I left work around 12:00 noon and made good time considering a really nice rain shower (lucky for me I needed to wash the car). Most of the campsites were full, so spent the night in Silver Gate. At 5:00 p.m. found two sub adults high on A-Z Meadow. At 5:30 p.m. a nice black bear low and on the right side of A-Z Meadow. At 6:00 p.m. a black bear beyond the bench east of the half visible aspen forest. At 6:30 p.m. someone noticed two bears behind Dorothy's Knoll, viewing from Coyote Overlook. I have no idea of the nature of these bears. The large one looked like a black bear and the smaller (one half the size) looked like a grizzly cub. I'm guessing grizzly by the size of the cub, but really not sure. At 7:45 p.m. had two separate grizzlies south of Coyote Overlook, later one sensed the other and ran over the hill. At 8:00 p.m. an uncollared gray wolf on Jasper Bench. At 8:25 p.m. Rick M. showed me a grizzly on Specimen Ridge viewed from the Slough Creek bathroom. With all the rain in the afternoon, we never had any more rain all night.

Saturday - August 9th

Well the rain created fog and couldn't see above the bench or low clearings until almost 10:00 a.m. Wolves were reported in the Crystal area, and I finally found them viewing from the Lamar River Bridge. Ralph would have been proud, one hell of a wolf jam, even had them parking on the west side of the bridge and walking across to see the wolves. Only one black and a gray, Carl S. did see a couple more later. Meantime the Druids (the alpha's and three yearlings - total 2 grays and 3 blacks) came back into the Lamar from up Cache Creek. People had been watching them for over an hour and half when Rick went east and noticed them. I only saw one black in the morning but around 5:00 a.m. They made a run to the west passing south and slightly west of the Institute, then back thru the second sliver of Ski Slope and thru Square Meadow and returning about 1 hour later back to the rendezvous area. At 9:30 a.m. found a dark grizzly crossing the 2nd sliver. At 3:30 pm. a black wolf south of midpoint. At 4:00pm. a grizzly in the bowl. At 4:20 p.m. a grizzly high on A-Z Meadow. At 5:00 p.m. found a black wolf south in Crystal Drainage and it bedded right out in the middle of the clearing and completely out of sight. At 5:20 p.m. a black bear on the backside of Salad Bowl viewed from Slough Creek bathroom. At 6:40 p.m. a grizzly in No Bear Clearing high and south of Dorothy's knoll. At 6:45 p.m. while the wolves were crossing the second sliver had a nice sized grizzly grazing in the first sliver. At 7:45 p.m. a grizzly really high and right of K Meadow (Ralph and I had a sow grizzly with three coy's in that clearing three or four years ago). At 8:15 p.m. a grizzly on Norris Mountain viewed from the confluence. Most of the sightings were because we had another rain shower and cloud cover in the evening. I had found a campsite at Pebble Creek so spent Saturday night there.

Sunday - August 10th

Not as much fog today, but it moved in and out and up and down mainly on the west end of Lamar Valley. At 6:35 a.m. found two sub adult grizzlies in the bowl viewed from the Institute. At 6:40 a.m. finally found the grizzly sow with two coy's high on A-Z viewed from the Institute. Rick M. called to say he had them from Dorothy's so I moved up there, a lot better view of them from Dorothy's Knoll. At 6:50 a.m. had two black wolves on the skyline above and east of A-Z Meadow. The wolf people were still trying to identify them over an hour later (nice viewing at 2 miles plus). At 6:55 a.m. a grizzly on ski slope. At 8:30 a.m. a dark grizzly in the bottoms at Antelope Creek. At 9:15 a.m. a grizzly on the backside of Specimen Ridge and left of Gunsight.

Other news: Lots of tourists now, everything fills, hotels, motels, cabins, campsites, etc. Lots of motor cycles, especially the Harley's. The osprey chicks are really big. The prairie falcon chicks are gone. The wolf people found the bones on the second pup near the Slough Creek den site. The plane had at least 10 pups during the last flight (but think around 17 yet). On Saturday morning a wolf watcher coming from Canyon, missed to turn to Lamar and had a weasel cross the road at Elk Creek with a cougar right behind it. Assume the watcher wasn't upset on missing the turn. Lots less mosquitoes now, and not the biting flies as years past (maybe the flies were because of the drought). A grizzly still hanging around Northeast entrance, they found scat with aluminum foil in it near the entrance.