking for ground squirrels.




It would stop and stand completely motionless for a minute before pouncing.

In contrast to the monster motorhome that was here last night, this camper is here tonight:




It is a couple from Austria. They shipped the camper to Argentina and then went to the southern tip of South America. From there, they drove all the way, except for going around the Panama Canal, to the Arctic Ocean in Alaska. They are now on their way to Baltimore to put the camper on a ship and head for home. They've been on the road for nearly a year now. My trailer, which is way bigger, got pretty small after 3 months last summer. I can't imagine living in that for a year.


August 23, 2014

Not much today. It's still cold and rainy so it was a lot of driving around looking for bears or wolves and not being very successful. So, I went to Roosevelt Lodge and got a nice long hot shower. Then I went to Gardiner and updated the blog and got some groceries.

After that, it was back down to the Hayden Valley to see if there was anything left of the bison, but all I saw was an immature bald eagle on the spot. Nothing of the bison could be seen.

When I finally got back to camp, this was parked in the next campsite:



It's a huge off-road motorhome from Europe. The couple shipped it from France to Nova Scotia and are traveling all the way to the tip of South America. It just towers over my trailer.

Saturday, August 23, 2014

August 22, 2014

It's still chilly and rainy. I decided to put off fishing until it clears up. The Lamar River is all muddy and is muddying the Yellowstone downstream from the confluence. The small streams are all swollen.

This morning I went out to Slough Creek and saw 6 members of the Junction Butte wolf pack. They were over a mile away, so there wasn't any chance for photos.

Then, in the afternoon I went down to the Hayden Valley to see if there were still bears on the bison carcass. There were. There were 2 grizzlies and, after they left, several more came up. At one point, 5 adult grizzlies came around a hill into view together.

During a lull in the activity, the rangers went down to the carcass to see the condition. They said it was almost gone. This was after 2 days.

Lots of people were coming and going and I was getting them to see the bears through the scope. One college age girl from Baltimore had told her friend that she really wanted to see a bear, but didn't want to get her hopes up. She got to see 4 and was so happy she was crying. The day before I had told the man from Victoria where he might see wolves – his daughter really wanted to see wolves – and they came back and said that they had seen them right where I said to go.

I didn't get back to camp until around 9:00pm.

It was a good day even if I didn't get to go fishing yet. It's supposed to clear up Monday or Tuesday, so I'll wait until then.

August 21, 2014

My alarm clock accidentally got set somehow last night and sent off at 5:30. I dozed for another half hour and got up at 600. The weather forecast for today was chilly and rainy, so I decided not to go fishing, yet, but to see what became of the dead bison in the Hayden Valley.

When I got there, 2 grizzlies were feeding on it – a female and her yearling cub :



I was up on a hilltop with several dozen other people across the road from the river. We had a good view of much of the northern part of the valley, the river itself and the road. Much entertainment was had when we knew something was about to cross the road but the oncoming cars didn't.

It was raining lightly off and on all morning.

After an hour or so, these bears left and a coyote that had been lurking around the edges became active. You can see it in the upper right of the picture above. It seemed to be more interested in hunting for ground squirrels or something than feeding on the bison. After about a half hour, it, too, left.

Just as I was thinking things were done for a while, someone pointed out a grizzly swimming the Yellowstone River towards our side. After some interference by people standing in the path it wanted to take, it crossed the road to the carcass and began feeding. Why people would want to interfere with a grizzly bear getting to its dinner is beyond me.

This bear was much larger and handled the half-ton bison with ease:






Around 10:00, this bear left and I decided that was enough for the morning. Lots of people had looked through my scope and binoculars, I let a couple from Switzerland use their camera on my big lens and take some photos, and a girl from Victoria, British Columbia worked the scope and took some pictures through it with her cell phone. Everybody left happy.

I went back to camp and had lunch. Then it was more driving around seeing pretty much nothing. I stopped in the Yellowstone Association in Gardiner and got an new wolf chart and learned that a wolf pair in the Lamar Valley did have pups, but I don't know where they are. Finding them will be a project for another day.

Later in the afternoon, I went back to the Hayden Valley and a new bear was on the carcass, but the traffic was so bad, you couldn't get closer than about ½ mile, so, after watching for a few minutes, I turned around and left.

On the way back, I saw a bunch of pelicans in the river and took some pictures



Then, it was back to camp for dinner. Just as I was cleaning up, a terrific thunderstorm came up and pelted the campground for a good hour. It's quit, now, though.

As the afternoon wore on, it got sunnier and sunnier, so I'm thinking tomorrow will be a fishing day.
August 20, 2014

Tower Fall Campground, Yellowstone

I made it here around 10:30 am and, as expected, several suitable campsites were available. By 11:30, I was all set up and eating lunch.

The rest of the day was driving around checking streams and hunting for wildlife.

I saw mountain goats on Baronette Peak and looked for osprey and eagles, but only saw one osprey.

On the way in, there was a big crowd in Hayden Valley and I assumed they were seeing a grizzly bear. While watching the mountain goats, I talked to a couple who had spent 2 days there watching the bears. There was a bison kill and, according to this couple, at one time 5 grizzlies in the area. So, later in the afternoon I went down to see. The carcass was almost gone, but there were 2 bears still in the area. One huge one was in some trees sleeping, but the other was on the edge of the trees. Almost as soon as I got the camera set up, it got up and left. I was able to track it for a while, but then I moved down the road a bit to get a better view. It never got really close, but I got a few pictures:



It appears that there may be another dead bison there, so the area may be good for bears and maybe wolves over the next 2 or 3 days.

It was starting to rain as the bear climbed a ridge and moved out of sight, so I went back to camp and had a shower and dinner.



August 19, 2014

Hatchet campground, east of Grand Teton National Park



Once again, I drove part way so I can get a good campsite in Tower Campground. As usual, the campground was almost empty when I got here and only half empty by dark.

Thursday, June 26, 2014

June 26, 2014

Today is gray, rainy and chilly.  I've seen 3 black bears and just missed 2 wolves this morning.

This is my last day in the park for this trip.  I'll be heading home Friday and arriving late Saturday afternoon.
June 25, 2014

It was a busy day. Each time I tried to do something, I kept getting sidetracked.

It started at the Blacktail site around 6:30. It was densely foggy, but just around the turnout we were looking from. ½ mile either way on the road was clear. After about 30 minutes, the fog cleared, but not much was happening and it stayed that way till 9:00. We managed to see 5 wolves - 2 adults and the 3 pups for a total of maybe 1 minute.

So, it was off to Cooke City to update the blog. But, I stopped outside the Ranger Station in the Lamar Valley to see what a bunch of people were looking at. It turned out to be coyote pups – 4 of them. The den is under a large rock high up on the hillside. I had learned about this den about 4 years ago, but hadn't seen anything there since. The pictures are not very good as the pups are small and a long way away – about 200 yards:






While I was there, a couple I had seen in several other places came along and we watched them until the went behind the rock. Then, we noticed people looking across the valley at what turned out to be a grizzly bear high up on Specimen Ridge – probably 3 miles away.

After the bear went over the ridge, I packed up and headed on my way. 2 miles down the road, I stopped again. This time is was a herd of bison, including calves, swimming across the Lamar River:



The current was so swift it seemed that they would get swept away, but they all made it. I have video of it and will try to upload it to youtube when I get home.


I finally made it to Cooke City, got the blog updated, and started back to camp for lunch. One more delay was to be had. Baby antelope near the Specimen Ridge trailhead:



Finally, I could get back to camp and lunch. Well, not quite. I had told the couple at the coyote den about the falcons near Calcite Springs and, as I passed, I saw their car, so I stopped. The falcons, chicks and all, were gone. We talked and looked about a bit and decided that something must have gotten into the nest. This story has more to it, though.

After lunch and a nap, I decided to go to Gardiner for some groceries. On the way out, I saw several very small elk calves in Mammoth Hot Springs, so, on the way back, I stopped to photograph them. I parked the truck and walked over. But they were all lying down and just looked like brown lumps on the green grass so I didn't take any pictures. As I got back to the truck, I saw it had been taken over by this:



It was a very angry bluebird. It would fly up to the window and attack its reflection and then go back and perch on the mirror. 2 men walking came around the back of the truck and scared it away, but it just went over to the other side of the truck and started attacking that side. I kept inching closer and photographing until finally it flew away.

Traffic through Mammoth was a mess, so I took a shortcut through a residential area. There I saw several people photographing something in a tree. I had heard of owls in the area and, sure enough, this was one of them. I got the big lens out and got sidetracked again:



I stopped back at the Blacktail site on the way back to camp and stayed for about an hour, but nothing happened, so I left. On the ay back, there was a crowd gathering at Floating Island Lake, so I parked just down the road and waked back. It was a black bear high up on the hillside above the lake. No pictures, I just looked for a bit and left.

I finally got back to camp and, before going into the trailer, talked to a man camped across the road. In the discussion, he mentioned that he had seen the falcons, including the chicks, at Calcite Springs. I asked when he saw them and he said around 3:00 pm – 2 or 3 hours after I had seen the empty nest! I'm going to check it out in the morning and see if they are back or not.

Finally, I got into the trailer and got dinner and prepared the photos for the blog and wrote this up. It's now about 9:00 pm and I still have to do the dishes before bed.

It's been a busy day.

Wednesday, June 25, 2014

June 25, 2014

Just a quick post - just this morning I've seen 5 wolves, a grizzly bear, 4 coyote pups and a herd of bison swimming the Lamar River.  Pictures later.
June 24, 2014

Ducks!

The day started at 6:00 am and I went over to the Blacktail site to see what was happening. Nothing was happening. Some people had been there for an hour and seen nothing. I stood around for about 30 minutes and still nothing was happening, so I decided that today was not going to be a wolf day.

Several times, I had heard about some harlequin ducks down near Le Hardy Rapids, so I decided to try to photograph them. All I knew was they would sit on a rock in the Yellowstone River near the base of the rapids, so I went down and started looking. At the first turnout below the rapids, I found this:



I don't know what kind of ducks these are, my books don't seem to have them; but they clearly aren't harlequin ducks. (today, the 25th, I learned that they are mergansers.  Thanks, Bill). So, more searching was needed. I moved up the the turnout right at the bottom of the rapids and, after a bit of walking around, found them:






The rest of the morning was spent driving out the east entrance road and napping.

Along the way, was this scene:



I planned to check out the North Fork of the Shoshone river, but I got to Sylvan Lake, about halfway to the east entrance, and stopped. It was a pretty lake, so I just sat looking at it for a while. I got attacked by a nap and the next thing I knew, it was an hour later. So, back to camp for lunch.

Then, I drove out to Cooke City to use the internet to measure the distance again out to the wolf rendezvous site, using a different method. This time I got 1.75 miles. I think this is a more accurate measurement. On the way back, I saw 6 mountain goats on Baronette Peak and this duck near Pebble Creek:



Then, it was back to camp for a shower and a grilled steak for dinner. It's been thundering and raining off and on all evening, so I've been inside reading.
June 23, 2014

After yesterday's rest, I felt much better today. The weather was much better, as well - sunny and into the 70s. It was also the best day yet for wolves and bears.

I started by going out to the Blacktail site and was immediately rewarded with seeing 2 wolves laying out in the open. Then, we began seeing others. By the time the morning was done, we had seen all 10 wolves in the pack – 7 adults and 3 pups. Partway through the morning, Rick McIntyre and Jeremy, one of the wolf researchers came by and stayed for over an hour. According to Jeremy, one of the wolves we saw this morning was a new, to the researchers, member of the pack. At the time, they didn't know anything about this wolf – male or female, where it came from, age, or anything. This isn't a very good photo of it, but it was around a mile away:




Another wolf – a black juvenile – was also in that area and posed for me:




Then, I was going to go to Cooke City for internet and talk to Doug McLaughlin about buying a new scope next year. Mine has served me well, but I have been getting more and more disappointed with its limitations, so I think it's time to move up.

But, I got distracted. The bear with 3 cubs was near the road and I got this photo:



The focus is wrong, but it's still pretty good.

Then there was a wolf in the Lamar Valley.

Then, there was another bear near Pebble Creek:



And then it was lunch time. So, I went back to camp and ate. Then, I finally got out to Cooke City, and I found Doug and talked to him about the scope. He was very helpful. If things don't change, I'll by it after the first of the year.

On the way back, there was an antelope near the road:



Then, it was back to camp for a snack and a nap. Then, I went back out to the blacktail site and saw all 3 pups briefly.

On the way back to camp there was another bear at Phantom Lake:



Along with a couple more bears, I saw 7 today and had 14 wolf sightings. That's a pretty good day.