I will post pictures after I finish creating my flickr account.
My sister, Ruth, and her daughter, Suzanne, accompanied me on this adventure. To simplify typing, the report is written as if I were alone. But actually the three of us enjoyed most of the experiences mentioned below.
The trip was simply wonderful! I saw a broader array of animals during this trip than I have ever seen before. My passion is wolves, but I love all wildlife. Though I can’t claim to really know him, on June 11th I saw Rick McIntyre’s car (yellow xterra with horns-several antenna) parked at the confluence of Soda Butte Creek and the Lamar River in Lamar Valley and stopped and chatted with him for a bit. I’d spoken to him a couple of times on previous trips and had him autograph my copy of his wolf book. He is super nice and wants to help everyone. Of course he mentioned the Silvers Pack often being available for viewing across the Lamar River, and the Lamar Canyon Pack at Slough Creek. He said he was occasionally near the confluence about 6:30 A.M. checking on the Silvers. I saw him in the evening a number of times at the first Slough Creek turnout down the campground road. I was curious why he generally was there rather than at one of the turnouts further down the road which were nearer the den area. I wondered if he thought he could see the den area better from up high (probably) though further from the den, or if he wanted to encourage people not to get any nearer the den area? He also confirmed that Grizzly Overlook (the high overlook with the beautiful vista of the curved Yellowstone, a little south of Alum Creek) in Hayden Valley was a good spot to try to observe the Canyon Pack. People were trying to spot the Silvers from the hill above the confluence and from the first pullout west of the confluence. Many would go up on the bank north of the road to observe.
Image Title: Yellowstone Confluence Rick McIntyre and Charles by Charlie4268, on Flickr
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Image Title: Rick McIntyre Tripod Out Near Confluence 1 by Charlie4268, on Flickr
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At, I think, the third turnout near the bottom of the Slough Creek Campground road I set up my scope to watch for wolves. Bill Barbaree, a long term camper, helped me and other greenhorns get oriented, showing us where the wolves often could be seen. He also clued me in to a couple Celestron Regal Fluorite-ED spotting scopes priced in the $600-$700 range. My current scope is a Barska 100 mm that cost me less than $300. It does not have fluorite glass but serves me well in good lighting. I intend to buy one of the Celestron scopes as well as a better camera.
Before I left the park, I saw all three adult wolves, 755, 754, and 06 (female), and at least three of the pups at Slough Creek. On the 15th, around 8:00 P.M., I saw one male, 06, and three pups. I attempted to see the Silvers, but with no luck. On the 19th, near 6:00 P.M., I saw 06 and two pups. On the 20th I saw 755 and 754 and a pup around 5;30 P.M. I was unable to get pictures of the Lamar Canyon wolves. Also on the 20th, around 7:30 A.M., I saw the beta male of the Canyon pack from Grizzly Overlook. He browsed around within visual sighting (I was unable to get a picture) but would not stay still. Finally, on my last morning, around 8:30 A.M., I saw 712, the black alpha male, and the beta male of the Canyon Pack, from Grizzly Overlook. The alpha male was in the water far to the left eating, where what appeared to be an elk had been brought down in shallow water. He, at intervals, would try to drag it to shore, but could not. The beta male was just browsing around, etc. He swam the river and just sort of checked out the area. Perhaps he had already eaten. I was able to watch them for about an hour before they disappeared behind the trees, perhaps going to the den area. I was able to get a few poor quality photographs. After 712 left the elk, a bald eagle and other birds took their turn for breakfast.
Image Title: Grizzly Overlook 712 Alpha Male 2 by Charlie4268, on Flickr
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Image Title: Grizzly Overlook Beta Male 1 by Charlie4268, on Flickr
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Image Title: Grizzly Overlook Beta Male 2 by Charlie4268, on Flickr
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Image Title: Griz & Wolf Center W. Yellowstone 2 by Charlie4268, on Flickr
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Image Title: Griz & Wolf Center W. Yellowstone 3 by Charlie4268, on Flickr
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Image Title: Griz & Wolf Center W. Yellowstone 1 by Charlie4268, on Flickr
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Image Title: Griz & Wolf Center W. Yellowstone 6 by Charlie4268, on Flickr
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Image Title: Griz & Wolf Center W. Yellowstone 5 by Charlie4268, on Flickr
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Image Title: Griz & Wolf Center W. Yellowstone 4 by Charlie4268, on Flickr
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Near Swan Lake (about five and a half miles south of Mammoth toward Norris) I saw a big ball of grizzly bears out in the sage brush. The ball didn’t untangle during the time I had available to stay and watch. Heading from Roosevelt Lodge toward Cooke City I watched a grizzly at a kill on the Lamar Valley road near the large group of aspen trees a couple of miles before the Slough Creek turnout. Another grizzly was in the sage brush south of the road near the Pebble Creek Campground. Someone said he was eating a deer. A grizzly with two cubs was eating on a patch of snow close to the road near the top of Mount Washburn. And a grizzly with three cubs entertained a huge crowd in Hayden Valley (6.20) at the first or second pullout north of the Mud Pots. At one point a coyote tried to get a snack as the grizzly family went toward the river for a drink. Of course, mama ran the coyote away. The crowd was a little noisy. One of the cubs started toward the road and mama charged up the hill at the crowd. A ranger yelled for people to get in their cars or to get in anyone’s car! People disappeared and the grizzly came to the top of the hill, but seeing no one went back to the kill. The family continued eating. I also saw several other grizzly bears in Hayden Valley/Lamar Valley.
Image Title: Hayden Valley Grizzly Mom Wants Water 2 by Charlie4268, on Flickr
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Image Title: Hayden Valley Grizzly Family Goes To Drink by Charlie4268, on Flickr
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Image Title: Hayden Valley Grizzly Mom Checks Food 2 by Charlie4268, on Flickr
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Image Title: Hayden Valley Grizzly Family Goes for Water 3 by Charlie4268, on Flickr
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Image Title: Hayden Valley Coyote Tries To Steal Food by Charlie4268, on Flickr
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Image Title: Hayden Valley Grizzly Mom Chases Coyote Away by Charlie4268, on Flickr
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Image Title: Hayden Valley Grizzly Family Eating by Charlie4268, on Flickr
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Image Title: Hayden Valley View With Grizzlys by Charlie4268, on Flickr
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Image Title: Grizzly Tracks Mt. Washburn 1 by Charlie4268, on Flickr
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Image Title: DSCN0482 by Charlie4268, on Flickr
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I saw a number of black bears and cinnamon colored bears. They were mostly within two or three miles of the Tower/Roosevelt junction, north or south or down the Lamar Valley road. I didn’t see any cubs.
I saw many big horned elk at various places in the park and groups of elk quite a few places too. In Mammoth there were the usual large number of female elk with young, some very young with spots, eating grass or lounging on the lawns in front of buildings.
Image Title: DSCN0339 by Charlie4268, on Flickr
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Image Title: Yellowstone Mammoth Elk and Calf on Lawn 1 by Charlie4268, on Flickr
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There were pronghorns in Lamar Valley, in Hayden Valley, and many other places.
Image Title: Yellowstone Lamar Valley Pronghorn 1 by Charlie4268, on Flickr
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Image Title: Pronghorns On Gros Ventre Rd. Tetons 1 by Charlie4268, on Flickr
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On the morning of the 12th around 9:30 A.M. as we rode toward the park from Cooke City, we saw a pretty red fox apparently carrying food that was almost as big as it was! This was about .5 miles east of Silver Gate. At first I thought it was two small dogs walking beside the highway, so I missed the opportunity to take its picture.
At Barronette Peak, east of Lamar Valley toward the park entrance, I observed mountain goats, adults and their young on several occasions using my spotting scope. It is not very hard to find them on the cliff-side. I had never seen mountain goats in Yellowstone before and watching them was quite a pleasure. I tried to take pictures and have a few dots to remind myself of my luck seeing them.
From Gardiner heading south into the park, in the area where the Gardiner River goes under a bridge near the cliff facing (about 1.5 miles north of the Roosevelt Arch), a herd of bighorn sheep, mamas and lambs played on the cliff-side. I’ve spotted sheep there between 1:00 P.M. and 5:00 P.M. many times. I’ve seen them very close-up down at the water a few times. They are quite a sight to see! And I saw the big ram, several times, on the right and left side of the road just east of the Yellowstone River Bridge going down the Lamar Valley road. I also saw bighorns above the peregrine falcon nest mentioned below.
Image Title: Bighorn Sheep Above Peregrine Falcon Nest 2 by Charlie4268, on Flickr
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Image Title: DSCN0207 by Charlie4268, on Flickr
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Image Title: Yellowstone Lamar V Rd near Y River Bridge Bighorn 1 by Charlie4268, on Flickr
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There were coyotes in Lamar Valley and a number of other places. I believe there is a den at the base of the large boulder on the hillside above the ranger station. And I saw one between the long bridge crossing the Gardner River and Mammoth. I also saw coyotes in Hayden Balley and between Madison and West Yellowstone.
Image Title: Yellowstone Lamar Valley Coyote 2 by Charlie4268, on Flickr
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Image Title: Coyote Madison River Road 1 by Charlie4268, on Flickr
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Of course I saw the bald eagles at the nest about 4-5 miles east of West Yellowstone where we visited the Grizzly & Wolf Discovery Center. One fairly large eaglet was in the nest, occasionally trying his wings a bit. Mom or dad was nearby or on the nest (I observed them on several occasions). I also saw the bald eagle nest that is about 4.5 miles east of the Fishing Bridge general store. It is on the left, a mass in a tall evergreen. I saw two bald eagles but none on the nest. One landed in the middle of the road a good ways away from me. It looked immature. Its white head was not as pronounced as the white in mature bald eagles. I saw other bald eagles in Hayden Valley on several occasions.
Image Title: West Yellowstone Rd Bald Eagle 2 by Charlie4268, on Flickr
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Image Title: West Yellowstone Rd Bald Eaglet 6 by Charlie4268, on Flickr
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Image Title: West Yellowstone Rd Bald Eaglet 9 by Charlie4268, on Flickr
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There is a golden eagle nest down the Slough Creek Campground road. If you drive to the bottom of the hill toward the campground and park as near as possible to the face of the cliff that is on the right, with a spotting scope or binoculars the nest can be seen just above a white area stained by the bird droppings. It is centrally located on the cliff facing. I saw a chick in the nest but never observed the adults. At the bottom of the hill, if you are looking at the wolf den area, the cliff facing is just behind you.
I saw a peregrine falcon’s nest with an adult on it on the cliffs across from the second pullout south of Calcite Springs. There is a rock wall at the pullout. The nest is in a horizontal crevice. There is a light green bush just to the right of the nest. I also saw a peregrine falcon flying while looking for wolves in the Slough Creek basin. While at the pullout a man mentioned that there was another peregrine nest on the cliffs just across from the pullout before the falls going south from Mammoth. I stopped there on my way to attempt to see the grizzly with four cubs. I saw a nest full of cute black feathered birds with straight bills. Someone who visited Yellowstone went home with pictures of some lovely raven babies, thinking they were peregrine falcons! The person seemed quite excited about the find!
Image Title: Peregrine Falcon On Nest 1 by Charlie4268, on Flickr
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Image Title: DSCN1481 by Charlie4268, on Flickr
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I believe the Osprey nest on the pinnacle is at the fourth turnout south of Calcite Springs. You can easily see the nest. I could only make out one hatchling in the nest. It is right in front of and down from the pullout. I also saw an osprey just south of the Madison area.
Image Title: DSCN1370 by Charlie4268, on Flickr
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I saw many sandhill cranes during my stay in Yellowstone. I saw the family at Floating Island Lake, on the left just a few miles west from Roosevelt Lodge toward Mammoth. The birds were at the island nest in the morning and evening. They are difficult to spot when in the reeds at the rear of the lake. I saw a family in the valley going from Madison to West Yellowstone and another in Lamar Valley. I spotted many of the sandhill cranes in Hayden Valley from Grizzly Overlook.
I was lucky enough to see a beautiful trumpeter swan as it swam in the rain at the Madison River Bridge about five miles east of West Yellowstone. I’ve looked for swans there many times but have seen them only rarely.
Image Title: Trumpeter Swan at Madison River Bridge 2 by Charlie4268, on Flickr
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I was in a number of buffalo jams, mostly in Lamar Valley and going south toward Hayden Valley. But I was stopped by buffalo many times as they walked the roads intimidating drivers. Three crossed the long Gardiner River Bridge just west of Mammoth, blocking cars on the bridge. One buffalo paused at a car on the bridge and gave the driver a good long stare. I’m pleased that I was not in that car!
Image Title: Yellowstone Lamar Valley Buffalo Jam 2 by Charlie4268, on Flickr
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Image Title: Buffalo With Calf Near Hayden Valley 1 by Charlie4268, on Flickr
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I shouldn’t forget seeing the bluebirds, the magpies, the western tanager, the pelicans, Canadian geese, many ducks and other beautiful birds whose names I do not know.
Image Title: DSCN1880a by Charlie4268, on Flickr
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I also saw moose. After leaving Jackson Hole, crossing the bridge at Moose, Wyoming I saw a large bull moose eating by the river to the left of the bridge, just about where I saw one last year. On the evening of the 21st I drove down Gros Ventre Road near the Jackson Hole airport. Going in toward Kelly, which is about six miles off the main road, I saw a few antelope. After turning around in Kelly and driving past the campground, I saw many cars parked on both sides of the road. I got out and walked over to the bank above the river on the left and was rewarded by seeing three moose, a large bull moose, a female, and a yearling. Mama moose appeared to be trying to run the yearling off. It did not want to leave. The next morning before boarding the plane for Atlanta I rode down the Moose-Wilson road that goes from the south of Jackson Hole to Moose. I saw a magnificent bull moose up VERY close. It ate on the right side of the road, then crossed the road just in front of my car and browed on leaves from the trees, in no hurry to leave.
Image Title: Tetons Gros Ventre Rd Moose 5 by Charlie4268, on Flickr
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Image Title: Tetons Gros Ventre Rd Moose 6 by Charlie4268, on Flickr
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Image Title: Tetons Moose-Wilson Rd Moose 1 by Charlie4268, on Flickr
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Image Title: Tetons Moose-Wilson Rd Moose 2 by Charlie4268, on Flickr
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Image Title: Tetons Moose-Wilson Rd Moose 2 by Charlie4268, on Flickr
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Image Title: Tetons Moose-Wilson Rd Moose 4 by Charlie4268, on Flickr
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Image Title: Tetons at Oxbow Bend Charles by Charlie4268, on Flickr
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Image Title: Tetons Oxbow Bend Mt View 2 by Charlie4268, on Flickr
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Image Title: Tetons Lake Jackson Mt View 2 by Charlie4268, on Flickr
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I already want to go back to Yellowstone! Thankfully, I have my pictures and some very special memories of the wildlife, the beautiful valley vistas, the snow-crowned mountains, the sunsets and the feeling of being so close to nature!
Image Title: Yellowstone near Alum Creek 2 by Charlie4268, on Flickr
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Image Title: Yellowstone Hayden Valley Grizzly Overlook 2 by Charlie4268, on Flickr
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Below I’ve listed some odometer distances in miles for those who might be interested:
Roosevelt Lodge to the Ranger Station in Lamar Valley 10.4
Roosevelt to Slough Creek Campground turn 5.8
Roosevelt to pullout for observing the Silvers 12.3
Roosevelt to the Lamar River/Soda Butte confluence 13.2
Roosevelt to Soda Butte Mound 15.5
Roosevelt Lodge to N.E. park entrance 27.9
Charles
