The Beartooth and a Wolf

10,000 + feet in elevation...Top of the highway

Another trip outside the Park was our plan for the day.  We decided to drive out the Beartooth Scenic Highway.  This is one we have done a couple of times, but it is no less spectacular each time we've driven it.  We wanted to check out how deep the remaining snow pack was for July...maybe catch a few skiers/boarders taking some turns on old snow.  

Way fewer mosquitos...Soda Butte

 Although we were slightly concerned that the mosquitoes would carry us away.  The last time we drove through the darn things would be on you as soon as you stopped the car.  If you got out to take a photo they would be all over you and you would spend the next 30 minutes swatting them. It was difficult for Cooper and we constantly smacked mosquitoes as we drove.  We hoped for slightly fewer than a million bites.

Gray Wolf

Once again we had to drive through "coyote alley", but this time the animal we found was not a coyote.  We actually were able to spot a wolf.  According to the Wolf Gazers (yes people around here pick an animal and spend hours looking through their scopes to find them) there were two, but they "lost sight" of one.  Kind of creepy, but it did not stop us from watching the gray wolf eat his breakfast.

What are y'all looking at?

That whetted our appetite to see other wolves so we detoured to another area the Gazers mentioned to see if we could find another one... no luck.  Only a couple of hawks hanging around the top of Mount Washburn.  We'd have to keep looking for one.

Now delayed from our original plan... although getting a chance to spot a wolf was so worth the delay.  We headed off through Cooke City and on toward the Beartooth.  The mosquitoes did not seem as ferocious as last time so the trip was uneventful... no bears, no wolves and only a hoary marmot alongside the road much to the delight of Cooper.  

Lots of run off from melting snow had all the creeks and rivers roaring with water.  We've not seen water quite like this on our past trips.  Impressive and so loud you could not hear each other talk while we walked along one particular "creek"... it definitely did not look like any creek we've ever seen.

The Bear Tooth...

A roaring 'creek'

Cooper wore himself out on the backseat pacing back and forth... skipping his 3 PM nap completely in order to scare up a ground squirrel... from the car.   He is still persistent in his quest to get up close and personal to his best buds.

Cooper looking in holes for his friends

Glacier Lake below...possible hike