). On the way in on Tuesday we drove through the Tetons but didn't see much except elk, bison, and a bald eagle perched in a tree on the way out to Kelly. After shoveling on Wednesday we drove out to Gardiner. Lots of eagles and a couple of hawks, a herd of elk, and lots of deer along the way. We then drove over the river at Corwin Springs and along the Old Yellowstone Road into Gardiner. There were two herds of Bighorn Sheep along the road and the males were very active in pursuing the females and showing dominance behavior towards each other. We even got to see two of them square off and butt heads. That was the first time for Karen and second time for me. Sooo cool. Unfortunately, it was just after we arrived at the second herd and they were at the wrong angle to catch the moment with the camera through the car windshield. But got lots of other good shots.
DSC_0131 by William Reinke, on Flickr
DSC_0141 by William Reinke, on Flickr
DSC_0137 by William Reinke, on Flickr
DSC_0128 by William Reinke, on FlickrThursday morning we got into Yellowstone at first light. We stopped and talked to a guide who had a client with him. They were looking for the eight-mile pack that they had seen yesterday across from the Rescue Creek Trailhead, but nothing out today. They then told us about a cougar sighting yesterday near Petrified Tree so we took off hopeful to see the number 1 animal still left on my bucket list. There were people out scanning the area but no cougar. It had apparently been collared yesterday and the signal was still in the area but was holed up somewhere out of sight. Bummer
. The Junction Buttes were out yesterday but now had gone out over the ridge and not visiible either. As my dad used to say "A day late and a dollar short". We headed out to Lamar and it started to snow. I had never seen Lamar look so deserted of animal life. There were a few single bison a couple of places and that was it. We were going to head out through Cooke City and Chief Joseph Hwy, but with the snow I chickened out. Instead went back out through Gardiner. On our way past Slough Creek we did see a coyote catch a fairly large rodent in the snow, maybe a ground squirrel??? Thought they all hibernated but whatever it was, it was a pretty big mouthful which it quickly devoured.[img
DSCF8979 by William Reinke, on Flickr][/img]It was a bit disappointing in terms of seeing wildlife, but it was still beautiful and the bighorns outside the park were neat. We also saw about 20 eagles total on the trip which was cool. We will probably head back out in February or March sometime and when we do, we will post what we see.
) tends to be me most of the time, too. Still, sounds like it was beautiful and I'd love to be there, even without a lot of animals. Really appreciate you sharing your trip with us.