I am off to the Park for a short visit with my wolf-watching friends Missy and Andy.

As they are now regularly spending the summer in Bozeman, I see them frequently, but this is the first chance we’ve had to wolf watch together.

They almost cancelled their reservations in Cooke City because Hurricane Milton is bearing down on their Sarasota home. But they figured this trip would serve as a perfect distraction, since they are unable to “do anything” about it from this distance.

I set off around 10:15 and they leave a little later.

Bozeman has been smoky lately but today dawned bright and clear. Our fall color has been increasing daily. We have lots of yellow and gold and are finally getting reds and oranges, too.

The drive is easy and picturesque. The rolling hills are golden and dry but lovely as usual.

It’s around 12:15 when I begin winding my way up the Old Gardiner Road. I’ve seen very little wildllife on the way in, but now I see some pronghorn on the distant hills.

We had planned to join up in Mammoth to see and hear elk bugling but there is a road-crew at work here, doing some paving, so we continue east instead.

Lots of pronghorn with several fawns-of-the-year graze south of Curve lot, drawing a happy crowd.

At Slough we drive down the campground road and stop at Bob’s to scope the rendezvous. We see nothing so I suggest we try Lamar Canyon West for a higher angle.

When I pull in, I am greeted unexpectedly by Jeff A. His camper is nowhere to be found. Instead he has a dark pickup truck, and is currently using its tailgate as a desk for his laptop, on which he is composing a wolf-report note to Laurie.

I am delighted to learn that he just got an apartment in Gardiner which means he’ll be spending a lot more time in the Park. Yay!

He says no wolves in view at the moment but I put up my scope anyway. I see what I think is a bedded black in the Marge rendezvous.

Jeff takes a look and the wolf kindly raises its head in confirmation. As Missy and Andy arrive, my one black turns into 6 wolves: 4 black and 2 gray.

I think they all just got up from a nap. They rally and greet and then re-bed.

After a half hour we decide to continue to Cooke to check in. We’ll come back here later.

I bid goodbye to Jeff and set off east.

The Lamar River in the Canyon is so low I am shocked. I don’t remember ever seeing it this low!

We have only one lone coyote sighting in Lamar and nothing but bison in Soda Butte Valley. But we do see a fox at Round Prairie and a few mule deer between Silver Gate and Cooke.

I check into the Elkhorn while they go to the High Country, which allows their two dogs.

After settling in and having a quick meal, I stop by to check on my friends. Poor Missy is stressed because their wi-fi is not working so they have not yet been able to check on the people staying in their Sarasota home.

She says she will try to use the wi-fi across the street at the Community Center. She tells me to go on and they will catch up.

Soon I am back at Canyon West. Jeff is now on Dave’s Hill and has wolves in view. I set up and find wolves right where I left them. I ask Jeff how many?

He has eleven! It takes me a while but I end up finding them all: eight blacks and three grays.

But when I alert Jeff that I have found all his wolves, he laughs and says he’s now up to thirteen; ten blacks and three grays!

I set about finding two more blacks. The wolves treat us to a delightful sighting, playing, digging, tussling and goofing off. There is a deep gully in the flat which they find irresistible, and they climb in and out of it.

I also see a pair of bald eagles perched in a nearby tree.

Missy and Andy pull in and are thrilled with the sighting. They are additionally happy because they got in touch with their friends in Sarasota. So far, their house is OK other than a tree in the backyard which was blown down. Their friends still have power and are determined to ride out the storm.

Bill joins us and I can tell he’s seen a grizzly! In fact, he’s found one of his favorite bears, the “ski slope sow” with her single coy. He says they have unusual coloring, both very blonde. He says he left them grazing on Amethyst bench.

I follow Bill back there with the intention of returning here once I’ve seen the bears. When we arrive at Coyote overlook, Bill says they are moving out of sight.

I end up looking through his scope and see the back end of a bear disappearing behind a tree. He wonders where her cub is. He sees the bear again, briefly, and seems confused. He thinks it’s a different bear because this one is quite dark and the sow and cub are blonde.

Hmmm

I return to Canyon West only to find the light has dimmed faster than expected. I can barely see the wolves now!

But then they start to move, which helps me see them. I count four traveling behind Marge and then upslope parallel to the line of trees in the Mixed forest.

I also see a few other wolves moving towards the creek.

A little after 7PM we call it a night and head back east. We end up stuck behind a line of slo-goes and no opportunity to pass safely. We inch through several bison jams and stop for a few mule deer as they cross the road.

We gather in their suite for a beer and popcorn while watching the hurricane news.

Today I saw: bison, a coyote, mule deer, elk, a fox, pronghorn, 11 Junction wolves (including 5 pups and 6 adults) and the spirits of Allison, Richard, Jeff and Chloe.