Doesn’t it? Having studied both nature and its history, I am always astounded by the fact that the landscape and wildlife are essentially what my great great grandparents were watching decades ago when visiting - let alone the extant and extinct species from centuries ago, as you mentioned.

That is the worst, but that’s the time I usually take to review photos and clear up memory space, snack, and plan or journal. Gotta try to make the best of it, sadly.

Unfortunately, there are always hiring limitations. Thankfully there are volunteers that help out but overall more needs to be done. It’s an incredible experience but everyone should be able to enjoy it in a timely manner - other than your traditional animal on the actual road situations. Those bison are wily when it comes to traffic stops!

That’s awesome!! After 3 I’m usually ecstatic, so this year has been quite the adventure. Been a wild year for bear sightings already!

It’s astounding. I’m sorting through my footage and have so many videos where people walked in front of the camera towards bears. Also saw a woman almost get stuck in a bison stampede, and a huge number of vehicles not fully pulling off the road or stopping right in the middle of it.

There was a large presence of rangers in Lamar, thankfully, and you could tell they were frustrated by the lack of common sense / adherence to Park rules. There were a few Hayden jams that seemed unruly - for example, dang near three mile backup as people were stopping constantly or blocked traffic by leaving portions of their vehicles in the road.

I completely understand that for many this is a once in a lifetime trip. I do not at all want to take away from that experience, or the opportunity to view iconic and amazing wildlife / landscapes. However, there needs to be a balance between excitement and awareness. I know the Rangers, volunteers, & staff are doing all they can but the public has to do better as a whole. Only one bad apple, ya know?

The wolves have been very active lately, I would recommend dawn and dusk for best opportunities for viewing. There are packs between the Slough Creek campgrounds (Junction Butte Pack, if I’m remembering correctly) and the Soda Butte area (the Molly Pack). With binoculars / scopes / a good camera you will be able to see the den on the way to Slough Creek campground. The parking spots provide a great view of them responsibly, and there are a number of biologists and enthusiasts alike that can help you find it. Has been a den site for quite some time! It will take patience but there have been confirmed sightings of adults and occasional peeks of pups.

I would gently remind you that spring and birthing season is a time to be extra aware of impacts you may have on animals - older and younger alike - via noise or nearness. Please ensure you maintain proper viewing distances and awareness no matter the excitement. I saw a lot of dangerous behavior this past weekend and don’t want anyone, or anything, to get hurt while making lifelong memories. (Not saying you don’t already know this, but worth it to say it as often as possible).

Have a wonderful trip and know that there have been loads of sightings of bears as well, if you’re going for predators. Hope to see an update here later!

There has been a decline over the past couple of decades due to a multitude of factors, for sure. But I’d say it’s still early in the season in this instance and they just need some time. The weather has been unpredictable as spring is in MT & WY, so that may have pushed the timeline back a bit as well. The elk are only about a week in since the YNP calving warning. I’d say by the end of this week we’ll be seeing a ton more.

Overall, it’s the season for births! The majority of the bison red dogs have been born and are enjoying frolicking. The pronghorn have started to give birth (just watched a doe and her freshly born twins this weekend!), and there’s confirmation of pups in a few dens right now (coyotes and wolves alike). And loads of bear cubs! I saw a minimum of 5 cubs on Saturday, with a total of 15 bears.

She was definitely keeping an eye on those two (and the people)! The cubs were runnin’ all around her and she was just calmly padding along and looking around.

Near the Tower Junction turnoff. Watched it wander across the road and when we got back it had set up shop right across from the restrooms / gas station. Settled in near the little foot bridge on the walking path to watch more bison and elk (and take a nap) later that afternoon.

I was thinking more along the lines of their sandwiches / simpler stuff, but again - the menu changes quite frequently. I do agree the full meats can be pricey, but that’s not what I go there for. Just my two cents on an online forum.

edited to add that costs are reflective of the meat, specialty woods, etc. I meant it was cheap for the quality and quantity I have purchased compared to dang near every other BBQ place I’ve gone to in MT

Yellow House BBQ is pretty high on the “bang for your buck” but it is primarily a pop-up. I found out about them through buddies and it’s delicious & ~reasonably~ priced (aka - not the cheapest but not overpriced & it’s so damn yummy)

I did wind up finding more, and wound up with more than a handful! Just not pictured here - working on cleaning those ones up as they were quite a bit less wiggly! Hope ya get the zzzz’s you’re looking for

Oh, most of them had already hatched out (thus the little wrigglers in the body’s center mass). They have since been relocated as well, so unfortunately no photos of the hatchlings past that stage.