My First Wolf Experience

So I decided I should probably start at the beginning and work my way up til now. I have had so many Yellowstone experiences that I will probably tell them out of order, but I know for a fact that this is the first wolf experience I've had. One tends not to forget something like this.

It was the end of June in 2006, my mom, Paul, and I were in an RV. That trip was crazy. We all got on each others' nerves and by the end of it we wanted to kill each other, but I don't really remember the bad. I remember the moments where I was blown away by the beauty of Yellowstone. We were so blessed that trip. We had the opportunity to witness nature at its finest. The best part of that trip was the one we got the least pictures of. It was when we saw our first wild pack of wolves ever. I had been praying so hard that I would see wolves. Heavenly Father gave me that and so much more.

We were sitting on Dunraven Pass in a pullout with a bunch of people who looked like they knew what they were doing. They all had their scopes up and pointed towards the trees down in the valley. We asked them what they were looking for. They replied with wolves and I think mom and Paul knew I wasn't leaving until I saw some wolves. A man named Brian took me under his wing and let me use his scope almost the entire time. He taught me about the Agate Pack and how many wolves were in it. He said that would be the pack we would see if we saw any wolves.

I remember someone saying they spotted a wolf. Brian found it in his scope and I was able to see the small black pup. I was beside myself! Pretty soon the puppy laid down and we couldn't see him anymore. I used Brian's scope to look for more wolves. I was able to see a grey wolf along the treeline. We knew that wolf was the babysitter and was watching over the pups.

Soon we got distracted by a grizzly sow and her two cubs up on a bare mountain. We watched them for a while until we got bored. We kept waiting for the wolves to show up again because, really, that was all we wanted to see. We saw a boar griz wandering through the valley, but it didn't seem like a threat to the pups. We watched him walk around and then leave the valley. But then, we saw another boar headed right where had seen the black pup last. I ran over to mom and told her what was going on. I didn't want a Wild Kingdom moment as my first wolf experience and neither did she. She was praying that nothing would happen to that little pup. I ran back to the scope and watched the bear grow closer and closer. At this point, we could see everything with our bare eyes.

Just when we thought that a Wild Kingdom moment was about to occur, 7 adult wolves emerged from the trees and escorted the griz away from the pups. Then, as quickly as they appeared, they disappeared back into the trees. Before they left though, we were able to get this picture. I know it isn't great, but considering how far away this wolf was and how fast it was running, I'm just happy we got a picture.
Once all the adult wolves disappeared, the six pups popped up from where they were laying and began to wrestle. I am not sure how long we watched them for, but after a while an adult wolf came and took the pups somewhere to feed them. What an incredible way to start out my wolf watching experience! I know I will never forget this moment! We had spent about 4 hours watching the wolves in total and it was worth it!

I am always so grateful when I see wildlife! A lot of people take nature and wildlife for granted, but I try not to. This is my life! I want to be able to experience this for years to come! I will forever be grateful for that beautiful day in June of 2006 because that was the day that sparked everything that would come.