Fourth of July in Yellowstone: Wolves and More New Friends

July 4, 2024

We started the day with clear skies and a timely arrival, though the clouds gathered to the northeast, which blocked the sun for a while early on. Light is key for morning viewing at Slough, especially for videography and photography. 

I dropped John off at the lower lot and went to Dave's Hill as usual. I had the hill to myself for much of the morning. John spotted 907F at 6:00am heading far to the left. She seemed to walk with purpose, but eventually turned around and headed back. We could see her pups anxiously awaiting her return.

907F and her pups reunited, with a brief attempt at nursing, which the alpha female had little patience for. She bedded down, and then the puppies played for nearly an hour under the right group of trees. They wrestled, played keep away with an antler, and tumbled, with the gray pup jumping on the black pup. The gray pup explored on its own to the left.

Eventually, I was able to see 1478M near 907F, both wolves at the same time. We don't know where the other Junction adults were. In time, all wolves disappeared behind the trees.

Jason, whom we met yesterday, joined John first thing, and the two spent the morning spotting together and sharing the wolves with first-timers. A French couple was quite delighted to see the wolves, friendly and happy. Another couple waited for hours but didn't see wolves. I hope they come back tomorrow.

I actually fell asleep in the sunshine alone on Dave's Hill, so I decided to join John for safety reasons. I stopped to talk to Rick M. before joining John to see if there were sightings elsewhere. Joining John below, we also met Steve and Jackie, yearly visitors from Scotland. We had a nice chat with Steve regarding favorite places in the U.S. Just as he was leaving, a woman stopping by with binoculars spotted 907F far to the right when we had missed her. We got her in our scopes and then I ran to let Steve know before he left. He got a glimpse of 907F but Jackie did not. Steve was quite engaging, and we hope to see him and Jackie tomorrow. An older photographer with a heavy accent stopped by to ask for tips and whether an 800mm lens was enough just when Steve arrived. We suggested he try video, with which he had little experience, and told him we would be there tomorrow if he wanted help.

We returned to Gardiner at 1:30 and decided to rest the afternoon and evening. We had vegan bratwurst and potato chips on the deck outside and some wine. It was fairly quiet for the Fourth of July.