Isn't Winter Over Yet?

 I am beginning to think that winter is going to last forever! We have spent way too many weekends recently stuck in the house. But coming into this weekend, I was especially anxious for the weather to be decent. We absolutely HAD to get to Bozeman!

Dan and I both took Thursday off, and as we set out, it appeared that the roads were going to be a challenge all the way. Imagine my surprise when just at the point where I expected the roads to go from bad to worse, they cleared entirely! Reaching Bozeman with daylight to spare, we set out in search of eagles, and boy did we find them ~ goldens, balds, and immature balds. Eventually, we got hungry and headed back into town for dinner. 

We take every opportunity we get to take pics of our flag
and the Montana state flag was a bonus! 

Friday morning, Dan dropped me off in town and set out on his own to chase down more eagles. What? Didn't I mention that that was the plan all along? I was invited to take part in a class with a Master of Photography! What an opportunity! It was well worth the time and money. I learned a lot, despite being way behind the other participants! When Dan picked me up after class, we beat feet to Gardiner. 

When we caught a brief glimpse of this little guy on Thursday afternoon,
I thought it was a beaver.
Dan got to spend a little quality time on Friday though
with what turned out to be a muskrat. 

Saturday was a Yellowstone day. We were really, really hoping to find otters. Unfortunately, the otters remained elusive, but at least the bison, elk, big horn sheep, and coyotes were more cooperative. 

Yes, the hillside WAS that steep!

While I am absolutely sick of the snow,
it did make for a special moment in photography!

By early afternoon, we decided to wrap up our trip and get home before dark. The roads were generally pretty good, but blowing snow in some places made us very glad that we had daylight visibility. I will be so glad when winter finally bids us farewell. 

   Bonus Pictures:

DISCLAIMER: This is NOT a good picture.
This little group of coyotes was a long way off the road,
so we took the picture mostly to make positive identification.
I wish I knew how many of the other viewers went home
and told their friends that they saw wolves!