July 26, 2009. The bus left the ranch at exactly 5:30. We were heading east at 25 miles per hour which is the speed limit in Lamar. Ten minutes later, the bus came to a complete stop as two gray wolves crossed the road. We saw two more wolves by the wayside, one was holding something in his mouth. We thought it was a marmot but it was still dark and we cannot see very well. We turned around and headed to the Barronette mountain and watched some bighorn sheep as they tracked the steep rocky slopes.
After breakfast, we headed to Silver Gate, stopped by the Gallery where Dan Hartman prepared a presentation. Dan is a naturalist who has worked with BBC and National Geographic. We then went on a hike with him and looked at carnivore signs along the way. We had lunch then headed to Cooke City. We sighted a wolf and some other wildlife on the way. We wrapped up at the institute at 4:00 p.m.
I went wildlife watching again at 6:00 p.m. I sighted 2 sandhill cranes and watched as they do their mating dance. A coyote was busy feeding on its prey nearby oblivious to the cranes which were only about 5 meters away. There were several pronghorn deers lazily grazing and a little bit further away are the bison herds which are the permanent residents of the ranch.
