West Yellowstone to Gardner

The last time we went for supplies, we decided to drive through the park, out the north entrance at Gardner, to Livingston, MT, west to Bozeman and then back home. There is always something interesting to see in the park, no matter how many times we have visited.

There is a nesting pair of bald eagles near the west entrance. Their nest site was blown over last winter, so they picked a different tree nearby for their new nest. Here is one of the adults.

Mom and baby elk.

Two more elk does with another baby.

Baby posing for a picture.

Cinnamon black bear munching on wildflowers.

Another view of the same bear. It appears to prefer the flowers over the plants.

This was a surprise to find prickly pear cactus blooming near the Gardner entrance. We weren't expecting them here.

According to signs, the soil in this area of the park has a high amount of clay and only a few plants can thrive here. There was a large field just covered with the cactus blooms.

Grizzly and Wolf Discovery Center

A couple of weeks ago we visited the Grizzly and Wolf Discovery Center which is located right here in West Yellowstone. They are a not for profit group, and they plan to build a new habitat for the wolves when they have the funds. They do not receive any financial help from the government and depend on admission fees, sales at their store, and contributions to keep the place going. It's not the same as seeing the animals in the wild, but interesting all the same. The animals here, about 12 grizzlies and a pack of 4 wolves, are here for educational purposes and for a variety of reasons can not be released into the wild. The bears don't all get along, so they only have 2 or 3 out at one time.

This one is playing with his food, an elk bone. Check out the claws!

The bears have a nice environment with trees, some open area and a waterfall which runs into a pool. They put live trout in the pool for them to catch. They also have a program where kids get to go into the enclosure between bears being out and hide the food for them.

No doubt they are commenting on all us people watching them.

It's amazing how similar the wolves are to our Siberian Husky we used to have. Not just in their appearance but in their behavior.

They also have a waterfall and pool which is stocked with trout.

Lunch time. Yum!

Male mountain bluebird.

The mountain bluebirds get their color from the sky.