Bear and Moose and Elk - Oh My!

Today was an absolutely amazing day as you can tell from these pictures - I am just giving you a single shot of each of the three main wildlife sightings we had today - I was so excited today that I just can't explain it to you.

Well, can you tell we went to Yellowstone again today? We got up this morning and decided it was a Yellowstone day - so I took a shower, got dressed, made the bed, straightened up the kitchen and we were out the door by 9:30 - Pups and all! (We didn't know how long we were going to be gone today, so we decided to take the puppies with us - am I glad we did - we didn't get home until after 7 o'clock - Long Day!) We went into West Yellowstone and decided that we would head for Silver Gate - a town at the northeast entrance to the park. So, basically what we had to do was start on the west side, and travel the upper loop of the park to get to Silver Gate - and we knew this was the section of the park roads that are under construction - everyone tells you to expect 30 minutes delays, and we did have a couple but it was okay - the scenery was wonder - (Dan said that God was the best landscaper ever - no one can hold a stick to Him and I would have to agree!)

After we get into the park and head over toward Canyon (you have several intersections you have to go through to get to different sections of the park). Dan and I were talking about what type of wild life we would love to see. I said I wanted to see a bear and a bull moose. Dan said he also wanted to see a Bull Elk. Well, we weren't sure we would see anything, but we were hoping. Who would have guessed we would see all three?

First we saw the bear - and I mean it was right there and absolutely the prettiest thing you have ever seen - I was sitting in the truck window to take the pictures - it was so close I wouldn't dare get out of the truck. As you can plainly see it was wonderful. I must have smiled for at least 5 miles.

Next thing we know there are cars in front of us slowing down - that usually means there is some kind of wild life near. Dan says - pay attention this looks like it could be a moose territory and sure enough right there was the nicest Bull Moose you would want to see - now his rack was not that large (I don't know if they grow new racks every year or if he was just young) but he was standing in this lake and eating and posing for pictures. Once again, I didn't get out of the truck - there was a ranger there that was keeping a pretty close eye on everyone - We have found out that the window is a nice place to crawl out and sit to take pictures - I did that all day!

Now, Dan and I were so excited - I mean, we hadn't been in the park longer than an hour and we had seen a bear and a moose - what else did the day hold for us? Well, how about a momma bear and two cubs? Yep! They were far enough up the hillside that I did get out of the truck and took some pictures - the cubs like to play hide and seek behind rocks and trees, but I did get a pretty good shot of momma and one of the cubs - now this momma bear was MUCH bigger than the other bear we saw today - I mean MUCH BIGGER!!!! It was really neat to see her and the cubs, but to tell you the truth, I'm sorta glad she stayed up on the hillside.

We drove and saw the most beautiful scenery - waterfalls and creeks and lakes and mountains and snow! We went through Silver Gate (boy! am I glad we decided NOT to take the job there - it is right in the middle of all the construction and there isn't a whole lot there - Like maybe one or two stores and that's it!) We drove on down the road about 3 - 4 miles to Cooke City (we did have to wait in a construction line and we asked the construction worker that holds the "Stop" sign where would be a good place to eat - she gave us the name of 3 places). So, when we got there we stopped at the Bear Tooth and had lunch - chili burgers - they were really pretty good and filling!

Back in the car and drove back into Yellowstone - going on around the loop to end up back in West Yellowstone. And lo and behold, what did we see but Dan's Bull Elk - once again so close to the truck that I sat in the window and took the pictures - I must have twenty of the Elk - in one he is eating the grass but looking straight at me - it is so awesome!!!!! Now the rack on this Elk is absolutely amazing - it's HUGE and it is still in velvet! I don' think I uploaded the best picture of the Elk but if you would like to see more let me know and I can email them to you.

Anyway, we had a fabulous day - the puppies were the best ever - they stayed in the back seat and didn't try to come up for me to hold them all day. It made it very nice when I am sitting with the camera in my lap they whole time looking for game. We also saw buffalo - I got the cutest picture of a little baby buffalo - it's looking right at me - then he turned to run to momma and I have a picture of a little buffalo butt! We also saw deer and antelope and female elk - I have lots of pictures of female elk. I just can not describe the beauty and majesty of our trip today! All I can saw is AMAZING!

Tomorrow we have to come back to real life and go do laundry - Dan will probably try his hand at fishing (we bought his fishing license in Rexburg yesterday - $98.00 for an out of state licenses- YIKES!) Oh well, he wants to fish and he had to have a license so it's fine! We did go to Wal Mart in Rexburg yesterday and then we watched a movie last night (Shrek 2 - bought it for $3.00- there were some funny parts).

Well, I'll sign off for now and if anyone wants to see more pictures let me know and I'll be glad to email them to you - they are pretty awesome!