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June 17, 2005
This morning, we loaded up the vans at 5 a.m. to scout for wildlife
in Lamar Valley. Although we didn't spot any wolves at Slough
Creek, we were fortunate enough to see a grizzly bear. We moved
on through the Valley, sometimes called the Serengeti of
North America, where, scattered among the herds of bison, elk grazed and pronghorn
antelope locked horns under the watchful eye of a bald eagle.
In Cooke City our visit to a working one-room schoolhouse gave
us a new perspective on our classrooms back home. Imagine
having only one student for half the year — an incredible learning
opportunity for both teacher and student — and no snow days
in spite of an average yearly snowfall of 420 inches. After
our tour, we visited the Wildlife of the Rockies Gallery.
After a visit to the Yellowstone Institute, the former Lamar
Buffalo Ranch, we took a quick hike up to Trout Lake. In this
peaceful setting, away from the noise of the road, we watched
three otters swimming, playing, and defending their territory.
We also spotted a few cutthroat trout, though most seemed to have
been chased away by the otters. Just above the lake, a coyote
was devouring a huge cutthroat trout.
On our return trip from Cooke City, we saw a moose nursing her
calf. A bison in grizzly clothing (a very shaggy bison) fooled
us for a moment, but luckily, a real grizzly was just a few 100
yards behind it. Our last animal of the night gave us another
test of our grizzly identifying skills — we saw a large cinnamon
colored black bear. That color black bear is almost unheard
of in the East. Tomorrow morning, after one last early morning visit,
we will bid farewell to the amazing Lamar Valley and head
on to Yellowstone Lake.
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