Day 5

Today we got a late start. We woke up at 7:30 but for some reason it took like 3 hours to get going. The children tossed and turned all night. Grant said he was scared of monsters and Alex wanted to nurse like 5 times. They have snotty noses. They might be getting a cold. We were tired from a sleepless night
We finally got going and made our way up the east side of the park to an area called Lamar Valley. As we drove we noticed a gravel road that led to a primitive campsite. There were about 5 cars there looking at something. Amy spotted a young male grizzly about 10 feet from the road. We pulled up and from the car with binoculars got some great bear watching in. He seemed to be searching for grubs or something. We continued on the gravel road and were able to see 2 more black bears along the road. That’s 3 bears in 20 minutes. We continued on and Amy slowed down hard for what she thought was a marmot. I noticed it had a mask and it ended up being a stinking badger. We then noticed a group of people pulled over by a field. I got out and walked up with my binoculars. There was a lone wolf trotting out to a field. Two coyotes were shadowing it looking concerned like it was encroaching on something. Then all of a sudden the coyotes darted for the wolf. The wolf turned around and ran, but as he slowed down to goes down a hill the coyotes caught up with him and they turned into a dusty ball of fighting. The wolf got away and the coyotes chased him behind a hill away from view. This was one of the most raw exchanges I have seen in nature yet. Hopefully there will be more to come. We then went on a bit further and noticed a dark wolf, almost black, running up a hill. I think it might be the same one we had seen a few weeks ago.


We left the Lamar valley and decided to go and drive on this six mile dirt road along a ridge called blacktail plateau. Last time it was closed for rain. It was over cast but not raining yet. We didn’t see a thing and then the rain came. The road became muddy and slippery and there were sheer drop offs on the side. I thought it was a mistake to go up there. We went very slowly and toward the end of the road came to a truck full of Cajuns. The accent was great. They had spotted a bear down the hill. The large male black bear had just crossed the road and caused a traffic jam below. We watched him for a while. Tossing large logs aside like they were nothing searching for grubs. We finally got back on the road and on the way back to the campsite we saw 2 more grizzlies. Amy got a few good pictures. We stopped at Mammoth hot springs in search of moose track ice cream, but they were out. Nuts. We made it back to camp and I lit a fire. Grant loved it as like all boys he loves fire. We roasted a few marshmallows and then ate some reheated leftovers. The kids are definitely coming down with a cold. We gave them some Benadryl and put them down early. Tomorrow an 18 mile hike is planned. It will be an early start.