wolf crossing ahead!

Past November Dave and I spent our 38th wedding anniversary weekend in the north woods in Ely, Minnesota. We spent a morning at the International Wolf Center there--a remarkable place where we were able to watch and learn about this wolf pack.
Two of the four adult wolves--Grizzer, Shadow, Malik, and Maya--watch over the two pups, Denali and Aiden.
Aiden and Denali, or is it Denali and Aiden--you know how that is? Its hard to tell pups from each other.

An exciting and enlightening visit tinged with the usual melancholy that comes with seeing animals out of their true environment. . .just the day before our visit the matriarch of this pack was put to sleep due to old age and illness. The staff and the pack were very sad and introspective.

There are few wolf sightings in the area that is well traveled but in the 'off season' and on the back roads the staff have been lucky enough to see some of the wild pack running free in the unspoiled north woods area. It was explained that unfortunately there is always the lone wolf who runs along side the main pack trying to be accepted, to find a mate and start its own pack.

Our heads were filled with details, lore and the beauty of 'the real thing' when we decided to take Minnesota Highway 1 back toward Duluth and Lake Superior with the outside chance that we might have our own sighting. And we did!--a small pack crossing the highway in front of us and running along side us at a distance. From my passenger window I looked into the golden face of a wolf intent on chasing the another wolf across from us--the lone wolf. A closer look at this photo below gives you an idea of what we witnessed:We drove on amazed at our good fortune and wished this lone traveler the same in his or her travels. The Wolf Center has a wolf-cam here. Happy watching!

Visit Misty Dawn's fun meme, Camera Critters to see more beautiful animals.