"...you put your left foot out..."

Setting my wake-up call back a half hour was a good idea, as I managed to arrive in the Lamar just as it was getting light enough for shooting. A buzz through the valley yielded plenty of bison, but little else, and even the wolf watchers weren't out yet. I passed a vanload of people who were setting up scopes near the Foot Bridge turnout. Had I seen the Montana "BEARMAN" license plate, I would've stopped... and as I learned later, I would've seen my first bear of the trip.

Unfortunately, I didn't stop, as wolves were on my mind and I was keeping my fingers crossed for some action that was visible from the road. Having been passed by Rick's familiar yellow SUV near Round Prairie, I turned around and followed the wolf posse to see where the action was. They ended up stopping at the Narrows, the site of the Slough sighting yesterday. This time, I did notice the BEARMAN license plate on the van, and proceeded to introduce myself to the one and only Kevin!

Instead of following everyone up the steep hillside (they weren't sure yet if the wolves would be visible), I continued back for one more morning pass through Little America and out past Roosevelt, just in case there was any bear activity. More pronghorn, lots of bison and numerous elk. But no bears.

Returning to the Narrows, I noted that all of the vehicles were still there, which was a good sign in my book. I trudged up the hill, taking the chance that I wouldn't need my camera or lens, as 9 times out of 10, even a 500mm+1.4x combo isn't enough power to see more than a speck of a wolf. The Sloughs were there and they were far enough away that I was glad I didn't lug any equipment up the hill. According to the scopers, the alpha male had just left, and the four pack members left behind (3 blackish and one gray) were either lounging around or howling away at their departed brethren. I stole a few peeks before everyone packed up to go chase down the Agate pack, supposedly visible from up on Dave's Hill at the Slough Creek turnout.

This strange frozen puddle melted quickly on a warm spring day

I had had enough scoping to satisfy me, and had a serious desire to get more shooting in, so I headed the opposite direction (back east) and up toward Round Prairie again. On this mild sunny day, the ice and snow were melting at a brisk pace. This funky frozen puddle was nothing but water by day's end.

Heeding a desire to view the aspens across from Round Prairie up close, I tromped through the snow, stopping to photograph some of the bare willows which are currently blazing in shades of gold, red and violet.

After that, back to Gardiner, where I had to get a bit of work done before the afternoon session. Worried that I'd fall asleep if I dallied in front of the computer too long, I headed back out early. A quick glance at the Rescue Creek trail showed between 10-15 bighorn sheep rams gathered together. Quite a group, but I was in the mood for bears at that point.

Driving all the way to Roosevelt, I figured it was time to try the Tower Road. Two hours for a five mile roundtrip hike, and I saw a grand total of three deer (which scattered immediately) and five sheep across the canyon along the YPA trail. All of the osprey nests are still abandoned... there aren't even any Canada geese occupying them.

A quiet day ended with even more bison

It actually started to snow very lightly as I turned back at Tower Fall, but the sun soon reappeared, guaranteeing at least one more quick jaunt through the Lamar before sundown. A bald eagle was swooping through the valley, having a tough time tracing the Lamar River as the wind suddenly picked up with some big gusts. At about this time, I also realized that I've started getting into a habit of trying to see which bison/pronghorn/elk look pregnant... a futile task if there ever was one, but I guess that's what happens when one doesn't see much else most of the day. I'd guess the bison will probably start giving birth within the next couple weeks... when Willem and I were in the park in mid-late April last year, a few babies were already stumbling about.

The sun set fiercely, and I snapped a couple shots of these bison making a beeline past my favorite tree in the Lamar before driving on to ensure I wouldn't be stuck behind them in a jam.

No bears and a subpar photo day in general. However, I expect that with more than four hours of sleep tonight and the three separate wolf packs battling it out over a carcass tomorrow morning in the Lamar, Saturday will be a much better day!