DAY FIVE - Monday, December 30

THE JUNCTIONS


Today my first stop is at the Nature Trail where I join Richard & Steve. It’s very cold, especially since we have nothing in sight.

I head east and stop at Hellroaring to scope a bit. Nothing there, either!

There are bison on the road which nearly cause Richard & Steve to crash.

We scope at Elk Creek; nothing there, either.

When we reach Little America we hear that the Junctions are visible at Slough but there is no parking to be had! So I end up at Lamar Canyon West. Marlene is here, as well as numerous others. I hike up a little ways on the north side and see plenty from there, even though it’s a long look. Total wolves 8; two black and five gray Junctions plus gray 911. It is thought that 911 and 890 are both Blacktail wolves – possibly brothers. This might be why 911 can get so close to the alpha female without prompting the wrath of the alpha male.

After the crowd thins out I move down to Bob's Knob. From here I see a confrontation between 870 and 911 – he wants to join this group. Some of them seen willing and others not so much. Overall it indicates that the back and forth has been going on a while. We see 911 and a gray pup having a friendly greeting.

C & L find the rest of the pack further west, bedded on a rocky slope. I move west to Aspen and scope with Rick & Richard a while. Then Rick heads home and Steve joins us. We show some really nice people the wolves, including several who initially have a hard time seeing them. Then the wolves move and we lose them a while, then Steve finds them again on another rocky slope. They are much harder to see in this spot.

I decide to head east, expecting the Lamars to be on the carcass that Rick moved. But no. Worse, there is nothing at all on it! I drive further east, having been told there are many moose in the willows up in Round Prairie.

I stop there and find four – not realizing there were actually five!

I am looking forward to seeing Laurie when she and Dan arrive today – but they get a late start and she does not arrive until I am headed back to Gardiner.

Becky and Chloe and I have dinner at Outlaws with Marlene & her friend Alice.

Today I saw: bison, elk, 4 moose and 8 wolves (7 Junction Buttes and 911M) and the spirit of Allison.

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