Now back to the wolves. One of the many helpful members of the backpacker forum suggested that Lamar Valley was the place to find them. He said that the best way to do so was to take a ride down the valley and look for people with scopes, or for a vehicle with antennas. I never did see the vehicle, but I found a number of people with scopes, on the road to Slough Creek Campground. By the time we found them, it was the middle of the day, so we decided to return bright and early the next day. We returned around 7 a.m.
We were at a bit of a disadvantage because we only had binoculars. People with scopes were seeing wolves and pups playing. The wolves were too far away for us to see the pups..for that matter, we saw the adults only when they came completely out of the sagebrush and were fully exposed. One guy with a scope kept saying "I see an ear" or "Ohh, the pup is kissing its mom". We wanted to shove the scope down his throat :). But it was great to actually see a wolf. We saw a black one chase a raven that had been pestering them.
On our way back on another day I passed a "animal jam". Someone in another car told me that it was wolf pups. Very excited, I waited for a spot where I could pull completely off the road, and then ran back to the spot where the photographers were. Unfortunately, I only had my "point and shoot". I was a bit disappointed to find that the "wolf pups" were actually coyotes. Still, very enjoyable to watch them play and banter about. It was also a pleasure to get to know the photographers, who, like me, were more concerned about being courteous to fellow vacationers than getting the perfect shot.
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