Tuesday, December 4th we were too sore from snowboarding that we couldn't do it again. We could barely move, in fact. So we dropped my dad at the slopes and we decided to drive 45 miles south to Yellowstone.
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| This picture is actually in color, but it looks like black and white because of all the snow! |
It began snowing pretty hard as soon as we headed south. I expected lots of snow, as this part of Montana gets an average of 300 inches / 762 cm of snow per year!
Along the way we were watching intently for animals. Yellowstone is famous for its wildlife. There are moose, bison (buffalo), long-horned sheep, bears and wolves in this part of the country. It's not a place where you should get lost! We didn't see anything until THERE IT WAS! A wolf bounded out of the trees, saw us, and promptly turned to run. I slammed on the breaks and backed up on the road, but he was long gone. I'm quite sure he was hiding right in front of us. He couldn't have run off in a few seconds. But we never saw him again.
We got to West Yellowstone only to find everything closed. Even McDonald's was closed. WHAT? That just doesn't happen. But it did happen! Apparently this time of year the entrance to Yellowstone is closed at this location. There is only one way in... and THIS way was not the right way.
So we found a Grizzly & Wolf Discovery Center open and went in. We were the ONLY people there!
We first witnessed the wolves howling! There are two packs at the Center. Each pack has four wolves. Wolves were hunted to near extinction in the United States many years ago. They were seen as a nuisance to farmers since they would kill farm animals. In the past twenty years the United States has taken steps to re-introduce the wolves to Yellowstone National Park and they have flourished.
Below is a video of the wolves howling. Sorry it's sideways. I'm having trouble rotating it!
Next we watched some Grizzly bears being fed and then playing. The two we watched were Kobuk and Nakina. These two are brother and sister and were rescued from Alaska after their mother and brother were shot. I have video of them playing together and I'll try to post it later if I can get it to rotate correctly.
On the way home from West Yellowstone we were following a river the whole way. It was the Gallatin River. Even though it was freezing outside, we decided to stop and feel how cold it was. Yeah... that water is cold!
We got to West Yellowstone only to find everything closed. Even McDonald's was closed. WHAT? That just doesn't happen. But it did happen! Apparently this time of year the entrance to Yellowstone is closed at this location. There is only one way in... and THIS way was not the right way.
So we found a Grizzly & Wolf Discovery Center open and went in. We were the ONLY people there!
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| Eye contact... not a good thing! |
Below is a video of the wolves howling. Sorry it's sideways. I'm having trouble rotating it!
Next we watched some Grizzly bears being fed and then playing. The two we watched were Kobuk and Nakina. These two are brother and sister and were rescued from Alaska after their mother and brother were shot. I have video of them playing together and I'll try to post it later if I can get it to rotate correctly.
On the way home from West Yellowstone we were following a river the whole way. It was the Gallatin River. Even though it was freezing outside, we decided to stop and feel how cold it was. Yeah... that water is cold!
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