Looking for Yogi

Ever since the Yellowstone National Park Facebook page stated in mid-February that the bears were starting to come out of hibernation, I have been itching to get back down there. Yesterday was the first day where free time and decent weather coincided, so off we went. 

We stopped at Subway in Gardiner to grab lunch, and one of the employees told us that they had had an easy winter, and that the bears had, in fact, been out since the first of the year. Now more eager than ever, we entered the park and headed for the Tower Falls area, where there have been several sightings. Of course, the road to Tower is not open yet, so we turned toward Lamar Valley and Cooke City. 

Our first stop was at Wraith Falls. The light was right for pictures, and we wondered what it might look like frozen. The short trail was mostly clear of snow, so it didn't take us long to get to the viewing platform. Unfortunately, the falls, while pretty, were a little underwhelming, so we returned to the car. A couple of buffalo yearling calves were kind enough to entertain us while we ate our sandwiches. 

We continued our drive without seeing anything but bison. When we reached the Pebble Creek Campground, we turned around and started back. We were hardly back on the road when I spotted something beyond the river. We whipped into the convenient pullout, grabbed the cameras, and set out on foot. (Lamar Valley had more snow than some of the rest of the park, but it was mostly well-frozen and not too hard to walk on. Mostly...) We could see now that the animal I had spied was definitely canine. It was far more concerned about finding a bite to eat off of the buffalo carcass it had found than it was about us. Once it spotted us, however, it reluctantly retreated to the treeline. Dan looked at the pictures when we got back to the car and declared it a coyote. Phooey! I wanted a wolf! 

A couple of miles farther down the road, we caught sight of another coyote. Once again, we bailed out of the car with cameras ready. This time, there were two! They put up quite a ruckus of yipping and howling before trotting out of range. The afternoon shadows were lengthening, and we decided that maybe, for once, we would head for home before dark. 

I was a little disappointed that we never saw a bear, but a day in Yellowstone is never wasted. Maybe next time...