Wolves

My second day in Yellowstone I didn't think was going to be that exciting. I had the morning off because there was a CPR class that most everyone else had to take. So I was asked to do some busy work down in Gardiner. Mammoth and Gardiner are 5 miles apart, down a hill where the road runs next to the Gardner River (yes, spelled differently go figure). The Gardner River is where the "Boiling River" is located. Where a thermal hot spring river runs into the very cold Gardner River making a wonderful place to relax in the warm mineral waters. 
After an hour or so, I was driven back up to Mammoth. But along the way, we spotted a black Wolf. Not completely black but black running from nose to hind just to the middle of him and grey down the rest of him. I say he because he was a big Wolf. Easily 140 pounds if not more. With him were 2 grey females, smaller in size but still very impressive. They watched us watch them for 5 minutes. They couldn't have been more than 50 yards off the road. So close that you could see their eyes looking at you. It was quite intimidating. They were eating off of some carcass which I couldn't make out. Just as we were going to pull away, another grey Wolf came out of the sage and made its way over to the other three. 
It took me four years of leading trips in Yellowstone before I saw my first Wolf. And even then, they were far off in the distance in the Hayden Valley. Tiny specs running around in the sage. You were lucky to see them move at all because they blend so well into their environment. Last May I came through Hayden, which was still covered in snow. In the distance a black male Wolf and his female companion played in the snow. Still very far off but with the snow, very easy to see. I had seen this black male as a pup 3 years before when other wolves had to corral him and almost force him back to the den. He was now the alpha male of his pack. 
When you are in the park, people talk about the winter and how it's very common to see wolves on the roads and very close. I hope I get to have that experience.