5 Days in Yellowstone - Day 5

It's our last day of our vacation in Yellowstone.  The end always comes way too soon!

We start our day like the other 4 - up at 4:30 and we were leaving the motel by 6:15 after packing up all of our stuff.  Not that much really - just the luggage.  Always sad to see this day come . . . 

It's another foggy morning and we find the Black Bear at the end of Blacktail Plateau Drive again. 

The crowd is in the same spot we left them yesterday with the Black Bear + 3.  But she's sleeping behind a tree this morning.  We wait but nothing is happening so we load back up.

We drive thru Little America, Lamar Valley and Soda Butte Valley and turn around way up the road at Warm Creek.  Just past Trout Lake we stop and check out the Grizzly and 2 yearling cubs way up high.

The Grizzly is back out and still way up high at Slough Creek.  She comes out to the edge of the rocks and always looks in the same direction but we never see any cubs this morning.  On the opposite side the Wolves are in and out of the den.

Back we go to Tower and the Mama Bear is finally up and down closer to the road.  We find a spot to sit and watch.  She finally comes down to the pond in front of us.

 
She must smell really Great after that dirty water bath!!

She wanders up the hill and she's probably going to get the cubs down but it's taking her forever and Don and I have to hit the road.  

Down by Calcite we find another Black Bear so stop for a bit for him.

 
Don wants to go back to the west as far as maybe Blacktail Ponds but when I tell him we have to get thru that traffic - Twice! since we're going over Dunraven to avoid the construction - he changes his mind and we head for Dunraven.  

When we get to Norris we do go north as far as we can before hitting the construction - just to see if there are any animals over that way - but we don't find anything so head back south.  

No Pika for us today but do find a new Elk calf.  I don't want to stay too long - the Mama Elk is wanting the baby to cross the river and she just came across it as we drove up and the water was up to her back.  If the baby tries to cross - which he does get in the river - it can't end well for him.  Hopefully the Ranger will get the people under control and get an area cleared around them so the Elk don't feel pressured.

We're home about 6:00 pm and it's time to unpack the pickup.  I'll have to set my countdown again when we figure out when our next 5 days in Yellowstone is going to happen.  Until then I have our Red Rock Lakes Drive to look forward to, trips out to Camas and Market Lake and then it's back to Yellowstone in the Fall.  
Thanks for reading all these!
Cindy

5 Days in Yellowstone - Day 4

I can't believe it's Day 4 already!!  These Yellowstone vacations go by much too fast!!

Saturday starts like all the other days - the alarm goes off at 4:30 and we're heading towards the entrance at 6:00 am.   

But this morning we get stopped by the baby Elk who is right beside the road.  Sweet!!  I'm always so happy if we get to see baby Elk before we stop going to Yellowstone!!

 

We make it as far as the entrance to Blacktail Plateau Drive where there are cars stopped.  On the opposite side of the road - in a flat grassy area - there's a single Black Bear grazing.  

Ever since I spotted a Black Bear and cubs way below the road at Hellroaring Overlook we've always kept an eye out for bears.  This morning it wasn't too hard to spot one as she was grazing right beside the road.  No one else was there so we figure she must've just come up to the road as we got there.

I got out and went to the back end of the pickup so I could get some shots and I notice she looks down off the side of the road and knew there were cubs down below.  And they both came up to the road!

This one paused long enuf for me to get a shot of it but the other one kept below the edge.

Right Place - Right Time!!

On to the Roosevelt - Tower area for more bears.  As we rounded a corner a Black Bear comes up the side and crosses - Don and I were the only ones there!!  He climbs the other side of the road and something spooks him and he's gone over the top.

 Down the road the Black Bear with the single cub is out and right by the road.  

 She finally get close enuf that the cub comes up and crosses the road.

Mom comes up and checks things out.
 

She's not happy about something so back to the other side they go.
 

 

We head down to the Tower Store for lunch and right below us in the grass is the Fox!!

 

He rests for awhile but finally gets up and goes hunting.
 

Success!!
 

He lays down and eats his lunch before he disappears over the edge.

We head back towards Roosevelt and find that the Black Bear with the 3 cubs is finally out.  Finally!!

Mom keeps an eye out and finally sends the cubs up a tree when a single Black Bear also comes down the hill.  She also goes up the tree with them and keeps an eye on him.

He seems to know that something isn't quiet right and finally goes up the hill behind them and disappears.  No telling how long Mom with stay up the tree or keep the babies up there so we load up and walk back up the hill to the pickup.

We check things out at Slough Creek and find out there's a Grizzly with new cubs on the mountain behind us.  She's a l-o-n-g ways up there!!

 It rained for an hour so Don had a nap in the pickup while I watched the Wolf Den.  Not much happened!

Time to head to Gardiner - we find a Black Bear down in the Elk Creek area - chewing on a bone.

A few Bison come down the hill and he spooks and over the hill behind him he goes.  

Past Hellroaring Overlook - I always call that other side of the road the Phantom Lake drainage - and there's the Black Bear from this morning and her 2 cubs.
 

They finally wander out of sight so it's time to get to Gardiner.

As we're getting a few things out of the pickup I spot a bunny in the parking lot!

  Here's some more photos from the day!!