Paul and I spotted this raven raiding the back of a parked truck in a parking lot near Old Faithful. The driver had left a large amount of food in a picnic basket, uncovered, in the back of the truck. As soon as he walked away, the sharp-eyed raven hustled over and skillfully opened a loaf of Wonderbread. It would carefully open the bag and remove one slice at a time, and then hop up on the bed railing to deposit the slice. It would return for another slice, and then another, stacking them neatly until it had 3 slices ready for transport. It then tamped the stack of bread down with its foot until it was thin enough to fit into its beak. Once the bread was ready to go, the raven would fly away with it to hide it somewhere nearby, but each time, he soon returned for more loot. A few visitors simply refuse to obey the food-storage laws that are in place to protect the wildlife of Yellowstone, whether from sheer ignorance or just willful stubborness. I have to admit that it was amusing to note that the raven crapped on the remaining food in the basket when the driver finally noticed him and came running over.

In the lower photo, a rainbow forms following an evening storm in Lamar Valley. Since wolves were re-introduced to Yellowstone in the mid-90s, Lamar Valley has become one of the most popular destinations in the Park, with 10s of thousands of visitors getting their first look at a wild wolf from one of the many vantage points along the road. Rick McIntyre, a researcher and wolf enthusiast that spends much of each year in the Park, has been an important part of the return of the wolf, educating and entertaining thousands of visitors every season with his extensive knowledge of the habits and history of the Yellowstone wolves. One of the great beauties of Yellowstone National Park is that there is plenty of room for the backcountry enthusiasts like me, and for the folks that enjoy the camaraderie of gathering by the roadside to enjoy a day of wolf or bear-watching. There are parts of Lamar Valley that are now off-limits to human travel during certain parts of the year to allow the wolves a place to hunt and 'rendezvous' in full view of the roadside watchers. This gives many Park visitors a rare opportunity to see a wild wolf, while the backpackers and hikers like myself still have millions of acres to roam through the wild country of the Yellowstone ecosystem.