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The trip started at the Bozeman airport, with introductions all around and light snacks. This was a harbinger of things to come, as the food was plentiful and ran the gamut of picnic to gourmet. First stop: Nathan's parents house to pick up what would be a string of goodies baked by his Mother, yum yum!! We were then off to Gardiner for the first 2 nights. Along the way we had a picnic lunch on the banks of the Yellowstone River, where Linda gave us a lesson in telemetry.
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| Yellowstone River |
Absaroka Range |
Picnic |
Telemetry |
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That night we dined at Sheepeater Cliff on elk steaks, salads and the company of marmots and a friendly elk cow.
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| Sheepeater Cliff |
Picnic Dinner |
Elk Cow |
Marmot |
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Gardiner, Montana was our base for the next two days. The itinerary was simple. Up at 0430 to meet the group at 0500, and into the park to grab the best viewing times. We hit pay dirt Sunday morning in the park as I caught my first glimpse of wolves in the wild. Since Nathan and Linda were continuously gathering intelligence on the wildlife activity, we were constantly moving in and out of different sections of the park to pursue the best viewing. So in order to keep this tale fairly organized, I will be skipping around the timeline to bring you the highlights of each area.
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| On the Lookout |
Antelope Valley |
Black Wolf on the Move |
Black Wolf |
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The wildlife was everywhere as we cruised around the Tower-Roosevelt area. We came across big horn sheep, black bears, grizzly bears, bison, moose, owls and osprey. On Monday morning as we were taking a rest break at Roosevelt Lodge, one of our group members saw activity in the open plain across the road. The scopes were set up, and lo and behold -- there was a grizzly defending his kill from three rather aggressive coyotes! We watched in amazement as a jogger proceeded down a dirt trail right towards the on-going cat and mouse game. Luckily for him, he quickly became aware of what was going on and he slowed down, jogged in place and then wisely and quietly turned around and slowly made his way in another direction. Not your typical city jogging encounter.
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We returned to this area on the last day of our trip for some shopping at Mammoth Hot Springs and last minute bird viewing. We were treated to a family of great owls right in Mammoth and active osprey nests along the roadway to Tower Falls. Soon it was time to head out of the park for our last night's stay at Chico Hot Springs, which we will talk about later on. For now, a glimpse at some of the wildlife and scenery of the northwest section.
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| Blacktail Deer Plateau |
Roosevelt Lodge |
Big Horn |
Slough Creek |
Specimen Ridge |
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| Bull Moose |
Osprey Nest |
Osprey In-Flite |
Owl Family |
Hot Springs |
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Now on to my favorite part of the park....
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