Archive for the ‘marmot’ Category

West Yellowstone 2011

Monday, July 4th, 2011

Above, the Grand Prismatic Spring in the Midway Geyser Basin.

. . . and the buffalo do roam. Took around two hours to go from West Yellowstone to Madison Junction one day because of bison. First there were a group of females with young ones, then two young males walking down the center of the road. I should clarify that the bison were for the most part not causing the traffic jam–it was people wanting to get pictures. Later in the day, back in West Yellowstone, a young woman with children said her family just turned around and came back to town. Being in a car with young children would make the wait more difficult.

Gneiss Creek trail has two trailheads: one along the Madison River between West Yellowstone and Madison Junction, and another a few miles north of West Yellowstone. You can walk the whole 13 miles if you want! I just went maybe a mile along the Madison River and saw a number of birds, including the Clark’s nutcracker above. The trail is closed a lot of the year to allow for a bear habitat. Probably not a trail you should walk alone.

Pulled into a pullout for no particular reason and was surprised to see a family of sandhill cranes. Could not get close to them, but was thrilled to see the young one.

Near the campground I stayed at, along the Madison River, I was watching some osprey nests when I saw something stick it’s head out of the water. Found it was two river otters swimming upstream. They intermittently stuck their heads up out of the water to keep track of each other.

Posted in bison, Clark's nutcracker, marmot, National, otter, sandhill crane, West Yellowstone | Comments Off

Lolo National Forest

Thursday, August 26th, 2010

Have been in Lolo National Forest for most of the past few weeks. Highway 12 goes up to Lolo Pass, where you enter Idaho and the Clearwater National Forest. In Idaho it’s called the Northwest Passage Scenic Byway. This is the route Lewis and Clark, and Indians long before them, used.

Above, two gray jays. The first ones I’ve ever seen. They are very elusive and were in my campsite area only a few minutes.

Highway 12 follows along a number or streams and rivers. I saw lots of  stellar jays while driving, but only a few in my campground.

A kestral in farmland in the town of Lolo.

A blue-grouse (I think) seen along a forest service road.

A red-breasted nuthatch (top) and a red crossbill (lower).

A red squirrel that buries nuts that bears often dig up. It, like many of the birds, is not interested in handouts from humans. They generally run and jump quickly away from you.

There were a huge number of these moths (?) flying around one campground for a few days.

Above, an adult and fledgling yellow-rumped warblers. They were seen near Big Sky in the Gallatin National Forest.

Made one quick trip to Spokane, Washington, to get my trailer serviced. Was surprised to see a pair of marmots in the industrial area.

Posted in American kestrel, grouse, jay, Lolo, marmot, red crossbill, Spokane, squirrel, warbler | Comments Off

Beartooth Scenic Highway, Oh My!

Tuesday, August 10th, 2010

Drove through Yellowstone National Park to get to Cooke City and a National Forest Service campground in order to drive the Beartooth Scenic Highway (US Highway 212). It is an unbelievably beautiful drive. I kept saying “wow” at every turn.

Above, pictures of the summit, at close to 11,000 feet.

The above picture is a view from the road around 25 miles from Cooke City. All the time I was there, it was clear and nice in the mornings, but in the afternoon a thunderstorm would pass through. The storm would pass after a few hours, only to have another one come through in the late afternoon.

Large hail I encountered on my first drive on the highway. Not tennis ball size, but large enough that at first I thought rocks were hitting my windshield. Couldn’t figure out where they were coming from, as no other cars were around. Pulled to the side of the road and waited for the hail to stop. Felt sorry for all the motorcyclists on the road. It seems to be a favorite road of theirs and they had to ride in a lot of bad weather.

Beartooth Lake

The road on the “Cooke City side” as it starts to climb to the summit.

The road on the Red Lodge side of the summit.

I would not want to be driving on the Red Lodge side during an earthquake. There is a lot of loose dirt and rocks.

A marmot seen when I pulled over to take some pictures.

The original campground I had planned to stay at was closed at the end of July because of increased bear activity. The one I stayed at stopped allowing tent camping because of a bear sighting.

Above are marks on a tree at my campsite where a bear had torn off bark to get to the inner bark that they like. Never saw any bears though. Darn!

Had originally planned to stay at the Mammoth Hot Springs campground in Yellowstone. When I got there, however, I found it to be hot and crowded, so I proceeded on to Cooke City.

Above, a picture of the town of Gardner near the entrance to Yellowstone.

The landmark entrance to Yellowstone. Always wanted to get a picture of it.

It was still early when I passed through Lamar Valley in Yellowstone, where there is a large herd of bison. It is the season for male and female bison to co-mingle. The male bison were making growling sounds and sticking out their tongues, while staying close to a female bison. Passed a pair of bison walking down the middle of the road towards Cooke City, out of Yellowstone Park. A ranger said they do not go after them. The female bison had a tracking device around her neck though.

Posted in Airstream, bison, Cooke City, Gardiner, marmot, National | Comments Off

Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge

Friday, August 21st, 2009

Stayed a few days at Henry’s Lake State Park, a little south of West Yellowstone, just so I could visit the Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge. I had put off visiting it before because you have to drive more than 25 miles over a dirt road. Was glad I did not try and drive my trailer over the road. Found it to be a mix of washboard, rock, and potholes…really bad. Making it hard to get to probably is a good thing. It is one of the most beautiful and remote wildlife refuges I’ve been to and being hard to get to probably helps keep it that way.

Picture above: Upper Red Rock Lake. The Centennial Mountains are seen when you look in the other direction.

Passed over Red Rock Pass and into Montana on the way to the refuge from Island Park, Idaho.

Taylor Mountain, around 9,500 feet, near the refuge. There is still some snow on it.

Part of the Upper Lake Campground. I would love to get my trailer here for a few days. You are really in the wilderness without having to backpack into it. Next year I’m going to try going through the west entrance to the refuge to see if that road is any better than the east entrance that I traveled.

Had a staredown with this marmot. Kept thinking it would run away. Finally said, ok, you win, and left. It may have been protecting a nest.

Below: Think these are prairie falcon fledglings, though I’m not good at identifying falcons and hawks. Swainson’s hawks (thanks to John Dahlke)

Posted in falcon, Island Park, marmot, wildlife refuge | 1 Comment »

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

Benton Lake National Wildife Refuge

Wednesday, July 15th, 2009

Benton Lake National Wildlife Refuge is near Great Falls, Montana at the western edge of the northern Great Plains and 50 miles east of the Rocky Mountains. It has many of the birds I saw at Camas Refuge in Idaho, with a few differences.

Above, eared grebe with offspring. Still seeing some young ones riding on a parent’s back. The other parent dives for food for the baby during this time. Have seen some young ones like the one above, start diving. The just stay under water a few seconds though.

Breeding sora in the marsh.

Ibis

A standing yellow-bellied marmot. Have also seen a muskrat.

Upland sandpiper

Willet

Long-billed curlew

Phalarope

A night heron carrying a black bird in it’s beak, with the black bird’s significant other chasing after them. The heron disappeared with it’s prey into the marsh foliage.

A pair of western kingbirds are nesting near the refuge visitor center. They fuss at you when you pass by. Have also seen eastern kingbirds.

When I first got to Great Falls, I stayed two nights at Walmart. During the day, I took my trailer to the refuge. One night, there were around 25 other rv’s staying in the Walmart parking lot. After two days, I moved to Fort Benton. It is an unusual small town, in that it’s in a canyon made by the Missouri River. Lewis and Clark thought this area was paradise when they stopped here. It later became the last stop for steamboats from St. Louis and then a major railway stop. The fort was built to protect people from outlaws and indians.

In looking on the web for information on the Upper Missouri River Breaks, found that cattle have caused a lot of problems here, as they have elsewhere.

“The BLM reports that past grazing management has resulted in almost complete elimination of important woody shrub species such as red-osier dogwood, chokecherry, serviceberry, currant, and gooseberry – all of which are highly important as food sources for mammals and birds. Another grazing related problem is the impending demise of riverside cottonwood forests. Presently almost all of the cottonwood trees along the river germinated from seed in the 1880s, before grazing was occurring on the river. As cattle grazing became an entrenched use on the river, cattle have systematically eliminated virtually all young cottonwoods, leaving no replacement trees to take the place of the old and dying mature trees.”

Posted in Fort Benton, grebe, heron, Ibis, kingbird, marmot, phalarope, sandpiper, sora, White Falls, wildlife refuge, willet | Comments Off