Yellowstone

Back in May, John and I joined his sister and her family down in Bozeman, MT for an adventure of a lifetime! John and I NEVER really adventure much (there is always a reason why we "just can't, at the moment") but this time - we did!

We got to Bozeman on a Friday evening, and then at 4:30 the next morning, we made our way to Yellowstone National Park for a day of Wolf watching.  

Backstory - I have always wanted to see wolves in the wild. It's been a dream for years. Last year, during a hike on the Wishbone trail, I think we heard wolves and may have seen some, but it wasn't enough to fill me up and feel satisfied - I wanted to see more!

It definitely felt early, but we loaded up in a 14 passenger van (us, the Allens, and a tour guide) and set off to all the places where our guide knew their would be wolves. 

We kept our distance, always watching the wolves through spotting scops, but we definitely were able to watch them. 

I think in all we saw 7 or 8 this day. White ones, grey ones, and black ones too!

This is the closest wolf we saw, just off the road. I wish we'd arrived early enough to be able to really capture the front side of him (butt shots are never as exciting) but this really was a fun moment. 

We loved spending the day watching. 

It is interesting how intently we observed the sky, the ground, the trees, and everything in between. 

This picture was fun. In this photo is.a den, where 5 little coyote pups would peak out and play every so often. At one point though, we all noticed that Mama was nearby, diligently keeping her young ones in check. Mama animals are fascinating to me!

Speaking of "pups," my little litter were amazing. We spent a LOT of time in a car that weekend and never did they complain. I really really like going places with my people!

We took a little hike to an old abandoned Wolf paddock that was used up until a couple of decades ago.

Here the guide told us an awesome love story about the famous Yellowstone Wolf #40 who ruled the wolves with an iron paw but also cared deeply for his lady love and brood-to-be.

After our wolf tour ended, we explored the park a little bit more, enjoying as many Yellowstone wonders as possible! (We didn't loop down to "Old Faithful" but we'd seen that amazing geyser before.)

We had an absolutely beautiful time, seeing some beautiful scenery and being with some beautiful human beings! Trips to Bozeman are definitely highlights for us!