and there will be more to come
Samiam 12 hours into his life's journey
It started with Marty and Great Great Grandmother Raneyna 52 years ago. Lil Tex was discovered in Texas, purchased and shipped to the Circle B Bar T. She had a filly named BBT Rayne sired by Grover. The next generation was born today and you see the happy women and the young man in the above picture.
Dad at work or maybe play
Alakhasam, better know as Sammi, Samiam's namesake
Samiam 12 hours into his life'sjourney
Samiam 12 hours into his life's journey
The coyote had that alert look. We had seen this for several minutes when we captured this view. The very next photograph captured the action.
The coyote is in the air, diving into the snow for dinner. We were too far away to see if the dive was sucessful, but based on the actions after the jump, we guessed it got something. With our spotting scope and a close examination of the body of this coyote, we believe it was a female and it was pregnant. You are probably saying, you had to take coyotes because you didn't see any wolves. Wrong.
This was one of 3 wolves we saw. We learned that the pack that we have published in our blog before were on the other side of the mountain with a large carcass. The first day they were eating and the second day they were resting. If you have viewed our blog recently, you will have seen a bighorn ram courting his girl friend as we ventured to Woodbine on Christmas day. Well, this is not the same couple, but you can tell from the look on their faces that they are mates. It was snowing as we took this picture, near the northeast entrance to Yellowstone.
The bighorns come to the lower elevations in the winter. You will normally see some of the bighorn rams as you enter the park. This time we were leaving the park on the second day when this gentleman posed for us. We were impressed, hope you are also.
And speaking of big horns, the next 2 guys would not be pleased that we referred to the growth on their heads as horns, they are antlers. We had seen alot of female elk but the boys were not to be found until we rounded a corner and what should appear. They were resting.
We also saw pronghorns. Two great days in Yellowstone, as it always is.
When John realized there was a packed trail, close to where the ladys were hiking, he decided to follow. As you can see, John has joined the girls and we expected them to turn around any time.
But they didn't, and all of a sudden, I remembered where they were. Were they going up the hill in the wooded area. We had been there without the snow when it was easier walking. What was up the hill was a wolf den used shortly after the wolves were reintroduced to Yellowstone in 1995. Wolf number 9 had a litter of pups in the den in the trees. So we watched and then we didn't see them anymore, they were up the hill.
We were waiting for their return, and sure enough, here they came. It is safe where they went as there have been no wolves near the den in years. Now they are on their way back. I'll bet Crissy and John will have a story to tell about the den.
The last time Marty and I went there was with a Yellowstone Association guide, it was in the spring and the round trip took over an hour. When they get back, I'll bet they are tired.
They're getting closer. 
and now they are back. What an experience and the snow shoes worked. It was after noon, we were at least an hour away from Cooke City and everyone was hungry. You'll have to come back again soon to view the "wild critters" we saw in Yellowstone. Oh yes, we had dinner at Chico last night and will return for another great dinner later in the day.
As you can tell from the picture, it was the season to be with your loved one and perhaps in a loving way. We will have to return in the spring to see. We arrived at Woodbine. The water was mostly frozen and many of the rocks and ledges that are covered with water in the spring and summer, were bare. Crissy ventured out on a large rock, just below the trail. You can see the frozen stream in the background.
We traveled on down the trailhead. Susan, husband John, daughter Crissy, and son Patrick posed for a winter picture in Montana. This photograph will bring back many memories, some of which you will see on a future blog as we travel to Yellowstone National Park. 
Yes, on this day, it was colder than in Westport, CT. Before they returned we did get warmer weather and most of our snow either melted or was blown away. If you have been to Montana, you get very accustomed to seeing deer in the pastures. One of the other wildlife sightings is of the "golden eagle". That was true on the 25th as well as this one was perched above the Stillwater River looking for a fish for dinner.
What do you do in Yellowstone in the winter? What wildlife can you see there? We will have an update on that part of the Holiday Season, soon. We had a great time over the span of 8 days that Susan and the family were here and look forward to their next visit. 
Before we even entered the park outside of Gardiner we spotted the first male elk. He and one we found in Mammoth Hot Springs appeared to be either enjoying the sun, were tired from perhaps breeding activity, were resting for more vigorous activity, or were just plain lazy. This one was obvious asleep and it was early in the morning.
We traveled east to Cooke City where the town had already prepared for the snow and winter. A number of the shops were closed but there was not enough snow to attract the snow mobilers. We returned thru Mammoth to see this guy had joined the girls in the city. He like the first one was in a very relaxed position. Could it be that these 2 guys lost the battle for breeding rights and are waiting for next year.
Oh yes, the big horn sheep were in the hills between Gardiner and Mammoth Hot Springs. This gentleman was sporting quite a herd of ladies. He could have claimed, "king of the hill", based on his position in the landscape.
Did we see any bison? You know you can count on that. I wanted to comment on the bison, but not this one. As we were heading west past the Tower Falls junction we happened upon a herd of bison on the road. What made this spectacular was the fact that we had our 2 great danes on their second trip with us to Yellowstone and they were enthralled with the bison. These 2 young danes were out of control and I didn't dare open the window to the car or step outside. Although it would have been a great photograph to see how the herd had traffic backed up on both sides but safety was our first concern, so you'll just have to imagine the image.
Were there any canines? On a previous trip through the park this year we had the opportunity to see 5 of the young wolves that are now resident in the Lamar Valley. We are always hopeful that we'll see them again. However the first sighting of canines was this young coyote that drifted across the road in front of us.
and then it happened on our return from Cooke City. In the Lamar Valley there were a number of cars and people with spotting scopes looking to the south. I was hopeful that it might be a bear so I stopped and asked what they were looking at. They said, it was the Lamar wolves on a carcass. I looked through their scopes and could barely see the wolves as they were so far away. Similar to what I have done in the past, I said to my wife, "let's go, we're not going to get close enough to take a good photograph". These people have been here for several hours and the wolves are not near as close as they were earlier in the year.
When I got home and started reviewing the images from our trip, I realized that this wolf had been with the others feasting on the carcass when we passed through that area 2 hours before. It must have gotten it's fill and perhaps was heading back to the hillside to feed the younger wolves.
