Both sides of town

John and I decided to grab a bite to eat in town while the kids stayed in the room and ate leftover pizza. We stopped at the Two Bit Saloon but it was already 2:30 and the grill was closed until 4:00. We decided to have a beer instead. We were the only people in there and we started talking to the bartender. He lives up in Jardine which is about 5 miles out of Gardiner and pretty rustic. He was watching a hunting show so we talked a little and listened a lot about hunting. He told us some tales about hunting deer and showed us some photos and then told us about being tracked by a mountain lion once while he was elk hunting. We told him we had been out watching the wolves that morning and that got him going. He says the wolves never were extinct in the area and didn't need to be brought back. The elk herd in the park used to be 19,000 and now it is 9,000 because of the wolves. He didn't really say how many elk the park could sustain. He did say that it could only sustain 2,000 buffalo and the herd is 4,500 but the wolves can't do much damage in the way of thinning the buffalo. So now they have a buffalo hunting season for the ones that leave the park. It was clear that the wolves weren't too popular. John bought so flies by a local fisherman that they were selling behind the bar and then we headed to the other side of town for a sandwich. We went to the Tumbleweed Cafe and Bookstore - like something out of Boulder, Colorado..... organic food, teas, used books,etc. They had a card right by the cash register with all the information about the various wolf packs in the park and where they each roam. Clearly they had a different opinion of the wolves that the bartender at the Two Bit. I guess it takes all kinds.