It’s cooler this morning at 37 with quite a bit of fog on the drive to the valley.

Round Prairie is especially foggy.

As I have the last several mornings, I start at the Peregrine carcass spot. Today there are three grizzlies enjoying a morning meal.

Gary believes this is a sow with two large cubs. I set up in time to see the sow moving off.

The two cubs remain, still feeding. I see one wolf, a gray, who seems intent on sharing the carcass with these two large bruins. The gray stands momentarily in silhouette on the berm with the three boulders.

A pair of coyotes arrive, and I mistakenly believe this to be proof that the last wolf has left. But nope. The gray is 907 and she’s not finished yet.

The bear siblings have a loud disagreement over something, which erupts into a fight complete with both bears standing up to swipe at each other.

907 cleverly takes advantage and slips in to feed while the bears are squabbling. Gary captures it all on video.

I move to Slough and set up on Daves.

All 5 pups are now in the flats left of Marge, along with several adults, including dark gray, and non-identified black.

They pups follow the two adults to the south, past the round tree. I wonder if they are about to venture to the carcass. Or were they perhaps taken there last night and want to return?

Dark gray travels further south while the pups stall out on a bare hilltop. They pups begin to look a bit uncertain of being this far from their more familiar surroundings.

After about 5 minutes, the gray pup takes charge and leads the other four back to the Marge Tree “family room”. The gray pup is gorgeous and seems to have the makings of an alpha already.

As the pups pass 1479’s hole, they stop. All five of them turn to look back south.

Here comes 907! They run to greet her and she feeds them. Soon mama and all five pups have full tummies and need a nap.

1478F arrives a bit later. She also feeds the pups.

Dark gray comes back and finds an easy chair of his own. 907 explores 1479’s “excavation” and beds near it. A bit later, they get up one by one and move back to the deep sage behind Marge.

Someone reports seeing a single black wolf south of Long pullout. We can see that area from here and turn our scopes that direction.

Rick finds it quickly. It’s the alpha male, wandering about, trending towards the tree line.

Someone else finds a second black to the south. Gary finds this one. It’s the black male, nose to the ground, more or less following the route of the alpha male.

The two wolves eventually meet but then quickly go their separate ways again. The black male eventually crosses the road and returns to the group near Marge.

I hike down to my car intending to visit the carcass spot when I hear a report of wolves being seen in Lamar. Most people, including me, think it may be mean the Mollies are visiting.

I have to negotiate several bison jams before I get far enough east to see the wolves in Lamar. But I am finally able to join Gary on Hubbard Hill.

The wolves are not Mollies but five Junction females: 1479F, 1477F, 1385F, the uncollared black and the uncollared gray.

According to the guide who radioed, they were first spotted coming down the eastern end of Jasper Bench.

The five travel at a brisk clip to the east, halfway between the river and the treeline, utilizing that no- nonsense “on a mission” trot.

While we follow them up the valley we also see two badgers, several pronghorn and a pair of sandhills.

Gary and I speculate as to why they are here in Lamar. Perhaps they want to see what’s happening in this end of the valley? Traveling mile after mile is just no big deal to a wolf, much less to young, well-fed ones like these five.

As they approach the double foothill, their brisk pace falters and they seem to stall out. Then they begin to play. 1479 is seen scent marking several spots. She uses a flex leg and back-scratches. She’s too much!

They come upon some bedded bison, which stand quickly and bunch up. The wolves seem to make brief contact with one young cow but nothing more develops.

They move a bit further and turn their attention to a different young cow grazing a bit separate from her herd. The wolves start to surround her while she stands her ground bravely. She is soon rescued by her herd.

The wolves shake off any disappointment they might feel (after all, they are hardly hungry!) and move back towards the trees east of the middle foothill.

It’s now high noon and a pleasant 57 degrees. It’s past time for my break so I head back east.

After a lovely early dinner at the Beartooth Café with several wolf-watching buds, we all head back down to the valley.

We see no wolf activity in Lamar so I continue to Bob’s Knob where I happily find Paul. He’s back for a while and has wolves in view left of the Round Tree.

I see three gray adults and all five pups. They get up and soon move south. I wonder (again) if they might be bringing the pups to the carcass?

All too soon we lose them so I head back to my car to drive to the Peregrine carcass spot.

I join a happy group here and have a very pleasant evening. We never see any wolves arrive, though. It looks like this carcass may be finished.

We do see a single elk slowly climbing the west slope of the Peregrine hill. She seems winded, as if she just escaped from being chased. She disappears behind the hill and reappears on the eastern side, alert and cautious.

I feel bad for this elk, all alone away from her herd.

We also see a coyote in the flat near the pond, heading to the carcass.

Celia and I head back east around 7:30. We are stuck in a longish bison jam near the ranch but eventually get through.

We climb Trash Can hill to scope for the five Junctions but find only bison, sandhills and a beautiful evening. I see a fox just outside the entrance gate

Today I saw: 2 badgers, 3 grizzly bears, coyotes, sandhill cranes, a bald eagle, an elk, a fox, pronghorn, 10 Junction wolves including and the spirits of Allison, Richard, Jeff and Chloe.