At Least We Didn't Get Skunked

...or did we? ;)

Not every weekend jaunt that we take is all about photography. Dan's primary goal for yesterday was to sight in a new rifle, so we headed for the Pryors. It was rather dreary, but not actually raining. When Dan finished shooting, we debated over where to go next. (There is still way too much snow in the Pryors to bother hanging out there!) We returned to Bridger and cut over the mountain to Red Lodge. We filled the truck (and our bellies) and turned north. We looked for eagles near Luther and Roscoe, but found none. 

Turning onto Ingersoll Creek Road, we stopped to investigate a small cemetery that we have passed many times. We discovered burial dates ranging from 1905 to 2017, and the deceased were as young as a day or two up to nearly ninety years. Graves were marked with simple metal plaques, elaborately carved monuments, and everything in between. My favorite engraving said, "The John Wayne of all Dads."

Back in the truck, we continued across Ingersoll Creek Road until it ended on West Rosebud. We stopped near Nye at a fishing access to look for otters... without success, of course. We looped back around toward Beehive, stopping at a few other fishing accesses along the way. Still no otters, but we were seeing a lot of deer and turkeys. Just before we reached Beehive, I spotted something moving in the grass. "What's black and white and..."? Yep, skunk! The grass was nearly as tall as the skunk, which made it hard to get a clear shot, but I did get a few. 

At the last fishing access of the day, we spied a bluebird! Yay! Maybe we are going to get spring after all! A pair of eagles just down the road made for a good last pic of the day. 

PS. Just for the record, we didn't get skunked in the literal sense, either! 

Bonus Pics

I think the tree has grown some
since it was planted beside this headstone. 

Leprechauns, Unicorns, and River Otters

*I am now totally convinced that river otters are mythical creatures,

and any pictures of them are the result of trick photography!*

Well, well, well... We woke up yesterday to mostly sunny skies. As soon as we possibly could, we hit the road heading west. Where to go? Yellowstone always sounds good to me, and since I was driving, that's where we ended up. We drove through some scattered showers, but by the time we came to Yankee Jim Canyon, it was sunny. This was a good thing, because several people lately have told me that they have seen otters there. 

We stopped in the first pullout, and I was certain that the otters were just waiting for me in the river below. I walked the the river's edge while Dan moved the car to the next pullout and walked back to meet me. In this way, we worked our way down the entire canyon. We saw a young eagle and a small flock of ducks, but no otters. The sun shining on the emerald-hued water was, however, soothing and satisfying. 

I was disappointed at not finding the otters, but there was still time to run for Lamar Valley. Blowing snow had made the roads interesting in a few spots, but overall, they were better than when we we were there two weeks ago. 

The same ram was on the hillside across the road, but the river had my full attention. A couple of magpies were pecking away at what appeared to be scraps of fish, so this just HAD to be THE spot! We did have the entire area to ourselves, and we had fun photographing the ducks. Unfortunately, the otters never did put in an appearance, and daylight was running out on us. 

Driving home, I came to the realization that I was once again getting way too "hung up" on getting photos of one particular species. We are so blessed to live close enough to be able to visit Yellowstone on a whim! One of these days, we are going to stumble upon otters in the river and we will get our pics. I am just not entirely convinced that I won't get pictures of leprechauns and unicorns first! 

Bonus Pics

The wind was making it pretty tough
for this magpie to keep his footing on the ice. 

I guess you could call it a "tail wind"! 

Eventually, he gave up and took off. 

I have always considered mallards the prettiest of ducks.