It’s 10AM and 64 pleasant degrees as I set off for my first wolf watching trip to Yellowstone since early June.

Skies are mostly clear, a little hazy but not too smoky.

Everything is dry and golden. So far, the drive has been mostly wildlife free and I notice considerable traffic on 89.

Friends have warned me that the Park is still as busy as it is in summer.

I arrive around noon and wind up the Old Gardiner Road, seeing a few pronghorn scattered about on the nearby hills.

I find some pretty early fall color through the Blacktail; mostly some patches of orange/red ground cover and a golden aspen or two.

When I get to Slough, I drive down the campground road to the gravel lot. The latest bison carcass, in Slough Creek itself, is down to bones which no longer draw the well-fed wolves.

I do spot a badger scurrying through the sage.

I continue east through Lamar, finding lots of cars and people but the only wildlife is bison and pronghorn. It’s already hot, at 85.

My drive east is gorgeous as usual. I grin when I find the “pothole bridge” has been paved over. Not patched, as it usually is, but completely re-paved. Very smooth!

I get to Silver Gate around 2PM, unpack and settle in. I call Rick to get an update and learn that the Mollie’s were seen near the Druid rendezvous in the late morning.

He also warns me about a problematic grizzly prowling the Silver Gate area, that was looking in John K’s cabin last night until John’s dog scared it away.

After this call I go out to my car to make sure I’ve left no food in it.

I head back out around 5 and climb Geriatric to look for Mollies. Around 6:15 with no wolves in view, I head to Slough where I am delighted to find Celia. We have a great reunion. She also announces that she has pups in view.

What could be better?

For the next hour, she and I enjoy watching the antics of 3 black pups and dear 907F herself. They are playing in and out of the gully below the sage den. The pups look so big to me!

Dusty is up on Adams Knoll which allows him to see more of the gully and a portion of Hidden Meadow. He tips us off over the radio whenever a wolf is moving into an area we are likely to see from Bob’s Knob.

Two black pups mosey through the spring meadow towards the goal post tree. A third black pup appears on top of the flower hill, mousing.

A bull bison makes his way into the area and gets the pups’ attention for a while, but he moves through without incident. There is a stiff wind here that is bothersome at times, but we manage anyway.

Dusty can see the other two pups (a black and a gray) but they never move into a position we can see from our position.

The mousing pup wanders over to the crescent rock. 907F emerges from behind the flower hill and begins to lead them slowly towards the Diagonal Forest.

I’m thrilled to see her, especially on my first day. Feels like a good omen!

There is no earth-shaking activity; just another evening at home. But I am happy to see it, and to share it with my dear friend.

Around 7:30 we lose our wolves behind the trees of the forest. So back east we go, navigating through two bison jams with minimal trouble.

It’s good to be back!

Today I saw: a badger, bison (and calves), pronghorn, 4 Junction wolves (including 3 black pups and 907F) and the spirits of Allison, Richard, Jeff and Chloe.