I’m out at 7AM, finding another inch of fresh snow. Like yesterday, it’s still coming down pretty heavily.

We may have visibility issues today.

At the Confluence, I see Rick and Kara, so I stop to check in with them. They report seeing numerous coyotes roaming the river bottoms through the veil of snow.

I continue west, stopping at Trash. The wind is still present but much reduced from yesterday. I scope and listen but get nothing.

I go further west, joining Laurie and Dan at the Ranch. We are just about to continue when Kara calls again.

She says the snow has let up enough for them to have found a fresh carcass in the river bottoms. They suspect wolves are about.

Yay! We head back and find parking at Geriatric.

I see Bob L already in position with his huge camera on the hill. He radios that he sees the Mollies bedded on the riverbank above the carcass.

Yes!

Soon I have six beautiful Mollie’s wolves in my scope.

They are bedded in a patch of snow between two horizontal lines of sage. The carcass is below them and a bit east, easy to see on a wide gravel bar between two thin channels of the Lamar. A bald eagle waits its turn while three coyotes and numerous birds feed.

A long antler identifies the carcass as a bull elk.

Two more coyotes approach the carcass. One of these is chased away quite aggressively by another. While that chase continues, I see the limping coyote emerge from the river channel, eyeing the carcass with cautious interest.

Laurie has found two more Mollies, making a full count of 8 (five grays and three blacks). We are able to ID 1339M and 1090F.

Snow continues to fall, sometimes so thickly that it obscures the wolves even from this relatively close distance.

Bob tells us he first saw a single black Mollie on the edge of the riverbank, as if contemplating a return visit to the carcass. He says the wolf seemed to change its mind and returned to the bedded group.

In the midst of a snow squall, the Mollies get up and stretch and have a rally. Their shapes become ghost-like as they nuzzle each other.

We follow the ghost-wolves as they move southwest behind a low hill. Luckily for us, they soon re-appear a bit further southeast. One black beds and soon the others follow suit.

More people are arriving on the hill and it’s hard to show them the wolves with the thick snow falling. But that squall passes and soon the bedded wolves are easy to see again.

There is a little bit of movement to follow and the coyote-show at the carcass is a welcome distraction.

It’s a really lovely sighting, and I feel especially grateful since I missed them yesterday.

As 10AM nears, the snowfall thickens once more, making the view difficult again.

I begin saying my goodbyes and hike down to my car.

As I head off to BZN, the roads get a bit worse, so I slow down to about 25. Snow falls continuously the whole way.

There seems to be an unusually high amount of traffic heading east today. Perhaps there is finally enough fresh snow on the ground in the Park to encourage skiers and snow-shoers.

However, more visitors means more slide offs. One occurs in my rear-view mirror as I am passing Blacktail Ponds. I suspect the driver was distracted when he suddenly spotted a herd of bison grazing near the Ponds.

Helena is a minute or so behind me. I hear her radio 911 to alert them of the slide off.

Once I get across the high bridge, though, the road is dry again.

The OGR is easy and I stop briefly to say my goodbyes and thanks to Allison.

To my relief, both 89 and 90 are clear and I get back to BZN before 1PM

Today I saw: bison, six coyotes, a bald eagle, elk, 8 Mollie’s wolves (including 1090F and 1339 for a total of five grays and three blacks) and the spirits of Allison, Richard, Jeff and Chloe.