We awoke this morning with high hopes of a wolf sighting (or at least a howl or two). We set out and met Kira Cassidy who is a wolf biologist with the Yellowstone Wolf Project. She was our guide and led us all around the park as she tracked wolves that had been fitted with radio collars. We bounced from spot to spot trying to get just the right angle where we could catch a glimpse.  All the while, Kira gave us insights into all of the knowledge she has gained on the wolves of Yellowstone over her 11 years in this position. While we were bouncing from spot to spot, we even ran into the author of the famed book, wolf “American Wolf,” Rick McIntyre.

Unfortunately, we struck out on seeing or hearing a wolf, but we hit the jackpot on a wealth of knowledge about the wolf population in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. The entire group was grateful that Kira was able to share her time and passion about this topic with us.

Next stop was a quick check in with the only aquatic songbird in North America, the American Dipper! Cathy gave us the lowdown on this amazing creature. Including the fact that they nest in rock walls near water, which we saw shortly after on our snowshoe hike.

Speaking of the snowshoe hike, that was AWESOME! We started snowshoeing down a nondescript path along Pebble Creek for a short distance only to make a turn and see this!!!

It was a truly awe-inspiring experience.

While we were on the hike, Amanda stayed behind and saw two bull moose!

We ended our day with hundreds of bison crossing the road in front of us in the dark, many of them running as if in a stampede. It gave us just a glimpse of what it must have been like when over ten million bison roamed this country. We turned in with tired bodies and full hearts.