The Girl who cried Wolf

For several weeks now, I've been hearing about the wolves that have been spotted in Waterton.   Back in January they'd been spotted by the horse stables, and recently a man in our ward saw an entire pack while visiting the park.    It's made me anxious all winter because I've deep down longed to see them myself.    I've always wanted to see a wolf in the wild, more specifically to hear one.      They are just kinda mysterious and intriguing to me. 

Anyways, on Saturday night, I noticed on a Waterton Website that they'd had several wolf sightings at a specific location around 7 am for several mornings in a row.    That's when I decided I was going to go on my own little stake out.   I am after all, the daughter of a former private investigator;)    The plan was to get to Waterton early (well before 7), wait at the mentioned location,....and then... I'd wait some more.

   And when the wolves came... I'd photograph them!

That's pretty much the plan.

Funny thing is though, the drive out to Waterton at 5:50 am is actually much darker then I thought it would be, and by the time I neared the park, I was down right terrified!    It suddenly seemed entirely possible, (correction- probable) that a giant pack of wolves would emerge on my van and figure out how to open the door.     And then what would I do?   Or worse- what if they were where wolves! 

See?  When it is dark like this - none of that seems crazy.

Luckily, my desire to capture a photo was still stronger then my crazy juvenile imaginary fears, and so I continued on.    Within minutes the sun began to peak out over the horizon and it not only chased away those silly thoughts, but it also illuminated an amazing and beautiful scene that was anything but sleepy.  

The Elk were EVERYWHERE!

They've always been so fascinating to watch, and they were bugling this morning too which was cool.   

Unfortunately I couldn't watch them long - because I had to get to Drift wood Bay

 (AKA: the target location.) 

So I sat at Drift wood Bay for quite awhile.   My eyes actually began to hurt from staring too intensely.   

At one point, I even said a prayer to Heavenly Father that I'd be able to see the wolves.

Nothing. 

 (But don't worry,  I still have faith;)

Luckily though, the Elk were out like gophers today, and they weren't shy at all:)

I decided that perhaps the problem was that I was upwind, and maybe the wolves could just smell my van.   Knowing that my van probably wreaked of cheezies, slurpy containers,  and Sam's stinky socks, I decided to move down wind and get deeper in behind drift wood bay.  

While doing so,   I came across this old building and was instantly reminded of a fun camp I was part of here some 20 years ago.    

 In grade 4,  I was captain of the Safety Patrol at my school and as a result, I got to go on a 3 day camp where me and other Safety Patrol Captains underwent lots of....um... "rigorous training?"   It was a tough gig being "Captain of the Safety Patrol" and camp Columbus helped teach me the important basics of leadership and all that stuff.    (Actually, all I remember is that one night I hid my chocolate bars in a pile of dirt out side our sleeping quarters and we found out the next morning that a bear had visited us.)

Tee hee...Oops;)  

But that was so long ago.   It's weird isn't it?  One minute I'm Captain of the Safety Patrol, and the next I'm an "aspiring and adventurous WILDLIFE PHOTOGRAPHER!"  Sigh.  Where does the time go?;)

(That was a joke by the way;)

Really, I was just kidding.   I'm not a wildlife photographer.     

A wildlife photographer would have been able to find a simple pack of wolves to photograph.

A wild life photographer would have been able to get more then a shot of a bunch of Elk Bums. 

I mean seriously!  I'd hardly call that a flattering photo!

I'm pathetic.   

It's a good thing I've got my Safety Patrol Skills to fall back on;)  

Actually, it's a good thing I ENJOY these little nature drives, regardless of the outcome, because in the end,  I saw no wolves.   

Not a single one.  

 I did see lots of elk, some deer, a coyote (or WAS IT?!), and several geese and swans.    

AND it was a beautiful way to begin a beautiful day!

On the way home though, the thought did occur to me that I could just tell a teensy weensy lie to John (heaven knows I've told him worse;) and say I had indeed seen the wolves, but just hadn't gotten a picture of them.   I think that he may have been slightly more impressed with me.

But we've all heard that story before, now haven't we?