With some time spent watching the bighorn sheep we continued on our way out to Lamar Valley.

We stopped on several occasions, thinking we had seen wolves or other animals in the distance, but we didn’t.

Just past Soda Butte, in an open field and creek area we came across something that Abby had been waiting to see.

Off in the brush along the creek was a big Bull Moose!

We waited a while to see if he would move but it was obvious his intentions were to lay low and nap.

During our stop to watch the moose, I realized that something was missing. Ellie’s glasses.

I panicked and the search for them began. They weren’t in the pockets in the back seat, or the seat, or the car. 

They were gone and my heart was racing. Ellie’s glasses are not cheap and all I could see were dollar signs flashing.

We began to back track and doing that is hard in a National Park. 

We drove as fast as we could back to out first stop and there in the pull out were Ellie’s glasses. 

They had been run over, one lens was popped out and missing and I was a mess.

Luckily we found the missing lens, popped it back in and discovered that the frames and lenses weren’t too bad.

They would need repair but they weren’t a total loss.

After the drama of the hunt for Ellie’s glasses we went back to where we were and decided to stop for lunch.

Lunch was calming, even after the Grey Jays surrounded us and tried to steal anything we didn’t have our hands on.

After eating we explored along the creek and the girls skipped rocks with Grandpa Jerry. 

The girls really enjoyed themselves and it gave them time to run and play in the fresh air.

Our day started to slip by so we finally packed up and starting heading back towards Mammoth.

On our way we discovered that the Bull Moose was still in his spot along the creek bank. 

We could see him better this time but he was still happy laying down and relaxing.

Abby was able to see him clearly with binoculars this time, which made me smile. She really wanted to see a moose!

As we made our way back we ran into a bison jam on the roadway. 

This time the jam was made up of one bull’s harem and it was a big one. The harem and the bull for that matter.

The male bison was big, in charge and his eyes were red. You could tell the fall mating season was in full swing.

This guy was probably one of the most impressive bison that I have ever seen.

After admiring the male bison and his impressive harem, we headed back to Mammoth.

There we found three Bull Elk competing within a very small space for land and ladies. 

I didn’t get pictures or video but it was impressive to hear all three bugling to one another across Mammoth.

We wanted to wait and see what happened and if they would clash with one another but we had to head home.

We took a back road out of Mammoth to Gardiner. This dirt road was the original stage line many years ago.

On our way saw another small Bull Elk and a the bones of an animal we could not identify.

The highlight and the last goodbye for the evening was what we heard as we made the steep descent out of the hills and into Gardiner. Not too far off we could hear the howling of wolves. Most likely it was the Eightmile or Canyon pack waking up from an afternoon of relaxing and sleeping and getting ready to begin their hunt for food. To me it was beautiful and a bit poetic. My heart has a very special soft for the wolf and when I have watched them in the past I feel a connection there. Hearing their howls in the distance as the sun began to set, felt to me as though they were saying their goodbyes. Until next time but we will see you soon. I shed a tear or two, knowing I was leaving a place that always makes me happy but I know it wont be long before I am back again. Until next time Yellowstone.