Today started as usual with the drive from Gardiner up to Mammoth and then towards Tower Junction. It was not as cold as the past two days and still no close encounters or sightings of large predatory animals except for coyotes. Close to the Petrified Tree area we stopped the first time as Eva spotted to wolves but more likely coyotes passing a small ridge and then disappeared and did not show up again. Several elk were alerted as well but calmed down pretty quickly. So, we drove deep into the Lamar Valley almost to the Northeast Entrance of the Nationalpark where plenty of snow still covers the area.
Especially in the earlier morning hours mist from the Lamar river creates a beautiful, mystical view of Yellowstone.
Parts of the river are completely frozen and you hear the ice cracking and crumbling and the water flowing underneath.
The only predator we have seen today and photographed today were coyote that were most common today in Lamar Valley.
On our way back to Mammoth we met a smaller group of wolfwatchers at Tower Junction with their spotting scopes pointed to the left side of the road if you look from Tower towards Tower Falls. Two wolves far, far in the distance on top of the hill relaxing. Even the wolfwatchers equipped with radio being able to track the wolves are currently having a hard time seeing the wolves. For us that just means that we need to be patient and lucky. Nonetheless, even with the lack of snow and temperatures currently rising during the day above freezing point in some parts of the park it is really beautiful.
Eva and I then packed our gear and we took the walk up to Tower Falls (2.5 Miles one way) and got rewarded with the falls being completely frozen.
On our way back from Tower Junction to Gardiner we have seen landscape, bison, elk but no wolves.
That’s all for today and we only took a record low of 49 pictures in total but enjoyed being out again.
More pictures could be found in our gallery by clicking here: Yellowstone 2010
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