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!!