Just chillin'

Managed to check out of the hotel early and leave around 7am to head further north into Hayden valley and then Lamar valley today as we needed to get to Gardiner for our next hotel. Stopped off at the spot we had seen bear 864 yesterday and were lucky enough to get a quick sighting of her before they went over the hill, apparently she had been a lot closer to the road about an hour earlier. Stopped off at the ranger station to get some breakfast but the queue was too long so bought some lunch and a bear claw bottle opener and headed north. Stopped at the Tower falls to have a look and saw a redtail hawk in the car park while we waited for J&A. Went along the Dunraven pass and then turned into the Lamar valley to try and find some more bears and maybe some wolves. Did manage to find a fox a Yellowstone picnic area but not much else. Stunning drive all the way to the north east entrance and went outside to see some of the Beartooth pass but not much. Stopped off at the town just outside the park called Silver Gate for some ice cream which had been recommended by J’s friend, which was very good. Next was a stop at Soda Bute, and old vent by the side of the road which have very tame ground squirrels that tried to climb up J’s leg. Saw some pronghorn on the top of the hill next to the road on the way back. Stopped short of what we thought was a bear jam and walked over to it. Turned out to be a bear that was having a nap under some small trees. Climbed up the hill next to the road and managed to get some photos of it lying under the bushes having a rest. J talked to a few people while we were waiting and found out the location of a wolf den nearby and a few other things. The bear finally got up and had a walk around so we were able to get a few more photos but she was still a long distance away for my camera. Once she had gone we headed to the wolf den. Lots of other people were there and we managed to see the female and the cub through someone else’s scope. Took a speculative shot of the general area just in case. Got to the hotel late due to a 30 minute wait in the road works to find they didn’t have a meal reservation or us but they were very helpful and put us on the waiting list. Manged to get into the room and carry the luggage up 2 flights of stairs and have a shower, just after that the table was ready. Had a very nice and affordable burger and couple of beers before getting ready for our early start tomorrow.