Wednesday, May 16, 2012...

We had breakfast this morning at the Two-Bit Saloon here in Gardiner, MT where they also serve a locally brewed beers is called Moose Drool. Their specialty there is a breakfast burrito which is so large that most people share it. From there we headed to Yellowstone and the Lamar Valley of Yellowstone lived up to it's reputation so it was a lucky day for us. Our first big sighting was a mother grizzly bear with two little baby cubs. We watched her take a swim in a pond with one of the babies on her back. Then they all came out, dried off and continued on their way. I only got one picture but Jim was able to get lots of them with his telephoto lens. We also saw two other lone grizzly bears in different locations and we were able to get pictures of one of them.

We saw a wolf pup but he was too far away to get a picture. We were told by someone else who was watching him that the whole family was there earlier but they had all moved on except for this one. There are hundreds, if not thousands, of buffalo throughout Yellowstone and most don't seem shy so we have seen a LOT of them. And needless to say, we have taken a lot of pictures of them.

Around the Mammoth Hot Springs Visitor Center, there is a large grassy area and a few elk seem to gather there each day to hang out. They eat the grass and sleep there, too. We took some pictures and they almost look like statues.

In addition we saw a few antelope, plenty more elk and Jim is hoping to get some shots of a wolf. The elk aren't as majestic looking at this time of the year since they have all shed their antlers.

All in all, it was an interesting day with lots of interesting sights. We have been so lucky to have good weather except for a couple days we were in Golden. We will visit some different places in Yellowstone tomorrow and hopefully find some new, interesting sights. We ended up getting some bear spray so we will feel comfortable hiking on some of the trails. It probably wouldn't matter quite as much if it was another time of the year but since the bears have their cubs now, they may be more protective, and most people seem to carry bear spray.