Take Me Back

Typically, if I don't post to the blog the same weekend we are out,

the post just never happens. But since we weren't planning to get out this weekend, I actually saved this post on purpose. 

Last Sunday was a little unusual for us: A couple of times a year, our church changes up the the schedule a little bit. Instead of the usual evening service, we have a picnic lunch and an afternoon service. It's fun once in a while to get to take a "Sunday afternoon drive"! 

Dan has a co-worker who lives outside of Roundup. He is always showing Dan cell-phone and trail cam pictures of the different wildlife that frequents his property. He has extended an open invitation to come explore. So we met Mike and his wife Amee at the Vintage Main Street Cafe in Roundup. Mike has been telling Dan about the good food and great service for a while now, and indeed, he was not exaggerating. Enzo and Nina, the owners, took excellent care of us. Dan said his burger was the best one he had ever eaten, and I could have made another sandwich with just the turkey that fell out of the one that I ate! This was NOT frozen, deli turkey, either -- it was real, chopped turkey breast. You know... that perfect "day-after-Thanksgiving" turkey sandwich. YUM! And the fresh-cooked potato chips? I am ready to go jump in the car right now and drive up for more! Seriously, next time you are in Roundup, you have to check this place out! (There you go -- the first and maybe only restaurant review you will ever read on this blog! Haha!)

After dinner, we followed Mike and Amee back to their place. Well, eventually... we kept getting distracted by photo ops. But we finally made it up to the property. Mike, Dan, and I set off to explore. Mike showed us his garden, then we moved on into the woods. The "resident" hen turkey put in an appearance, and we spotted a little mule deer buck as well. He was so handsome with his budding, velvety antlers. Then Mike showed us another spot where it wasn't hard to imagine a bobcat or a mountain lion bedding down. Unfortunately, they were just that -- imaginary. But we did spot a couple of small birds that were actually quite accommodating. Our last effort for the day was to attempt to call in one of the big tom turkeys that Mike and Amee have seen. We did get a hen to "talk" to us, but the toms remained stubbornly mute. 

Later research told us that these are violet-green swallows. 

All too soon, we realized that it was time to turn homeward. We still made a couple of sudden stops for a pheasant (gone by the time we got turned around), and a pair of nice mulie bucks. All in all, it was a perfect Sunday afternoon. 

Bonus!

We DID get out for a quick photo outing this weekend. Another long afternoon/evening drive found us bouncing favorite back roads. Not a lot of "blog fodder", but we did watch a little family drama among some sand hill cranes. 

I was very surprised when the adult bird jumped up out of the creek
and left the little one to find its own way out!

After several unsuccessful attempts to climb up out of the creek
(wings aren't much good for climbing),
the little one seemed to stop and think for a moment.
It then took about three steps further up the creek
and walked right out. 

The adult birds didn't even wait for the little one.
They just continued slowly working their way through the grass.

Eventually, though, the whole family was reunited, 
and they all wandered out of camera range. 

THE END :)

Peaceful, Easy Feeling

Sorry for the long absence. 

Things have been a little crazy around here this spring!

Everyone has that "favorite place" -- that place of which they never tire; the place to which they run whenever the opportunity presents itself. For me, that place is Yellowstone National Park. It has been a busy spring, with a trip to Spain, then a move, then a week in Milwaukee for our daughter's graduation. I was more than ready for a day in my "happy place"! 

With the arrival of spring, we can now enter the park through Cooke City. It is still too early to take the Beartooth Pass, but the Chief Joseph Scenic Highway plays a pretty good second fiddle! 

The little ponds alongside the road were undisturbed by even the slightest breeze, and they reflected their surroundings like mirrors. The ducks and geese floating quietly across the glassy surfaces created a "peaceful, easy feeling." The still water also gave away the presence of anything swimming there, and one such V-shaped wake caught Dan's attention. Were we finally going to get otter pictures? We watched for a while, and after getting a few pictures, Dan decided that they were not otters. Maybe muskrats? NO, that couldn't be! They simply HAD to be otters! I studied the pictures as we drove away and discovered the undisputable yellow buck teeth of a beaver! I was still a little disappointed that they were not otters, but beavers have also long been on the "to photograph" list, so I wasn't too upset. 

Part of the reason for going to Yellowstone in the spring (as if I need an excuse) is the likelihood of seeing bears. When one is fortunate, there are even baby bears. We were blessed indeed -- we saw two momma bears with two cubs each! The first bear jam was already so large and densely packed with people and cars that we didn't even try to stop. From my vantage point out of the sunroof of the Subaru, I caught a fleeting glimpse of a black bear sow with two new cubs. Awwww! 

Got an itch!

The second bear jam was just forming as we approached, so Dan let me jump out before he proceeded to an approved pullout to park the car. We got to sit and watch and photograph another black bear sow, this time with a pair of yearling cubs. After a while, we picked up our cameras and moved on. It was dinner time, and I was completely satisfied with another day in my favorite place. 

*** Bonus Pics***

Kicking the Winter Blues

There is one thing to be said for Montana winters... While Mother Nature may throw some really nasty weather at us, she generally doesn't stay angry for long. We have spent the last two weekends stuck in the house, so I was particularly glad to see that better weather was predicted for this weekend. 


Yellowstone has been calling my name ever since the aborted birthday trip (see Deer John), so we decided to give it another go. We got almost to Big Timber before we pulled off the interstate for pictures.



The Crazy Woman Mountains are probably my favorite local mountain range. They rise abruptly from the valley floor with minimal foothills to obscure them. But they are not easy to photograph. It is very difficult to keep a "clean" foreground. We took several exits and side roads before we got the view we wanted. 

Despite being distracted by mountains, then eagles, we were still in Gardiner by mid afternoon. We got our annual pass at the gate and headed for Lamar Valley. We had just enough daylight left when we got there to photograph a trio of big horn rams on the hillside across from the river. 

Saturday morning found us returning to Lamar Valley. A server where we ate breakfast told us that a group of bull moose hang out at Round Prairie (just past Lamar) all winter, and I was also absolutely certain that this was the day that we would find the otters. 

The first photo opportunity of the day was a small bachelor herd of big mulie bucks. Since there was no way to get off the road, we drove to the next pullout and turned around. Dan dropped me off, and to my pleasant surprise, the deer did not bolt. In fact, they seemed rather curious. They even stuck around long enough for Dan to get a few shots when he came back to pick me up. 

When we reached Lamar, there were quite a few people looking down into the river where the otters are said to play. Surely, surely... but no. I had once again just missed them. The moose proved equally elusive, but we consoled ourselves with the pictures we had already gotten. Besides, a trip to Yellowstone is always enjoyable, especially on a nice, sunny winter day. 

I'm sure that Mother Nature has not thrown her last tantrum for this winter, but the break was much appreciated! 

*** Bonus Pics***

Carpe Diem

 Since Dan and I both work 2nd shift jobs, the phrase "off to an early start" is not often heard around our house. But once in a while we get motivated to "seize the day"! 

Yesterday morning, we were on the road by 8:30. The sun was shining and the roads were clear. Our first foray was up the East Rosebud, looking for moose. Nope. We came back out of the valley and cut across to to the West Rosebud. Just before we headed up the West Rosebud, Dan spotted an owl. Unfortunately, the tangle of branches made getting a really good photo impossible. 

This cemetery on Ingersoll Road seems like a nice "final resting place."

The road up to West Rosebud and the trailhead to Mystic Lake was not so clear. In fact, it was mostly snow and ice covered and very slippery! We persevered, however, and ate a quick lunch on the shores of Emerald Lake. Again, though, wildlife was elusive. Coming back down, we paused for a few minutes to aid another driver in pulling his stuck vehicle out of the ditch. 

We had enough daylight for one more valley, so we made our way over to Nye and up past the Stillwater Mine to the Souix Charley Lake trailhead. We still didn't find moose, and the big horn sheep were not in sight, either. 

At least the eagles were cooperative!

We came home through Beehive and along the Stillwater River. We squeezed every last ray of sunlight out of the day before coming home for dinner.

Regal Eagles

This weekend, we drove down to Casper, Wyoming to meet up with some longtime friends. We left home just before lunch, thankful that the roads had cleared from last weekend's snowstorm. We were hardly out of Billings when I spotted an eagle in a ravine along I-90. Dan immediately slowed down and asked if I wanted to go back. After a moment's hesitation, I said yes. We backed up nearly half a mile on the shoulder, but I am so glad we did. The single eagle that I had seen turned out to be part of a whole family! 

It was all the excitement that we had for the day, but that was okay. We had a great visit with our friends, then settled into our motel for the night.

We left fairly early Saturday morning. We didn't really have a concrete plan for the day, just to get home by day's end. It was windy, but sunny and not too cold. (Until we reached Shoshoni anyway. It was freezing there!) The only icy roads that we encountered were in Wind River Canyon. There are obviously some places that just never get direct sunlight! From Thermopolis, we turned toward Cody. We grabbed lunch at Wendy's and decided to go check out the South Fork. We have never driven up that way before. Generally, when we go that direction, we are going to Yellowstone, and the North Fork is the most direct route. 

Boy, have we ever been missing out! We started seeing deer right away, then bald eagles. We even saw a coyote. From the main road, we debated momentarily before taking a gravel side road. I laughingly told Dan that that's where the big bucks had to be, since we were only seeing does and small bucks. Surprisingly enough, I was right! We watched three mulie bucks feeding in a  large meadow. Unfortunately, they were quite a distance from us on clearly-marked private property. We had also lost our sunshine, so really good photos were not forthcoming. (I know, I know... Excuses, excuses!) The pictures that we did get confirmed that these were indeed the biggest bucks that we have yet seen! You can bet that we are already planning a return trip to the South Fork!

*** Bonus Pics***

Between Thermopolis and Meteetsee is a stretch of really cool
rock formations.

We found some cool things on the rocks...

... and among the rocks, too!