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.