Elk Horn Cemetery (Part 2)

An "elk horn" cemetery of a different sort
(If that doesn't make sense, you probably didn't read Part 1)

When we made our plans to go to Yellowstone this weekend, we were hoping to have a first timer in tow. Unfortunately, that didn't work out. Since we had spent the night in Bozeman, and we had to get home somehow, we decided to go through Yellowstone anyway. Because the entrance at West Yellowstone is actually about as far from home as we can get, we backtracked a bit to Livingston and entered at Mammoth. Our only plan for the day was to work our way generally homeward. 

Without a set agenda, we ended up on Blacktail Plateau Road. It is one of our favorite drives, and its season is short, so why pass up an opportunity? We parked the car and set off on foot. NOW we understand why this area of the park is closed during the spring when the bears come out of hibernation. It is very apparent that the elk winter here, and the winter-killed elk becomes quite literally an all-you-can-eat buffet for the bears! We found sheds, bones, and even half a dozen or more skulls with antlers still attached. The only kind of elk we did not see was a live one. In fact in our four-mile loop, the only wildlife we saw was a solitary coyote. 

The heat and the hike tired me out, and I stared rather vacantly out of the window as we made our way across the rest of Blacktail. Until I spotted the bear in the trees just off the road, that is! Wide awake, I yelled at Dan to stop! We backed up, but the trees made it really hard to get a picture of the bear. It moved a little deeper into the trees, and I was saying that it was still fun to see one when the bear actually turned back toward the road. I climbed up through the sunroof (since the bear was too close to get out of the car) and got some better photos. We then left the bear jam that we had created, much more satisfied with our day. 

We turned toward Lamar Valley and Cooke City with plenty of daylight left. Just after getting through a sheep-jam at the Yellowstone Picnic Area, we came around a corner and spotted some antelope. Well, what do you know... BABIES! I tried all spring to spot a baby antelope, without success. Now we had at least three, and the shutters were clicking again. 

After a while, my heat and sunlight induced headache returned and we again turned toward home. But we'll be back!