I moved from West Yellowstone to Gardiner in the North last week to have better access to Lamar Valley and its wolves. That led to disappointment, and I wound up driving daily back to Hayden Valley and the north shore of the lake for grizzlies. 13 years ago, when I started visiting Lamar Valley, I was up before dawn with other photographers looking for wolves and recent elk kill. In more recent years the Lamar Valley now fills with first-time visitors, all armed with spotting scopes. The crowds wait in the handful of overlooks for hours to catch sight of wolves at great distances. The elk population in this part of the park seems to have dramatically fallen, and the wolf packs work at great distances from the crowded road-way.

Online investigation informed me that now there are a number of published guides, including from the Park Service, suggesting such viewing activity. Further around a dozen guide services now carry electronic receivers to locate and triangulate (with multiple receivers) wolf activity at a distance. They use radio communication to race to the nearest determined wolf activity, almost all of which is close to a mile from the roadways. Bottom line, Lamar Valley seems very different to me from a decade ago, and not very friendly for wildlife photography.

Anyway, as I spent more time in the lake shore roadways, I was within good photo range most days, and captured more wonderful “big bear” shots, plus sighting Black Bear a number of times, and the ever-present encounters with thousands of Bison. I believe some of the big bear shots are more entertaining than those I published last week.

I am now in Bozeman, Mt, enjoying the Museum of the Rockies, and will in a few days start the trek back to Tucson, just in time for the World Cup and triple digit heat. Later. Dave