Outdoor Adventures with Gary Lee - Vol. 352

I didn’t take long to plunge right back into winter after one day in the forties, which was great for the Frozen Fire and Lights in Inlet. There was even a nice wind blowing for the kite flying in the afternoon. It was blowing so good that many of the kid’s little kites ended up in the pine trees on shore, but they were all having fun flying them. The big kites were nice flying in a blue sky with a few puffy white clouds. I watched the mighty Loons hockey players in a game against a team from Whitestown. They were fun to watch and photograph. They were much improved from when I last watched them two years ago. The cardboard sled races are also a hoot some come straight down and across the finish line other tumble down and get pushed across the line. One pusher fell and beat all the sleds down the hill sliding on his butt and even crossed the finish line. Lots of people in town enjoying the beautiful day. The blue haze from the many snowmobiles hung in the air. That one thing that was different, out in Yellowstone all the snowmobiles had to be four cycle engines to operate in the park.

So, back out in Yellowstone when we were driving in from Gardiner, the first four days you went from bare ground in town to two feet of snow in Silver Gate. Kurt Gardner and his daughter had dinner with us that last night in town and they went into the park with us driving on the plowed roads the next day. We caught the full moon going down that morning over snow covered mountains, many people in the parking area had the same idea. It was very frosty that morning and hoar frost coated many of the trees and bushes along the Lamar River making for great photos. Kurt had seen red foxes every day up near Silver Gate and all we ever saw was tracks and it was the same that day we saw many tracks but no foxes. We saw moose that morning and an otter playing in the river right beside the road. Near where the otters were playing there was beautiful Blad Eagle sitting in one of those frosted trees. It was watching the otters and if they caught a fish and brought it up on the ice, he would dive on them and try to take it away. I’m sure the eagle is successful sometimes or he wouldn’t be perched there. There were a couple coyotes who came right up to the road to have their pictures taken. They were always on the hunt and if they heard a mouse or vole under the snow they would sneak up and pounce into the snow sometimes two or three times and catch their prey for lunch.

Coming back out of the park that day in one of the last pull-off parking areas there were a couple of set up scopes which usually meant there were wolves to see so we stopped. Sure enough, over two miles away there was a pack of wolves lounging and playing around in the sage brush. One gentleman there from California let me look through his scope and watch the wolves. He said that some of the wolves from Yellowstone had moved into the upper corner of state of California, but these were much easier to see here from the roadways. It sure brings lots of people into the park. Most that you talk to are looking for a pack of wolves or even just one. Most times they are located as they are heard howling even two miles away and then found by glassing with a scope or binoculars. Some folks have a way of descoping with their cell phone, and they get some great pictures even two miles away. We saw some of those photos and they were surprisingly good.

Not far down the road we found a beautiful mule deer who still had his antlers. Close to him there was a herd of bison coming over the ridge.

Every night coming back into town we would see many antelopes and a few mule deer and one night there was a bison grazing right on a lawn in town.

Looks like a break coming in the winter weather at the end of the week but that’s another story. See ya.

Photo above: Bald eagle