DAY NINE - Monday, January 2

BYE BYE BIGHORNS

I wake up in the dark even without setting my alarm.

So I figure this is a sign that I ought to head into the Park one last time in hopes of seeing a wolf.

And once I start packing up I see Richard and Mike in the breakfast room, and they insist on my coming in once more.

So I do. I meet them at the Canyon carcass spot. They say I just missed a gray feeding here. They don't know if he was a Blacktail or a Canyon or a loner.

I do see a little coyote trotting by the willows.

There are several elk on the higher hills, and we watch them for telltale signs of nearby wolves but see only normal elk behavior.

The sun rise is gorgeous! It casts a lovely pink glow on Electric Peak.

I say goodbye (again!) to Richard and Mike and Karen and they head further east. I drive down to the big lot just inside the gate and look for bighorns.

I find several of them up on the cliffs of McMinn Bench so I settle in to watch a while. Two young rams stand stock still, facing each other. This goes on for a really long time. I also see another ram following a ewe. She seemed totally uninterested in him, but he kept following anyway. I am hoping to see head-butting, but it looks like I may be too late in the season for that.

I chat a bit with Allison, and say goodbye to her.

Then I get myself ready for the highway drive home. There are several mule deer in view just before Yankee Jim Canyon, and a golden eagle in a tree above the Yellowstone.

I head back via Trail Creek, coating the car with dust and dirt, but enjoying the scenery all the way.

Wow, what a great trip this has been!

Today I saw: bison, 1 coyote, mule deer, elk, a golden eagle, a hawk, bighorn sheep, 3 wolf-watchers and the spirit of Allison

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