Day 2: Quiet Roads and Black Bears

Up at 5:15 and out the door by 6. Staci was asleep so I decided to let her stay that way and headed out alone. Drove from Gardiner through Mammoth and decided to head toward Tower Falls. It was one of those quiet Yellowstone mornings with almost nobody out. Just me, the road, and the Avett Brothers playing while the sun started coming up.
Around the Petrified Tree area I came across two cinnamon colored black bears. A little farther up near Calcite Springs there was a younger black bear close enough to the road that I had to roll down the passenger window and awkwardly hold my phone out to get a few pictures. The photos were not great, but close encounters like that are always fun anyway.
On the way toward Slough Creek I spotted two coyotes feeding on a carcass out in the valley. At Slough Creek there were the usual wolf watchers lined up with scopes pointed into the hills. While sitting there I looked up toward the cliffs and saw two eagles flying around above the canyon.
After that I decided to head back toward Gardiner to pick up Staci and grab some breakfast. On the way back there was another black bear near the Phantom Lake area.
Later in the morning Staci and I headed back into the park around 11. We took the same route as earlier and just past Roosevelt Junction we found another black bear sleeping under a tree. We continued through Lamar Valley all the way to Pebble Creek and then turned around. It must have just been the middle of the day slowdown because wildlife activity was pretty quiet compared to the morning. One thing we both noticed though was how many people were already in the park this early in the season.
We eventually drove back to Gardiner and took a nap before heading back out for the evening hoping wildlife activity would pick up again.
That evening we had dinner in Gardiner and went back into the park for another drive. The scenery was beautiful but wildlife was pretty slim picking. Near Roosevelt Junction we did find another black bear and sat there watching it for about half an hour before moving on toward Slough Creek. It rained lightly off and on through parts of the day and the wind picked up quite a bit at times.
Not a huge wildlife day overall, but still one of those Yellowstone days that is hard not to enjoy.