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Today in Parkadise Report
May 24 through 27, 2002


Druid Peak Pack Black Wolf in Lamar Valley - 27 May 2002 by John W. Uhler ©

Black Wolf by John W. Uhler ©





Memorial Day Weekend


24 May 2002 - Friday


Carlene, Joseph, Rachel and I headed to Sliver Gate via the park at about 4:00 pm. There was a crowd of people around the Yellowstone River bridge so we slowed down and saw our first loons, Lew and Deb. They said that they had been watching a black bear and four big horns. We saw the big horns from the bridge and crossed over and watched the black bear slowly making his was over a hill and down to the river.


We headed east to check in at the Silver Gate Cabins. We did a little spotting down the valley and saw antelope, bison, elk and water fowl on the Lamar River. We did not see any cars at the cabins, so we headed to Cooke City and some supper. After supper we checked in at the cabins and unloaded our gear.


We headed down the road towards Lamar for an evening of wildlife watching with family and friends. Just inside the Northeast entrance we saw a lone moose in a small meadow. He or she was just grazing and slowly moving into the trees. Just past the Trout Lake trailhead turnout, there was a bull moose munching on some vegies just up the hillside on the north side of the road. It was nice to see the moose. We had been looking for a while and we enjoyed our sightings.


Mushrooms by John W. Uhler - Spring 2000 ©

At the first large turnout before the Soda Butte cone we saw some old friends and wildlife watchers. There was Mark from MN and Gary from PA, we joined them to watch three grizzly bears. A boar and sow and a single grizzly up on Norris Mountain. We were parked at the turnout before the Lamar Footbridge Turnout. It was great to see them all again and a few other old time wildlife watchers stopped by. We had been watching in Lamar since 1995 and it is nice to meet each year and spend some time together and see how life is treating each other. It is always fun to watch and visit and share.


We stayed at the turnout and chatted and looked over all the hills and dales for other wildlife. When we ran out of light to view wildlife, we headed back to Silver Gate to meet other friends that had made their way home to the park. In addition to the animals listed above, we also saw squirrels, canada geese and yellow-headed blackbirds. It was a great day and evening in the park.

We went to a friends room and met Peggy and her aunt from Texas, Lew and Deb from PA, Bruce and Geri from WA, and Frank and Cathy from Utah. We had fun talking and visiting and sharing life's experiences. We all said our good nights and went to rest up for another day in Parkadise.




25 May 2002 - Saturday


On Saturday we saw antelope, elk and bison in Lamar Valley as we headed west to Mammoth. Just before the Yellowstone River Bridge we saw a black bear. On Floating Island Lake we saw ruddy ducks and on a former pond now almost a marsh we saw sand hill cranes.


We had a nice afternoon in Mammoth and then headed back to Lamar. We saw a black bear in Little America just grubbing in a meadow on the south side of the road. We headed east when this bear disappeared and saw some friends at the next turnout and joined in watching another black bear. We only viewed this bear for a short time as it disappeared into the trees. As we were chatting and watching, we saw a large cinnamon bear on a ridge below where the black bear was. This bear was also only in view for a short time as the meadows are small in the forest.


Squirrel by John W. Uhler ©

Just as we entered Lamar Valley, there were folks parked deep in Fisherman's pullout and the next two pullouts. On the south side of the road, just directly south from the Fisherman's pullout was a sow grizzly and her cub of the year. They were feeding on an elk kill and gave the crowd a thrill with a great sighting in the open area of Lamar. Cameras were whirling and folks were having a great time watching and sharing the experience.


Another light colored grizzly was spotted down the valley on the south side of the road just below Specimen Ridge. The griz was near the area we call the ski jump. It was in view for a long time and it was just slowly grubbing and working its way north down the slope and into some trees.


We headed to the next turnout with a little more space and joined Bruce and Geri and some other friends. We were watching the bears and eagles and just having a great time talking and sharing our scopes with those who wanted to join in the fun. After a short while some of our new friends came by the turnout and told us that there were two wolves just up the road.


Peggy and her aunt and Geri and I headed up the valley or west to see the wolves. These were two wolves of the Druid Peak Pack. They had taken an elk calf and the cow elk was still trying to chase them off. The pair consisted of a gray and black wolf. The black wolf was number 253. This wolf is very identifiable as it was in a wolf war last October with the Nez Perce Pack and its hind leg was injured. He is still limping when he walks but when he chases an elk, the limp is not noticed.


We watched the sow and cub and other lone griz and the two wolves until we ran out of light. What a great day in the park. We went home to the Silver Gate Cabins just before the sunlight was totally gone. We joined in the campfire and had dogs, chared marshmellows, somore's and hot chocolate. There was alot of chatting and having fun with our large group of family and friends. What a great way to end a day. We all gathered around Oldtymrs cabin and sang some songs and said good night.




26 May 2002 - Sunday


Old Faithful Inn by John W. Uhler - 27 May 2002 ©

After church on Sunday, we headed down to Old Faithful. A group of us met there with geyser guru David Monteith for a tour of the Upper Geyser Basin. David wowed us with his geyser knowledge and sense of humor. We had just missed Beehive by about 15 minutes.

Giant Geyser Cone by John W. Uhler - 26 May 2002 ©

We set out on our tour and saw Plume Geyser erupt and watched Old Faithful from the north side of geyser hill. We then continued on to watch and learn about the hot springs and thermals in the area. We made our way down to watch Riverside Geyser erupt and then made our way back past Grotto Geyser past Giant to Grand Geyser. We settled in at Grand and enjoyed the rain as we waited for Grand to erupt. I was able to see Old Faithful erupt from Castle Geyser as I went back to the van for rain gear.


We watched Grand erupt and it was well worth the wait and the rain. As we headed to the Snow Lodge for supper, we were able to see Solitary and Lion Geysers erupt. It was a great afternoon in the Upper Geyser Basin. We will spend more time in this area as there is tons to see and we barely skimmed the surface.


After supper we headed back to Silver Gate and our cabin. It was dark and rainy as we headed into Lamar so we made a nice easy drive to the cabin and crashed for the night.




27 May 2002 - Monday


We were able to enjoy watching a cow moose and a year old calf in a large meadow just west on Barronette. We were excited with the number of moose we were seeing and enjoying. I took pictures and we watched them graze for a while and then we headed down the valley towards Mammoth for lunch with loons.


Moose Cow and Calf  by John W. Uhler - 27 May 2002 ©

Just as we were east of the Soda Butte Cone, I just happened to look to the south and there stood a black wolf. I told Carlene to pull over. Then we saw a gray wolf slowly making its way down towards the road. I knew they were going to cross the road and go into the valley. We parked the van and got out the camera and spotting scope. We had a nice sighting of five wolves, two grays and three blacks. They were 21, 42 and 253 plus two others.


We watched them come down the hillside, cross the road, cross Soda Butte Creek and then make their way up the bench and into the trees. It was an exciting time watching the wolves leave the den and head out into the forest. We chatted with some friends and met some new folks and had a great time sharing the experience!


We loaded up and slowly headed to Mammoth. We just barely made lunch and had a great time meeting with friends. Some of our friends had gotten together and did a few hikes and they told us of their experiences along the way. A great time was had by all.


We headed to our home north of Gardiner to pick up a few things and get ready for an evening of wildlife watching. We had supper and headed into the park. The crew consisted of Carlene and myself. We did some spotting in little America with just antelope, bison and elk in view. We headed to Lamar and stopped and did some more spotting at the turnout above the fishermen s turnout. Again we noted antelope, bison and elk. We chatted with friends and then headed to the outfitters or hitching post turnout.


Riverside Geyser by John W. Uhler - 27 May 2002 ©

We spent the rest of the evening with Bruce and Geri, Jake and Leslie, Tim from ID, Faye and her son, and Mike and his wife and other friends. We watched four bighorns on Mount Norris, a coyote and elk and bison just east of the turnout and we scoured the hills and dales for bears and wolves to no avail.


We headed west with the waning sunlight with new friendships and fond memories of the time together. The good humor and kidding that we all get and enjoy. We had had a great holiday weekend in parkadise and look forward to the coming months with friends and family in the Stone.



Take care my friends until next time!


Lamar Valley Sunset by John W. Uhler ©

Lamar Valley Sunset by John W. Uhler ©


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