June 10, 2007
The day started with the alarm going off at 4:30 a.m. Yikes! The drive to Lamar Valley quickly woke us up. At Floating Island Lake, we observed a sandhill crane with its babies standing on its back. Lamar Valley was amazing to see as the sun peaked above the horizon. Park-goers were lined up to see bears and wolves but all we saw were bison—hundreds of bison! However, before breakfast we saw black bears and grizzly bears using the spotting scopes.
 After a long breakfast at Roosevelt, we hiked along the Yellowstone River Picnic Area. During the hike we participated in both wildflower and tree identification exercises. On the way back to the vans we saw a very unusual prey-predator chase—a mule deer was chasing a coyote, probably because it had a fawn hidden nearby.
 After a big lunch, Park Ranger Sean Miculka made us all bear experts with a presentation that included a real bear pelt. We were able to compare the claws of the black and grizzly bears (black bears claws are shorter and much more curved than a grizzly’s claws). We learned that a grizzly’s claws are adapted for digging. Sean’s presentation was cut short by a “sheep jam” (kind of like a traffic jam, but caused by people watching bighorn sheep) just down the road. A red fox was a special guest and we were able to get some interesting pictures of it.
After driving through Lamar at sunset, we ate dinner in Cooke City. On the way back to our cabins; we saw a kill site, a black bear very close to the road and a few visitors not following the rules about responsible animal observation. What a wonderful first full day in Yellowstone. Have we only been here 24 hours, or has it been three days!?!
Q & A for June 10
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