Day 7 - Day in Town with Wolves and Bears

Last night was a brutal one for me. I had Tim put After Sun on my back for my sunburn and I had an allergic reaction to it, getting itchy and wanting to crawl out of my skin. I had to get out of bed, wash my back (no easy feat by myself), apply some Polysporin to hopefully calm it down and take another Reactine to hopefully get it to stop!! I also changed from a long sleeved sleep shirt to a tank top just to have nothing on my back. It was excrutiating! Half an hour later, I finally was able to go to sleep but what a nightmare to start!!!

Luckily, Connor was all out of shorts and Tim and I were getting less fashion options so it was necessary to do laundry today. Happily, we only had 3 loads, and at a laundromat, that takes only an hour... we stopped at the Woodside Bakery and grabbed some multigrain bread for sandwiches, some day old croissants for lunch today and of course, desserts! We had lunch back at the trailer and then headed out to the Grizzly & Wolf Discovery Center. Their purpose is to educate the public on the lives of bears and wolves. As many are aware, in 1995, wolves were reintroduced south of the 49th parallel when 61 wolves were brought from southern Alberta and BC and released in Yellowstone. They had been hunted to extinction and the reintroduction was opposed by ranchers in the area. We watched a film about the research about the wolves since their reintroduction in the auditorium. Happily, both the wolves and the ranchers survived as now over 1600 wolves reside in Montana, Wyoming and Idaho. The expected kill rates of cattle projected by ranchers were much lower than anticipated and the wolves are thriving.

The Grizzlies at the discovery centre were all "problem bears" or orphans that would have either been euthanized or failed to survive in the wild, so they have been rescued. The pictures I have are of an orphaned brother and sister from Alaska.

In order to enrich the animals, they hide their food so that they have to forage for it similarly to how they would in the wild. There are about 10 grizzlies in the center but they are only put on display for a couple of hours at a time so they don't get too used to people. They had a grizzly fur on display that we could touch. One lady said, "could use a little conditioner..." it was really coarse but very thick.

Across the way was the wolf enclosure and they had two displays of two different packs. These wolves were all born in captivity in situations where they could not be kept (overbreeding for movies, etc.) so they too were rescued from euthanasia. All contact with people directly is limited. Their food is in a room, they go in the room and the door is closed. Then the humans enrich their environment with bones, meat and other animal scents to change up their environment much like an animal wandering through their territory in the wild. Then the door is opened once the human has left the enclosure and the wolves do their thing, investigating, finding their treats and sharing the information with the pack about what had gone through their area. Fascinating stuff. Without further ado, here are the wolves...

Sleepy!!! in the shade of a tree. Lazy!!

hiding in the grass, trying to stay cool

in the shade of the building that is attached to the enclosure, takin' it easy!

This guy was my favourite as you will soon see

such a handsome fellow, don't you agree

Even his "fluffy side" looks good to me!

another wolf hiding in the grass... sneaky !!

can you see the white wolf lying on the grass to the left of the tree... you really need to look to find them!

 After that, we went to the shop and spent some money!!! Tim wanted the DVD about wolves that we watched in the auditorium when we arrived and Connor wanted a holographic wolf bookmark. He almost went for a wolf stuffy too but then decided he is maybe to old for stuffies. It is a sad day for me as his momma to hear that he is too old for stuffies. Sigh!

We went and Checked out the recommended Wild West Pizzeria here in town and OMG!! I had a Bill Cassidy pizza; bbq sauce, baked beans and pulled pork. It was so nummy and is a local favourite. Connor had a "Sitting Bull" meat pizza and Tim had his classic hawaiian. The boys ordered mediums so there was lots that came home of theirs, mine was a small so there was none of that left. It was, categorically, a great pie and a fun atmosphere. The mens' washroom is "Pistols" and ladies' is "Holsters". Ba ha ha ha ha!! They had great western decor, a rustic look and feel that was really fun to be in. While we were eating the local theatre group came in and sang inviting one and all to their show "Chaps". As we were planning on taking in the wolf feeding later in the evening, we opted not to take it in, although it did look raucously fun.

We went back to the Grizzly & Wolf Discovery Center, checked out the new bears and the wolves were very awake! No more sleepy puppies here! They only get fed every two days so they kind of knew, when people were congregating in the viewing room it was almost dinnertime! They were so beautiful with their long legs and silver, grey and white coats. Of course I forgot my camera in the truck... d'oh! Tim got some great video of them though so we have lots of great memories to take home.

We came back to the trailer and decided our next course of action for tomorrow is... wait for it...

We are going to Jackson, WY via the Teton National Park! It will be a full day of driving but I am hoping we see some spectacular scenery on the way. Might even take the tram up the mountain at Jackson Hole, we shall see... stay tuned for more details!