John Wise - Photo of the Day from Phoenix Arizona

Up early and downstairs before 6:15 for the “Wake up to Wildlife” tour. Our guide this morning is Tyrene, who also happened to be our driver last year for the snowcoach drive from Mammoth to Old Faithful. Tyrene is a vet in Yellowstone, having worked here more than ten years. She tells of the more than five-thousand miles put on her hiking boots over that time and that her favorite past-time is fly fishing, hence her love affair with Yellowstone. During our current trip Tyrene will twice more handle the driving and tour guide chores while Caroline and I hope to return one day for a chartered tour led by her where we can choose to linger a little longer to enjoy the sights at our pace instead of meeting the schedule of the group. For you fly fishing aficionados: Tyrene leads chartered tours of the many rivers in Yellowstone such as the Firehole and Madison during Summer.

Pulling away from the hotel, the road to Lamar Valley is a mix of clear to snowy with intermittent icy spots. From the dark blue of first twilight the sky begins to lighten and I can see clouds stretching along the north and south with a patch of clear sky to the east that is brighter than the heavens surrounding us. Even that small window to where we should have greeted the rising sun soon disappears. Occasional flashes of pink illuminate low wisps of clouds as the sun finds holes in the heavy overcast sky.

It would be more than a few miles before we spot wildlife. Elk, first on a shadowy ridge in the distance, then a large herd, covering the hillsides. While plentiful enough they are a goodly distance from the road, great for viewing, less so for photography. Then we encountered a forlorn bison calf walking up the road seemingly lost of its herd. As we approached with our snowcoach the little bison turned tail ambling down the road in front of us. About a mile later the juvenile rejoined its extended family.

After the bison jam spread out letting us pass, Tyrene pulled over near Slough Creek for a facilities break for those who might need it – seems as though everyone did. Piling back in the van, off in the distance I heard the unmistakable howl of a wolf, and then a second howl. Initially the loud conversation nearly drowned out the canine call until I was able to arrest the group's attention so they too could enjoy the call of the wild. Seeing a wolf though was not in the cards on this tour. But a surprise was on hand that didn't disappoint. Two big horn sheep were grazing hillside next to the road just north of Soda Butte Creek.

Soda Butte Creek which lies east of the Lamar River, sandwiched between Mount Norris and Druid Peak, was also our turnaround point. The return to Mammoth would take us back up the road we came down on with little promise of seeing more wildlife than we had seen on our first drive through. That turned out to not be all together true though. Shortly after we passed the same bison we had spotted forty-five minutes earlier someone in the coach noticed a coyote in the snow not far from the road.

One and all we scoured the hillsides looking for an elusive wolf. In some sad way, Yellowstone is reduced to collecting trophy sights, one is spotting wolves, the other witnessing Old Faithful erupt. So much more exists, seen and unseeable that requires more than a casual drive through with an itinerary that demands we stop only at the famous and predictable. Then, there on the left, laying in the brush, a bull elk. Not just any bull either, this is number ten, six's rival. Well if six were still alive, he died in a freak accident about year ago, you can read about that here. And that folks, concluded our Wake up to Wildlife tour of the Lamar Valley.

Back at the Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel we have but a short time to grab some lunch at the dining room before the next tour gets underway. The sandwiches are ordered and delivered in less than seven minutes, we are gone ten minutes later. Now early, we cross back over to the hotel to await the snowcoach. A black-billed magpie walks along with us as though it were awaiting falling snacks, somebody hasn't been listening to National Park rules, nor probably would have I if it weren't for the constant reminders from my wife.