Talk about getting an early start. We had to be at the hotel lobby at 6AM. That effort not only included us getting our sorry bodies out-of-bed at an ungodly hour, Sean the guide wasn't a coffee drinker, so while he was to provide coffee, trust me, there wasn't enough.
Seriously, the day was without a doubt one of the best. We immediately took off for Hayden Valley where he obviously new one of the packs of wolves resided. It started a wee bit slowly; we only saw the two alphas, male & female. We began to hear the wolves that were still in the den, howling. It was wonderfully haunting. Then the pups began to come out of the woods. In all we think there were 13 or 14 total. They all began to great each other by gathering in a big circle. Then the howls began again. We observed this through 60 power scopes that he brought with him. The guide turned to me and said, "Do you know how lucky you are? Most people are not willing to come out this early and will never hear anything like this." Another point of interest for this sighting was that the head wolf researcher was at the same site making notes into his recorder, it was way cool.
As we stood there, many people began to stop. Let's fact it, having 4 scopes out was rather telling and then there was the researcher with his. The guide was wonderful with everyone. We shared our scopes willingly and I would guess we spent at least an hour observing these wonderful animals.
Then we went down the road ... wow. Sean sighted another couple of wolves laying out between the bison. There were several pups playing. A man came up to Sean, rather excited, he said, "There's a wolf coming up the valley with meat in his mouth." Sure enough, about 10 minutes later this adult wolf brings food into the pack. The pups greet it, one grabs the meat, the others lick the muzzle and the adult regurgitates the food for the other to eat. It was amazing. Let me tell you, Sean, told me that without a doubt this was the best sighting of the season. He was every bit as excited as we were.
We progressed into Lamar Valley, saw a grizzle, but somehow after viewing the wolves, it didn't hold the same 'wow' factor ... OK it was still cool.
By the way, this day was grey, high winds and cold, around 32 degrees. So far this trip we've been in temperatures as low as 16 degrees.
Seriously, the day was without a doubt one of the best. We immediately took off for Hayden Valley where he obviously new one of the packs of wolves resided. It started a wee bit slowly; we only saw the two alphas, male & female. We began to hear the wolves that were still in the den, howling. It was wonderfully haunting. Then the pups began to come out of the woods. In all we think there were 13 or 14 total. They all began to great each other by gathering in a big circle. Then the howls began again. We observed this through 60 power scopes that he brought with him. The guide turned to me and said, "Do you know how lucky you are? Most people are not willing to come out this early and will never hear anything like this." Another point of interest for this sighting was that the head wolf researcher was at the same site making notes into his recorder, it was way cool.
As we stood there, many people began to stop. Let's fact it, having 4 scopes out was rather telling and then there was the researcher with his. The guide was wonderful with everyone. We shared our scopes willingly and I would guess we spent at least an hour observing these wonderful animals.
Then we went down the road ... wow. Sean sighted another couple of wolves laying out between the bison. There were several pups playing. A man came up to Sean, rather excited, he said, "There's a wolf coming up the valley with meat in his mouth." Sure enough, about 10 minutes later this adult wolf brings food into the pack. The pups greet it, one grabs the meat, the others lick the muzzle and the adult regurgitates the food for the other to eat. It was amazing. Let me tell you, Sean, told me that without a doubt this was the best sighting of the season. He was every bit as excited as we were.
We progressed into Lamar Valley, saw a grizzle, but somehow after viewing the wolves, it didn't hold the same 'wow' factor ... OK it was still cool.
By the way, this day was grey, high winds and cold, around 32 degrees. So far this trip we've been in temperatures as low as 16 degrees.
1 comment:
Hey Boo!
I just got caught up! Talked to your mom this evening and she is raring to get out of the hospital. Gave the boys her number. She is in good spirits. Missing those hikes, altough MSN has video of guy who was attacked by a black bear in Washington. He had two dogs and bike. So be careful and remember our song -"Don't want see no Bear Today!".
Me
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