Sunday March 2
Easy flight. The shuttle driver who drove me from the airport to the hotel said there had been very little snow this year. It’s been so warm that one bear came out of hibernation around the start of the year (he said).
Monday March 3
Next morning we met our group and guide. There were actually two groups doing identical tours – our guide was Matt. We ran into the other group on and off during the day, and at dinner.
Our group consisted of two separate couples from Florida (one of whom was on their third or fourth visit to the area, and were day-dreaming about getting a cabin in the area), a father and son from Idaho (previously from Texas), and a gregarious Australian, who had just spent three weeks in Alaska. He was doing this tour, and then heading back home.
We were a well-traveled group (most of us – one Florida couple had kids, which limited travel) and we go along well. Everyone had a good attitude as were ready to watch wolves, or anything else the park had to offer.
We drove to Yellowstone (stopping for lunch) and into the park. On the way we ask Matt what the wolf situation was. He said “making us work”. It’s breeding season, so the wolves could be anywhere. We stopped at Mammoth Springs to see the travertine terraces and some buffalo. We drove a little way down the road and found a gorgeous elk in the trees.
Matt said we would go up to a location where we had a view of the valley, where we would practice with scopes. He set them up and we took turns adjusting them and looking through them. One person said she saw something Canid, which turned out to be two coyotes.
The other guide (Laura) was looking at a bunch of large rocks when she saw one move. Turns out it was several wolves bedded down in the snow – the Rescue pack. They were a mile or more away.
We watched them for a while. At first they didn’t do too much – one would stand up, turn around, and sit back down again.
The wind blew, the snow was starting to come down. We hadn’t dressed for a long wait outside (we were expecting to start tomorrow). But the wolves were what we were here for, so we watched them for about 45 minutes. Eventually, they stood up and played a little, wagging their tails and piling up on each other.
Eventually, we drove back. Saw buffalo – lots of buffalo.
Back to Gardiner, checked into our rooms, had dinner at a nearby hotel, and headed to bed.