A Bluebird Bonanza

I awoke early this morning and went to the kitchen to start the coffeepot. I was disappointed to see cloudy, grey skies. But, hoping for the partly-sunny day predicted, I got ready to go play outside. 

Leaving Laurel, glimpses of blue in between the clouds above kept us encouraged. Our intended destination was the Big Horn National Recreation Area. We ate our lunch at Devil's Overlook, then continued on to the Ewing-Snell Ranch. We had planned on hiking, but rain/snow and temps in the 30's made that unappealing. We returned to the other side of the Pryor Mountains where the sky was lighter.

Suddenly, a bright little bluebird flitted by, quickly followed by another. We stopped for a picture and realized that there were several other bluebirds in the area. We parked the car and scrambled down into a dry, sandy wash in pursuit of those brilliant flashes of cerulean blue. Would you believe that we spent almost an hour and a half chasing a nearly a dozen birds? We took almost 100 pictures! 

Eventually, feeling much better about the day, we made our way back to the car and meandered back roads toward home.  

These cacti were barely hanging on to the eroding edge
of the wash. 

I got distracted. :)

This picture is a little "soft," but I loved the expression.

I am thinking that four-wheeling up there wouldn't
have been much fun today. 

It's Pipestone, People!

Pipestone Pass Tunnel II

Earlier this week, I texted some of our friends to see what they had planned for the weekend. One friend was going to be out of town and another was taking granddaughters to the circus. But our buddy Ronny came through for us. He and his son-in-law were planning to attend the ATV Fun Run in Pipestone. NOW you're talkin'! We made plans to meet Saturday morning.

Dan and I drove up on Friday. With the rain and snow that we got this week, I knew that the mountains would have plenty of "sparkle," and they did not disappoint. The clouds were finally moving out and the majestic white peaks "popped" against the blue sky. 

We got to Whitehall and checked into our room early in the afternoon. Now what to do? We stopped for burgers, then got out the map, looking for some less-traveled roads to explore. While we have traveled this stretch of I-90 many times, we have never gotten off on the back roads south of the interstate. We moseyed along and spotted whitetail deer, eagles, a couple of sandhill cranes, and a pheasant. We started up an alternate route from Whitehall to Butte, but we turned around when we looked at the map and realized that this road would dump us right into Butte. Upon retreating, I caught just a glimpse of a railroad tunnel below us. Dan took the next turnout and we walked back. Of course, there was no way to get a decent picture from the road, so we scrambled down the steep bank to get closer. It was worth the exertion, though, to stand in the opening of the abandoned tunnel and imagine the history.

Saturday morning dawned clear and bright. I was SO eager to get out and ride. It's been way too long! Not only that, but we were riding in Pipestone. I love the riding there. It is so varied. One minute, we were flying (yes, literally) over big moguls on sandy, open, meadow roads, and the next minute, we were bouncing down steep, rocky trails to creeks in the bottoms. There was still a little snow in a few places and a few good puddles. The weather was absolutely perfect, and we enjoyed both the riding and the company. We left the Fun Run agreeing that we will definitely be returning for the event again next year. 

Many relics remain from the heyday of passenger trains.
This trestle was part of the Milwaukee Line.  

THIS...

...leads to THIS!