{"id":1739,"date":"2019-04-01T07:21:19","date_gmt":"2019-04-01T11:21:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/aimeeeasterling.com\/?p=1739"},"modified":"2019-04-01T14:11:53","modified_gmt":"2019-04-01T18:11:53","slug":"a-highly-recommended-yellowstone-wolf-watching-tour","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/aimeeeasterling.com\/?p=1739","title":{"rendered":"A highly recommended Yellowstone wolf watching tour"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Lamar<\/p>\n

If you’ve been reading along with me all week, you probably have a question — what tour did I sign up for and do I recommend it?<\/p>\n

Short answers: Yellowstone Wolf Tracker<\/a>. And, yes, all of those five-star reviews on Trip Advisor are very much deserved.<\/p>\n

\"View<\/p>\n

For five days, I completely lost track of the outside world. I reveled in stunning scenery…<\/p>\n

\"Ecotour\"<\/p>\n

…enjoyed like-minded company…<\/p>\n

\"Sleeping<\/p>\n

…followed knowledgeable, personable guides to track down astonishing wildlife-viewing (and –photographing<\/a>) opportunities…<\/p>\n

\"Yellowstone<\/p>\n

…ate delectable food…<\/p>\n

\"Bison<\/p>\n

…and enjoyed bonus talks by local experts after dinner.<\/p>\n

To cut a long story short — due to a combination of legal protection, radio collars, and open landscape,Yellowstone is\u00a0one of the few places in the world where you can dependably watch wolves in the wild. And the leaders of Yellowstone Wolf Tracker are immensely knowledgeable experts with decades of experience, able to not only guide you to the wolves but also fill in the blanks with endless information and stories about the animals you see.<\/p>\n

\"Wolf<\/p>\n

There are some caveats, however. I doubt this trip would appeal to children or to the impatient — there are long periods of standing in the cold, waiting and hoping<\/a>. And when you do finally see wolves<\/a>, they are almost always very far away, visible only via scope.<\/p>\n

\"Clark's<\/p>\n

(A fact that is very much made up for by the obliging nature of other wildlife<\/a>, like this Clark’s Nutcracker.)<\/p>\n

\"View<\/p>\n

The days were also very long with almost no alone time, which pushed my introvert nature to the limit.<\/p>\n

\"Bull<\/p>\n

(Of course, that was my own fault. I could have skipped various optional activities…but when it came right down to it I preferred pushing my limits rather than losing a moment of this amazing tour.)<\/p>\n

\"Mammoth<\/p>\n

In the end, the only real negative is the price tag. Otherwise, I’d be signing up for every wolf watch Nathan and company leads.<\/p>\n

If you want to be involved but can’t drop a couple of grand on the full adventure, there are other ways to engage your imagination. I read a bunch of books on Yellowstone wolves leading up to my trip, and I thoroughly recommend the following:<\/p>\n