Whew- hope you didn't read all that yesterday!

So how 'bout a few pictures.  We dug out from being under the weather, and got out for a long walk on the Divide Creek Road- a long switchback road up the opposite side of the valley yesterday. It is closed until June 1, so no need to worry about traffic.  It runs across private property ( 4.6 miles of private property, which is just a small section of the Hubbard ranch).  Matt, our ranch manager, is paid by the Hubbards to patrol and keep out antler hunters.  Montana has a crazed season starting right about now to rush out into the woods as soon as the state allows to harvest antlers dropped by elk in the winter.  Beautiful walk, strong melt water flow in the Tom Miner Creek.

And winter seed pods:

So then we took an afternoon drive the 16 miles along the Old Yellowstone Trail (the OLD road) south to Gardiner. This road is signed as "IMPASSABLE if wet, snow or icy conditions".  And the sign is right- mud that turns to wet toothpaste if wet, and snow and ice drifting off a cliff side, with a steep bank down to the Yellowstone River through the gorge of Yankee Jim Canyon.   

Remember yesterday's blog (that you didn't read?)  About 4 miles down we passed a log ranch house, about 50 yards back off the road, with log fencing and a log fence lined single driveway.  Peeking out from behind the house were two buffalo.  As we got there, you could see that they noticed our Rhode Island plates, recognized we were not Native American, and started a brisk walk out from behind the house out the driveway toward the road.

Further along, we were stunned by the size of a bird that took off from our left, crossed in front of us, and banked and soared over a small lake to our right- our first sand hill crane of the season.  It was wonderful to hear its rattley call as it flew over:

Major photo credit to Betsy on this as for many of the pictures- she was able to get big camera out, cope with bumping road and my jamming on the brakes, get lens cap off, camera turned on, find the crane, telephoto zoom, focus and shoot.

We did see and photodocument bison gut piles, but won't include those pictures.  Some areas there were four carcasses within 20 yards of each other.
Mule deer quizzed us on the way down to Gardiner, along with hundreds of antelope.

And we finished up with an Absaroka sunset from the kitchen window: