Archive for the ‘goats’ Category

West Glacier

Sunday, July 11th, 2010

Spent the last four days in West Glacier. July is the prime month for Glacier National Park and the crowds have definitely arrived. It is easier to get to, so I imagine it is always more crowded than the St. Mary area. The Apgar campground is in a wooded area and next to a lake. Lots of people here are into boating and rafting (on the rivers).

Ironically, the first day I was here I drove back 30 miles on I-2 to Goat Lick Overlook. Mountain goats gather here to lick the mineral rich rocks. They have made narrow trails on the hills all around the area. If you Google Goat Lick Overlook, the number one item is a pdf document that tells all about it. A special overpass was even built for the goats, so they would not have to cross the highway.

While watching some goats at the overpass, this goat ran out of the bushes past me. Later I saw it rolling in the dirt, maybe trying to get rid of it’s winter coat.

The next thing on my agenda was to drive up the west side of Going-to-the-Sun Road to Logan Pass. It is one of the most scary drives I’ve taken in my truck, without my trailer. It should be a one lane road. Driving in a vehicle smaller than a full-sized pick-up truck would help as well. I just wanted to drive it once, so I could stop where I wanted. Next time I’ll take the free shuttle the park offers.

Above: the Weeping Wall.

There were both mountain goats and big horned sheep in the parking lot at Logan Pass.

In the campground at Apgar finally found out which bird it is with the distinctive song you often hear in the woods: a Swainson’s thrush. It has a “Song flute-like, spiraling upward”.

The campground has a nice paved bike/hike path that goes to West Glacier. You are not supposed to hike alone at Glacier because of bears. I road my bike on their beautiful bike path and, what do you know, I came across a bear (below). It just briefly glanced at me, being intent on looking for food. It was the color of a grizzly, but believe it was a black bear. All the bears I’ve seen at Glacier have seemed very healthy.

I had taken a point and shoot camera, so I wouldn’t have to take the larger DSLR. Have to learn how to use the darn thing.

They say that the glaciers in Glacier National Park will be gone in 10 to 20 years. The warmer weather they now have has brought more beetle damage to their trees, as evidenced by the many dead trees you see. Also, alpine areas that goats and other animals depend on, is expected to disappear.

Posted in National, West Glacier, bear, goats, sheep, thrush | No Comments »

Glacier National Park

Sunday, July 4th, 2010

Have been in the St. Mary area of Glacier National Park for almost two weeks (without hookups). It is really incredible, lots of waterfalls and wildflowers. Coming at the end of June this year, it seemed less crowded than last year. Part of this is due to roadwork on Going-to-the-Sun Road, where access over Logan Pass is closed at 9 p.m. There was very little traffic on the road at 7 p.m.. There is still snow at Logan Pass. People were using their skiing gear on my first visit there. The snow is melting fast though, creating waterfalls everywhere

The first two photos above were taken on the way to Logan Pass. The third one is from Many Glacier. It’s the first time I’ve visited that area. Wish I could stay at the campground there, but my rv is too long. The bottom picture is the Two Medicine area. You can see the variety of weather I had.

When stopped near Logan Pass waiting to drive through a one lane road where work was being done, saw the sheep in the top picture. On another visit the sheep in the bottom picture was in the Logan Pass parking lot. He was licking the pavement. Perhaps salt was there from snow removal. There were people all around him taking pictures and he was oblivious to them. It was just when some people let their two dogs out of their car that he looked up.

Sharp-tailed grouse

On one drive down Going-to-the-Sun Road passed people watching a black bear. Went back the next evening thinking it would probably return, and it did. This time park rangers were also on hand. The ranger above was going to shoot it with a rubber bullet and aim a firecracker over it’s head to scare it away, but I think the bear got away that night. I didn’t go back the next night.

A white tailed deer was grazing while keeping an eye on the bear. The bear eventually gave a half-hearted lunge towards the deer and it took off.

The large variety of wildflowers at the park is amazing. There are a mix of prairie and alpine flowers. Bear grass (beargrass?) is shown below in an area hit by fire in the past.

Wikipedia:

X. tenax is an important part of the fire ecology of regions where it is native. It has rhizomes which survive fire that clears dead and dying plant matter from the surface of the ground. The plant thrives with periodic burns and is often the first plant to sprout in a scorched area.

Posted in National, St. Mary, bear, deer, goats, grouse | No Comments »

On the road

Wednesday, February 3rd, 2010

After leaving Falcon State Park, I stayed at Lake Casa Blanca State Park, around 60 miles away, to wait out some bad winds. From there, went to Seminole Canyon State Park and Historic Site, just past the town of Del Rio. At Del Rio, you leave southern Texas brush country behind and enter the Chihuahuan desert. Next stop was the small town of Alpine, north of Big Bend National Park. I had thought I’d stop at Big Bend, but the weather this season has been too wild and more rain was due in two days. I continued on to Deming, New Mexico, to wait out that rain. It is always a bit of a jolt to leave the rural areas I have been staying in for a number of months and then drive the interstate through a large city, in this case El Paso to get to Deming.

In going from Falcon State Park to Deming, I had to stop at 4 border inspection stations. At the first stop, an agent even went into my trailer. First time that has occurred. Noticed they have a complex system of cameras and other equipment to get pictures of each car, both front and rear. Bet they are using face recognition software. Most checkpoints also had a working dog sniff your vehicle.

I love the town of Marfa, Texas, with it’s combination of art and ranching. It was most recently made famous as where Randy Quaid and his wife were arrested. I tried staying in Alpine, instead of Marfa, because they have nicer rv parks. Next time I’ll stick it out in Marfa’s one cramped park. You can boondock in rest areas if the weather permits (which it didn’t this trip).

Last year when I left Marfa heading to the I-10, I passed what you see in the picture above, out in the middle of nowhere. I was going around 60 mph and just made out the words Prada – Marfa. This time I made sure to drive slow and pull over to get a picture. It was created by artists in 2005. They got the approval of Prada to use their name. There are some purses and high heel shoes on display. The “door” is fake.

Ballroom Marfa is the non-profit art center that helped create the Prada – Marfa work. The second picture is obviously an old gas station made into an art center. The art community either reuses old buildings or builds new buildings that blend right in.

At Lake Casa Blanca State Park there were a couple of hundred dead fish on the shore. The visitor center said they were tropical fish that were not supposed to be there. They died as the water got colder. The second picture shows a caracara making a meal of one of the fish.

Pictured below: I was so surprised to see mountain goats a little past Seminole Canyon State Park and Historic Site. There were puddles of water in rocky areas that may have allowed them to graze there. Before the town of Marathon, and after the town of Alpine, saw several small groups of pronghorn elk.

Posted in Deming, El Paso, Laredo, Marfa, State, caracara, elk, goats | Comments Off

Glacier National Park

Friday, August 7th, 2009

Have started backtracking, to slowly start making my way south. Stayed two days at  St. Mary Campground at Glacier National Park with the goal of walking the Hidden Lake Overlook trail from Logan Pass. Took the shuttle up to Logan Pass at 8:00 am. There were not a lot of people there that early and the weather was fantastic. When I stopped by here about a month ago, it was really hot.

Top picture, Hidden Lake as viewed from the overlook.

Second picture, some people take advantage of a photo opportunity at the start of the trail. The trail is 90% on a wood boardwalk.

Third picture, the wildflowers were just breathtaking.

One of the reasons I wanted to take this hike, was to see some mountain goats. You are rewarded after a 1.5 mile uphill hike by both the view and by mountain goats. This mother and baby must be the site mascots. They stay at arms length and don’t beg, but they are definitely used to people. The mom was shedding her outer coat.

Hoary marmot

Looking down the trail as a mist rolls in. It is just 1.5 miles (3 miles roundtrip) to the overlook, but it really had me huffing and puffing. Had to sit down a few times. On the way down, when it was getting crowded with a lot of people just starting the hike, saw I was not the only one to be challenged. Definitely glad to have had the cooler weather.

Read an article in the Los Angeles Times that listed Glacier National Park as one of the lesser known and visited national parks. You could not tell this by the crowds that I saw. When I took the shuttle back down to the campground from Logan Pass, the parking lot was jammed, with a lot of honking horns. All the turnouts were also filled with cars. You have to get out early or late to avoid the crowds. The campgrounds also regularly fill up. They have a website that shows the open and full campgrounds in real time. It would be good to check this out before you come.

I might have stayed more than two days, but there was a severe weather alert for 2 to 7 inches of rain, hail, and thunderstorms. Next year would like to stay a week or two.

Congratulations to Bai Yun, the 17-year-old female panda at the San Diego Zoo. She gave birth to her 5th cub this week. The zoo has a webcam of her and her newest offspring. The picture above is of her and Zhen Zhen (her 4th cub).

Posted in National, St. Mary, goats, marmot, panda | No Comments »

Rancho Jurupa Park, Riverside, California

Saturday, May 31st, 2008

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Have been back at Rancho Jurupa Park in Riverside for the past two weeks. Wanted to get some things done. Plan to start heading North next week.

Above, an adult breeding wood duck that was by the marsh area at the park.

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Think this is an adult, breeding ring-necked duck. Also seen by the marsh area.

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There were several sets of mother and baby ducks. The ones above look like teenagers.

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Came across a female goat that was in distress on park property. There are small ranches with all kinds of animals right next to the park. The goat must have gotten through a hole in a fence, then could not find her way back in. She was in distress and looked like she needed to be milked. All my pictures of her were a little blurry. Between her chasing Jake (and me) and my trying to keep Jake by my side, it was hard to stand still. I walked around to the street with the ranches and came across the son of the owner of the goat. He came and rescued her.

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The two sets of mascots are still here. The male muscovoy duck is really dominant. Saw him chase down and bite some feathers off the large white male goose. He has also done this to the female muscovoy duck. Despite this, you often see the four of them resting together as a group.

Both sets of mascots were going from rv to rv looking in the screen doors, hoping for a handout. There have been less people at the park due to construction, so handouts may be harder to come by.

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There only seems to be the one, full-time, blue heron here now. The ones that went gopher hunting here in April have probably headed North. Still plenty of gophers around.

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Rancho Jurupa Park is right next to the Santa Ana River Wildlife Area. There are marsh areas on both sides of the river, along with miles of sandy horse trails that you can also walk or ride a bike on.

Posted in County, Riverside, ducks, goats, gopher, heron | No Comments »

Wyoming, June 16-18, 2007

Saturday, June 16th, 2007

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In Cheyenne, Wyoming, stopped at Terry Bison Ranch for fun.

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These goats were used to mow the grass. They did not like Jake’s inquisitiveness and looked like they were ready to attack him were he to go to their side of the fence.

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The main negative thing about this stop was the wind. When I would open my door, the wind would often slam it open. Not good for aluminum doors.

Posted in Cheyenne, Wyoming, bison, camel, goats, ostrich, sunset | No Comments »