This is Why I Golf

Wait, wait, WAIT! Before you roll your eyes and return to your homepage, hear me out. This is NOT a play-by-play commentary on my latest round.

Bully Pulpit Golf Course, Medora, ND

Why, you may be wondering, am I writing a post about golf on a nature/outdoor blog? Well, my friend, golf is not played in a gymnasium or an arena. Golf is, in fact, a great way to "go outside and play"! It is also an enjoyable way, in my opinion, to get some exercise. I don't think I have ever walked 5.7 miles in one stretch on the treadmill, yet that is what the odometer in my golf watch said I did yesterday. Golf is also a favorite way for us as a couple to unwind and spend some quality time together. 

But I digress... I was thinking as we played yesterday about some of the beautiful places we have played. Fall golf in Michigan and Minnesota? Yes, please! How about in view of gorgeous mountains in Montana and Washington? I'll take that, too. 

Covington Links, South Souix City, NE

I think my very favorite thing about playing golf... outside... in beautiful places, is the wildlife. Out among the budding trees yesterday morning (yes, I was seeking an errant tee-shot), the robins were busy chasing each other and just generally creating a ruckus. A pair of mallard ducks were swimming in the pond near the green, and of course the geese were everywhere. The turtles aren't out yet, but they will be soon. The squirrels are always entertaining, and deer are frequent visitors to our course, especially during quiet, evening rounds. We have even played among antelope a time or two, though not on our course. 

The only frequent golf course visitors that I would really rather not see are the snakes. Back in Michigan at the course where I learned to play, it was a really good (and rare) day that I didn't see at  least one garter snake. While most of the snakes here are also harmless, there have been a few rattlers on the course. One was a baby one... on the ladies' teebox! I am very glad that I spotted it before I reached down to put my tee in the ground!

Old Works, Anaconda, MT

Pheasant Country, South Heart, ND

It has been said that golf is a good walk spoiled. I beg to differ. One just has to slow down, take a deep breath, and take a look around. Beauty is everywhere. 

A History Lesson at Heart Mountain

Those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it.

~ Winston Churchill

                          

Yesterday was a different sort of day trip for us. Our usual outing involves atv's, mountains, pictures, etc. But, of course, when you ride the machines as much as we do, they require some maintenance. So we dropped them off in Powell for a little TLC. Now we had some time to kill. After a quick trip into Cody for lunch and a visit to Wayne's Boot Shop, we drove back to Heart Mountain World War II Japanese American Confinement Site. 

While the Wild West has plenty of historical places to visit, most of them are homestead and mining related. I was not aware until recently that our region had any connection to WW II other than some spotty war-related mining. Dan, however, being the history buff that he is, had read of the confinement of Japanese Americans after the attack at Pearl Harbor. One such confinement facility was located in the shadow of Heart Mountain, between Powell and Cody, Wyoming. 

We began our tour in the interpretive center. Many, many pictures and quotes helped us understand the impact that the forced evacuations made on the lives of thousands of West Coast Japanese American citizens. We then viewed a short documentary before perusing exhibits from "camp" life. Afterward we went outside to see the remaining structures -- a guard tower and the hospital boiler house and chimney. 

It was a sobering place. It was not hard to imagine myself in their shoes. I envisioned myself as a typical American teenager. One day - in school, hanging out with friends, doing whatever teens did socially in the 1940's. The next day - packing ONE suitcase (they were allowed to bring only what they could carry) for a train trip to an unknown destination. I pondered what it might have been like to be a mother of a young child in that situation. One suitcase for linens, bedding, and clothing! Which of her own necessities did she sacrifice so that life could be as normal as possible for her son or daughter? I thought about how it would feel to be jerked from a comfortable home and a successful business in a busy city and to be dropped literally in the middle of nowhere in a barren Wyoming prairie.

As vivid as my imagination may be, I am sure that I cannot begin to understand what these people went through. While this blog post is in no way meant to be political, one quote in particular really struck me: "...if you think that the Constitution protects you, you better make sure that the Constitution is actively operating... in other words 'constituent vigilance'! Otherwise, it's a scrap of paper. We had the Constitution to protect us in 1942. It didn't because the will of the people weren't behind it." ~ Gordon Hirabayashi

Looking for Yogi

Ever since the Yellowstone National Park Facebook page stated in mid-February that the bears were starting to come out of hibernation, I have been itching to get back down there. Yesterday was the first day where free time and decent weather coincided, so off we went. 

We stopped at Subway in Gardiner to grab lunch, and one of the employees told us that they had had an easy winter, and that the bears had, in fact, been out since the first of the year. Now more eager than ever, we entered the park and headed for the Tower Falls area, where there have been several sightings. Of course, the road to Tower is not open yet, so we turned toward Lamar Valley and Cooke City. 

Our first stop was at Wraith Falls. The light was right for pictures, and we wondered what it might look like frozen. The short trail was mostly clear of snow, so it didn't take us long to get to the viewing platform. Unfortunately, the falls, while pretty, were a little underwhelming, so we returned to the car. A couple of buffalo yearling calves were kind enough to entertain us while we ate our sandwiches. 

We continued our drive without seeing anything but bison. When we reached the Pebble Creek Campground, we turned around and started back. We were hardly back on the road when I spotted something beyond the river. We whipped into the convenient pullout, grabbed the cameras, and set out on foot. (Lamar Valley had more snow than some of the rest of the park, but it was mostly well-frozen and not too hard to walk on. Mostly...) We could see now that the animal I had spied was definitely canine. It was far more concerned about finding a bite to eat off of the buffalo carcass it had found than it was about us. Once it spotted us, however, it reluctantly retreated to the treeline. Dan looked at the pictures when we got back to the car and declared it a coyote. Phooey! I wanted a wolf! 

A couple of miles farther down the road, we caught sight of another coyote. Once again, we bailed out of the car with cameras ready. This time, there were two! They put up quite a ruckus of yipping and howling before trotting out of range. The afternoon shadows were lengthening, and we decided that maybe, for once, we would head for home before dark. 

I was a little disappointed that we never saw a bear, but a day in Yellowstone is never wasted. Maybe next time...

Valentines Day Getaway

Dinner and a movie? Bor-ring! 

Happy Valentine's Day! You do see the heart, don't you?

Regular readers of the blog may remember that I mentioned that our anniversary plans in December were canceled due to weather. Winter in Montana being as fickle as it is, this weekend was beautiful and perfect for those plans. 

Not everyone would consider Baker, Montana a perfect place for a romantic Valentine getaway, but we had a nearby destination in mind. So we spent Friday afternoon at Medicine Rocks State Park. The park is a collection of wind- and water-eroded sandstone "sculptures." It was a great place to wander and let my mind "see" all kinds of faces and shapes and creatures in the rocks. We stayed until dusk, taking pictures and just soaking up the warm afternoon sun. Just as we were walking back to the truck, I heard a howl. I asked Dan, "Wolf? Coyote? or just a domestic dog?" About then, the rest of the pack joined in the clamor. Funny, in town, it would be just highly annoying. In nature? AWESOME! 

The weather changed overnight, and Saturday morning, we woke up to cold temps and light snow. Oh, well. The other stop that we had in mind was Makoshika State Park in Glendive, so we headed east through oilfields and badlands. Unfortunately, this stop didn't quite "pan out." The visitor's center was closed when we got there, so we decided that we would do the drive part first. The only problem with that plan was that the road was barricaded about a mile past the visitor's center. So much for Makoshika! Bye, bye, Glendive. We hit the interstate until we came to Terry. We stopped for gas, then returned to the back roads.

By now, the sun was back (or maybe the snow just hadn't made it that far west yet), and we enjoyed bouncing along the gravel roads. We had the GPS and only really needed to stay pointed in a generally SW direction. Thus we came to Ryan Road, marked "Impassable when muddy or snow drifted." Dan looked over at me and said, "Well, it's been dry to this point, and there are tracks." To which I replied with a shrug, "You're driving." We proved the sign wrong -- the road WAS actually passable -- barely! After way too many miles with both hands wrapped tightly around dashboard and door handle (and with perhaps a little muted whimpering), I was very relieved to hit the next road. Still gravel, but a big improvement. We stopped and scraped half of the topsoil of Prairie County off of our truck, then continued on our merry way.

The next road had real pavement and led us back to the interstate. For this trip at least, I had had enough of the road less traveled. 

My Bloggie has a First Name...

...it also has a twin!

Not perfectly in focus, but still a pretty cool photo. 

My "little ones" are close, and they always play nicely together. Sometimes, in my mind, they are one and the same. But in reality, they are separate entities and do actually serve distinct and individual purposes. Let me introduce you to my "children."

Since you are reading this, you have obviously found my blog. The whole purpose of the blog is to share our outdoor adventures and hopefully encourage others to get out and explore God's beautiful creation, too. The pictures help tell the story. They might include pictures of people or pictures that didn't "turn out" quite right, yet are still part of the adventure. 

Our Facebook page (Photography by Dan and Tammi Capron) on the other hand, is all business. With only a few noted exceptions, every picture on the Facebook page is one that we consider "marketable." Indeed, nearly every picture on the page is or has been for sale in one of our shows. The page is where we list our show dates and where we market our calendars, postcards, mousepads, and prints. Please, please, "like, follow, and share"! 

As I said, my children always get along. They encourage and promote one another. I always link the blog posts to the FB page, and the page gets the occasional mention on the blog. I do hope you will take a little time and get to know them both. :)

It's always nice when "work" is fun.

...and for those of you with the Oscar Meyer bologna song stuck in your head ~ You're welcome! Haha

These Are a Few of My Favorite Things

As I picked up my pen to write this installment of the blog, it occurred to me that the usual narrative-style post might be getting a little redundant. Therefore, I thought that, at least for today, I would switch things up a bit and share just the highlights. So here, dear reader, are a few of my favorite things:

*The roads less traveled ~ With the continuing snow making camping or four-wheeling difficult-to-impossible, the truck is pretty much the only way we are getting out. Even our selection of roads is somewhat limited. But that's ok -- they are our favorites.

*Mountains and big skies ~ A picture (or two) is worth a thousand words.

*Wildlife ~ We saw a coyote, a rabbit, eagles, turkeys, deer, and three elk. 

*Moving water ~ No surprise here, I know. We hiked a little way up the trail to Souix Charley Lake to check on a recurring frozen "waterfall." The ice, both in the river and on the trail, had melted and refrozen to a perfectly clear, smooth finish. Beautiful, but treacherous. Fortunately, the trail had only a few places where the ice couldn't be avoided, although avoiding it forced me to walk much closer to the ledge along the river than I normally would! 

*Small town Montana ~ Last week when we were out, we stopped in Fishtail at the General Store. We've driven by it many, many times, but never stopped. To our surprise, we knew a couple of the employees. Another discovery was the little deli in the back of the store, complete with checker board and wood stove. We weren't hungry when we stopped last week, but this week, a big bowl of chicken and wild rice soup sure hit the spot. It was delicious!

What about you? What is your favorite thing about Montana (or where ever it is that you live)?

Chasing Rainbows (and a Wild Goose)

Since Dan has been on vacation all this week while I was at work, he spent a lot of time on the computer. On Google Earth, he found a picture of an arch east of Belfrey. It piqued his interest, so he figured out the coordinates for future use. 

With warmer temps and clearer roads today, we decided to try to find the arch. While we frequently use the GPS to trace our track or identify BLM or state or private property, we have never tried using it to find a specific point. We got as close as we could on the road, then set out on foot.

As we worked our way up the draw, we were keeping an eye on the sky. The clouds were right for fire rainbows, and before long, we spied a faint one. The fact that it was right next to the sun made it hard to see, let alone photograph.  

At some point, Dan pointed out that as far as the arch was concerned, we might be on a wild goose chase. Sure enough, as we stood on top of the ridge, on the "X" so to speak, it became apparent that the "goose" got away. There was no arch in sight in any direction.

But we were not as disappointed as we might otherwise have been, because at that point, the sky was a veritable kaleidoscope! We kept switching lenses and handing the camera back and forth in an attempt to get the best cloud pictures possible. 

The way down...

By now, we concluded that we were not going to find the arch, so we turned back toward the truck. We could see the truck below us, as well as the road, so it didn't make sense to back-track the way we came. The only problem was that the hillside between us and the road was pretty steep. We cautiously started down, and though most of the descent was a "controlled slide," we made it to the bottom without incident. (I keep saying that I want to go sledding, you know.)

Even once we were back in the truck and heading for home, we kept stopping for one more picture. (You are indeed lucky that I don't post them all!) But, hey, "hungry" trumps "pretty"! Oh well, there will be another day.