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… it looks like a straight shot on the map from Gardiner to Great Falls via US 89 … and .. you misread those contours and misread the actual vertical experience of the trip!  Travel from Gardiner to Livingston was as much a delight on the way out, as the way in — elk, osprey,Continue reading “You know you’re in Montana when …”

I craning my neck to catch every angle as the time in Wonderland is coming to a close. Time feels precious, even though I’ll be in Montana again and a generous invitation from Bob. Then a white wolf (not the same but an example) cresting near the top of the ridge near/past Blacktail, maybe beforeContinue reading “White Wolf!”

Back to Slough Creek from the moose and osprey … nada from the restroom/dumpster area either out to the carcass or out to the den.  But then we walk up to pre-Bob’s Nob, a gravelly uneven but roaded hike for “only” one-quarter mile or so.  Bob carries his 50 lbs of camera equipment & tripod,Continue reading “An Exhausted Mom”

So we drive on down the Northeast Entrance Road further into the Lamar Valley, as someone (John) says they’ve seen Moose past Conjunction Flow, I think along Soda Butte Creek.  We see four, though the others say there are 8 moose out there.  Get them in the field glasses … and immediately think of RukContinue reading “Moose and Birds”

Friday, April 23, 2021 At breakfast, I talk with Scott a bit more.  His wife, the healthiest eater he knows, makes some awesome protein bars, which we all devour.  Scott leaves by 5:45AM … Bob and I are out the door around 6:15AM. Snow!  Cloud fog …  Really grateful Bob is driving.  He drives theseContinue reading “The Wolf Clan”

Finishing up, April 22, 2021 On we go … with some obscure tips — The Park has one-holer restrooms … and Purell dispensers.  Bob’s wisdom from decades of field work is, if you see a restroom use it.  You don’t know where the next one might be or how long you might be in anContinue reading “Odds and Ends of a YNP Outing”

We arrive near Junction Butte at the pullout with restroom … the Junction Butte pack’s den is on a slope north of the road facing south (steep hill, former coyote den, squared by four sets of evergreens) and a kill on the south side of the road where we saw two blacks and maybe oneContinue reading “Slough Creek / Junction Butte Pack”

Further down the northern road on the April 22 evening visit, lotsa bison and people on either side!  People parked and waited for a two year old bear in either Phantom Lake or the next one (the next one, I think) to come out.  It had been denning under the road somehow … can’t rememberContinue reading “Phantom Lake”

After an early dinner on April 22, we started from Gardiner/Roosevelt Arch then on to Mammoth Hot Springs and then along the northern route, which is comprised of the Grand Loop Road until Tower Junction and the Northeast Entrance Road further east. We saw lotsa elk and bison (one calf), a few bighorn sheep, andContinue reading “First Visit: Black Wolf Running”