Woke up early and headed south to look for the great grey and pine marten. No joy and nothing out east toward Lake Butte either. I did see a grizzly in the field before Mud Volcano, a small subadult I suspect is Obsidian's recently evicted son. But it was far away and heading out so I went to the Roaring Mountain area to check on Obsidian and her cubs and about an hour's wait was rewarded with maybe 40-45 minutes of triplet COYs wrestling with each other. Great experience and hopefully, great pictures.
Went to Tower and saw two different black bears but no good pictures. Saw a cinnamon at the Yellowstone Picnic area but it was sleeping. Nothing else for the day.
May 14
Re: May 14
You lucky devil!!! 
Can't wait to see your pix of the 3 wrestling Coys. Sounds like you may have gotten some fabulous shots. Looking forward to seeing more of your trip reports and pix, Rik. I can't wait to see the 3 Coys. Bet they're cute as ever.
Hope you've been staying warm and dry. Been thinking about all the folks staying at Mammoth right now, because the weather here along the north slope of the Beartooth Mountains, has been pretty dismal... rainy and more snow is in the forecast. The birdies are really loving the moisture, though...they've been pigging out on all the worms in our yard. Wish they'd eat the dandelions because they're all over the place.
FYI: The first wildflowers of the season (hood's phlox) are just starting to emerge. They're about a month late. So for folks who are heading to the Park to fly fish and/or to photograph wildflowers, be advised that I don't think that the Yellowstone streams will be ready for fishing and the wildflowers won't be in full bloom until mid to the end of June. We've had a very long and brutal winter and there's still quite a bit of snow pack up in the mountains. The Stillwater River, which has the same headwaters as Slough Creek, just began running off so, most likely, Yellowstone fly fishing in the northern range of the Park, probably, won't be turning on until mid to late June at the earliest. Sorry, I had to be the bearer of bad news. But that's just the way it goes some years, in the GYE. My advice? Be patient and you will be rewarded. The best is yet to come. Safe travels and tight lines, everyone!
Can't wait to see your pix of the 3 wrestling Coys. Sounds like you may have gotten some fabulous shots. Looking forward to seeing more of your trip reports and pix, Rik. I can't wait to see the 3 Coys. Bet they're cute as ever. Hope you've been staying warm and dry. Been thinking about all the folks staying at Mammoth right now, because the weather here along the north slope of the Beartooth Mountains, has been pretty dismal... rainy and more snow is in the forecast. The birdies are really loving the moisture, though...they've been pigging out on all the worms in our yard. Wish they'd eat the dandelions because they're all over the place.
FYI: The first wildflowers of the season (hood's phlox) are just starting to emerge. They're about a month late. So for folks who are heading to the Park to fly fish and/or to photograph wildflowers, be advised that I don't think that the Yellowstone streams will be ready for fishing and the wildflowers won't be in full bloom until mid to the end of June. We've had a very long and brutal winter and there's still quite a bit of snow pack up in the mountains. The Stillwater River, which has the same headwaters as Slough Creek, just began running off so, most likely, Yellowstone fly fishing in the northern range of the Park, probably, won't be turning on until mid to late June at the earliest. Sorry, I had to be the bearer of bad news. But that's just the way it goes some years, in the GYE. My advice? Be patient and you will be rewarded. The best is yet to come. Safe travels and tight lines, everyone!