Back in Washington State

20090914—Back in Washington State

I drove pretty steadily today, initially on US2, then, after crossing into Washington at Newport, generally following SR20 (except for ~40 miles on an unnumbered road between Usk and Chewelah) until eventually arriving at Twisp.

Much of this, like yesterday, was through National Forest land (the Colville NF, the Okanagon NF and the Paysaten Wilderness). This went over several passes (Sherman, Wauconda and Loup Loup), so was kind of slow going and needed a lot of attention. There were a lot logging trucks on the road, bringing shorter (8 foot?) toothpick size logs (for pulp or chipping) to two larger Simpson operations enroute. The drive was full of memories of the week or so that Patt and I spent in NorthEast Washington several years ago. We also spent a nice cross country skiing weekend in the Twisp area about 20 years ago.

I was able to pick up NPR for classical music, Terry Gross interviewing about Ted Kennedy's True Compass, and a call in program from National Native News discussing the National Park System in the USA, giving the perspective that these, among other things, have served to create 'conservation refugees' (given that he native populations who once lived there have been banished or at least prevented from using them in traditional ways). This later discussion was not a rant, but thoughtful, and brought up situations now developing in Canada, Africa, and South America where 'American style' National Parks are being established. This was an interesting and thought provoking viewpoint for me. See more detail at http://www.firstpeoplesworldwide.org/publish/MaasaiPressRelease08-27-2009.pdf

I'm spending a warm night at a nice commercial RV site with a great view of the Methow River.

Goodbye Montana

20090913—Goodbye Montana

I did a little more exploring at Glacier this morning, taking a quick look at the Fish Creek campground area, then heading North, just inside the park on the “inside west side road” . Fish Creek campground is a lot more to my taste than Apgar, with no commercial adjuncts and it is right on the shore or Lake McDonald. It was closed for the winter a few days ago.

The West Side road stayed low and flat on the perimeter of the Park. It cut through almost 10 miles of the area that burned in 2001 or 2002. The blackened trunks, most with some branches still on, and most with bark peeling off permitted open views of the rugged terrain to the East. The blackened trunks made a nice contrast with the emergent evergreens, now 4-6 feet high. There were a few isolated living older trees and even fewer isolated living clumps that even now are making some habitat diversity, but in general the feeling I got from the area reminded me of the visits I had to the Mt.St Helens devastation zone. While interesting, it was a relief to get back off that road and back to the greenery.

Leaving the Park, I traveled West on US2 most of the day. The road goes through National Forest and other protected lands, with some private inclusions, so, for much of the time, I had the feeling of driving in a natural area. A lot of this is pretty rugged and follows stream beds, paralleling the railroad (the Amtrak route) that I had traveled earlier. There were signs that there had been a few frosty evenings already, with some of the lower shrubbery in bright yellows and reds.

I left US2 for about 10 miles at Hope, ID for a RV site that was shown as a POI on my GPS. This was on the lake shore and had a lot of “permanent residents”. I had a welcome shower and am off to bed.

Glacier--Day 3

20090912—Glacier-Day3

I reluctantly pulled myself away from Two Medicine this morning. It was another chilly morning, but the birds were very active. In particular, there was an 1.5 hour squabble among two adult male Belted Kingfishers who seemed to be vying to stake out a ~300 yard long section of the creek leading into Two Medicine Lake. I mistook them first for a bunch of chipmunks because they were making their rattling call constantly. Early during my time watching them, there was a third bird involved, but, without binos at that point, I could not tell if it was a male or female. They were fascinating-- one would land on a perch and rattle and extend his wings, the other nearby chiming in. Then they would exchange places or move to another area and repeat.

Finally I left them to sort it out on their own and headed out of the park to East Glacier and US2 which I followed South and West over Marias Pass to the south tip of the park. At that point there is a feature called Goat Lick Overlook where I pulled off to watch a mountain goat licking the goat lick (which is a steep rock face they use to lick up minerals that accumulate from seeps there).

I re-entered the Park at West Glacier, and got a site at Apgar Campground, after being told that all the other campgrounds short of Logan Pass were closed for the season. After lunch I drove the Going to the Sun Road till Avalanche Creek where signs warned me to go no further with my “long” vehicle. I complied, even though there was no enforcement apparent at that point. I walked the Trail of the Cedars and took in sights of Lake McDonald on the return trip.

The Park was a lot busier here than I experienced in the past few days—whether because of the weekend, or because it is more accessible somehow, I'm not sure. I suspect it is the weekend, since there are kids everywhere. However, it is still easy to go a few hundred yards on a trail and escape the crowds.

Still no cell phone coverage. Others have spotty coverage here, but not me with my AT&T 'service'.

Glacier--Day 2

20090911—Glacier--Day 2

I woke up to frost on the picnic table and enjoyed coffee watching a beautiful sunrise light up the side of the mountain right across the stream. That firmed up my plans for the hike, so I packed the daypack and took off about 9:00.

The hike was to go around Two Medicine Lake. I started off, going clockwise and took all the “add ons” available: 0.6 miles to Paradise Point, then 1.8 miles to Aster Falls and Aster Park overlook (the later being quite steep). I had part of my lunch there. Then continued, getting pretty tired, with half the hike still to do. About 2:00 I skipped a short add which went down to the lakeshore. Then took another add on to Twin Falls. I still had 4 miles to go after that, and limped into camp about 5:15, after about 12 miles total for the day. My feet hurt—technically it was not that hard a day, but I was not in great shape for it.

I saw lots of chipmunks during the hike, a cow moose grazing in a beaver pool between Paradise Point and Aster Falls, and some fresh Black Bear scat on the trail along with some newly ripped up logs, about two miles before the end of the hike. Throughout the day I had been making a lot of noise, as recommended, to keep from surprising a bear and getting into trouble that way. I think it worked since I did not actually encounter any bears, but this also tends to put off the smaller wildlife and birds. The scenery was grand and the forest smells wonderful.

I had a can of soup for supper, commiserated a bit with the neighbor, looked for but did not spot any bears on the mountain side, and am now heading to bed early at 8:45.

Glacier

20090910—Glacier

I intended to explore the park from the “Going to the Sun” road, but the Rangers stopped me a few miles in and checked the length of the RV by lining me up with some lines painted on the road. I flunked the test—exceeding the length limit by almost a foot (technically by 8 inches). I knew that Bob and Yvonne had taken this vehicle over the road and it would be OK, but I think the park is extra careful with limits right now, because there was (per report—I did not see it) a lot of construction going on above that point. At first I was disappointed, then soon realized that there were a lot of other ways to see the park. And I remembered taking that route through the park many years ago in the VW Bug with Jill and Stephan.

I headed to the Many Glacier access and looked around there. The campground had a lot of open sites, so I could have stayed, but drove back a few miles, pulling off to watch a Black Bear browsing the chokecherrys on a slope above the road. A few miles later I took one of the short hikes—to Apikuni Falls. This was very nice. It felt good to be outside and stretch, it smelled wonderful and the falls were a great lunch place. I took some pictures, then headed back out of the park, heading South, through St. Marys again and re-entered the park at the Two Medicine entrance. This was also very nice, with open campsites right up against the mouth of a stream feeding Two Medicine Lake, with the steep rocky side of 9500' Rising Wolf Mountain on the other side.

I had some chats with a neighbor who had been there a few days. He recommended a hike for tomorrow, that I think I will do. Later we watched a Grizzly Bear on the slope of the mountain above us. The spotting scope provided some great looks. There were also Goats much higher up, the scope being essential to seeing any detail at all.

The campsite was very clean and, especially considering that it was now at the end of an intense season of use, had an untrampled quality to it. Other campers seemed very respectful of the grounds. The rigs averaged smaller than those at Many Glacier, and there were a lot of tent campers, using the place as a staging area for back country destinations.

Glacier's Front Door

20090909—Glacier's Front Door

The campground was really cold this morning, it had no additional campers, and the few birds I saw last evening either had left or were staying snug abed awaiting the sun that would clear the east ridge in about 2 hours. I left. The Teton Canon Road out (to the East) was paved and faster than the Bellville Road I took West yesterday. I was back to Choteau by 11:00.

There were some peaches for sale at an organic food store. With them in the bag I headed North on US89 to Browning, then to St. Mary. The park entrance is a few blocks from the commercial RV site I took for the evening. I felt that I needed a shower.

St. Mary has no cell coverage for me. The RV campground promises Internet, and I will try that later.

The drive today was another one through spectacular country. Rolling hills to the West, with few trees (only in the stream beds), great lenticular cloud formations, long stretches without power or phone poles, and the Rockies rising in the background. There was a little wheat land, although most was open range for grazing cattle. Much of this was badly overgrazed. Near the end, approaching St. Mary I entered the foothills themselves. There were great swatches with standing skeletons of the firs and pines that burned back in 2002 or 2003.

Tomorrow I'll enter Glacier.

The Front Range of the Rockies

20090908—The Front Range of the Rockies

I left Choteau with the early traffic this morning after filling with gas for a trip to the outback. I was driving West, on Bellville Road with the sun behind me and illuminating the fields and the front range of the Rockies ahead. It looked great, so I stopped a lot for pictures. There were a few birds: Vesper Sparrows, a Merlin, some Prairie Falcons, Western Meadowlarks and American Kestrels.

I was able to locate a few spots that I remembered from the Wings over Big Sky field trip, and actually see the things that were mostly hidden by the snow and mist back in May. The area is spectacular and very sparsely populated. It abuts the Lewis and Clark National Forest, several Wilderness Areas (the Bob Marshall being the largest) and a large holding by the Nature Conservancy.

I pulled into the Cave Mountain Campground and was the only camper there through the night. It was chilly, in a steep canyon where the sun disappeared early. I practiced my fire building, and had a pleasant evening. Robins and Cedar Waxwings were the only birds I saw at the campground.

Choteau

20090907 – Choteau

I spent most of the day driving US87 from Lewiston through Great Falls, then US89 past Fairfield and Freezout Lake to Choteau where I took a campsite at the city park. It was a day of beautiful scenery: larger fields, mostly wheat, now golden after the harvest and littered with straw bales. The land was rolling and open and there were always mountains on the horizon. These were the Snowy Mtns at first, then later the Little Belts, and now, this evening I am almost at the foothills of the Rockys. This was all punctuated by sunbreaks and showers and ever changing cloud patterns.

I plan to spend another day or two in this area before heading a little North to enter Glacier National Park. Part of my attraction to this area resulted from the Wings Over Big Sky birding festival during which Patt and I took a field trip here. That day was cold and blowing snow with very limited visibility. But there was enough to show that this area is quite undeveloped, and has great potential for viewing wildlife, and fab scenery. So – here I am.

Another Day on the Prairie

20090906—Another Day on the Prairie

This morning there were 21 Turkey Vultures visible, roosting in the cottonwoods. They left shortly after being counted, before I got on US12 headed for Roundup. I poked along slowly for the first 30 miles, stopping often to be sure that the sparrows I was seeing were all Vesper or Savanna sparrows. They were, I think. There were so many crossing in front of the RV that I had to slow often going thru small flocks of them. I saw a lot of Western Meadowlarks as well, plus Turkey Vultures and had a real good look at a Swainson's Hawk and a pair of Loggerhead Shrikes.

After the first ~20 miles that paralleled Porcupine Creek, the land rose a bit to dry flat grasslands mostly used for grazing. There have been some better days in these parts. US12 once had a railroad track alongside that has now been removed. There was a brick schoolhouse at Vananda, almost the only remnant of that town. That building had a strong resemblance to the old Rice schoolhouse, only larger (maybe six rooms?) and of baked red brick. The next town, Ingomar, had a 6-10 abandoned buildings and one apparently operational store. From a distance it looked like a ghost town. Close up it was not that attractive, being of tarpaper and plywood vintage rather than the old board buildings that age more gracefully. Sumatra was on the map next, but was only a couple of completely flattened garage size buildings. Along the way I spent some time fantasizing about getting permission to return here to roll up the ~25 miles of 4 strand barb wire fence that was collapsed between the railroad embankment and the highway. By the time I reached Roundup I had gone 112 miles without available services. Thankfully I didn't need any. At Roundup I took advantage of the first roadside espresso stand (12oz double soy latte) I've seen on the return trip.

From Roundup I headed North on US87 to Grass Range, then West, still on US87 to Lewiston, enjoying the slightly higher, still arid, grasslands with the Snowy Mountains visible on the horizon to the East. Along the way I was able to tune in to Prairie Home Companion being broadcast from the Minnesota State Fair grandstand. And later to a program where a 45 minute short story was being read.

At Lewiston I checked into a commercial RV site, to get WiFi and do laundery. Which came after a 45 minute nap.

Along the Yellowstone

20090905—Along the Yellowstone

I followed the Yellowstone River all day today, mostly along I94 heading West thru Miles City to Forsyth. All this passed through grasslands with a lot of irrigation (sprinklers and canals) from the river. This is generally rolling topography with larger fields (owned by large ranches as well) of wheat, hay, some grazing and some sugar beets.

At the confluence of the Powder River with the Yellowstone and there is a sign saying that the area had been the site of Gen. Custer's camp a couple of weeks before the Little Bighorn battle. There is a lot of Custer info in this area.

I followed frontage roads at some points, with signs pointing out that it was Old Highway 10 which seemed to give me some connection to the land. The day was very hot, reaching 95 along the way. I was thankful for the investment in repairs to the AC we had made back in April.

I pulled off for the evening at a Montana State 'fishing access' site knowing that these usually also serve as undeveloped campgrounds. This one was almost full, with the ~30 sites occupied by the residents of Forsyth, only seven blocks to the South. This was less attractive than most, with at least 4 rigs running generators constantly. One was being used to power a household oscillating fan to cool some (fellow) geezers in lawn chairs. There was also a yapping dog, the joy of someone's life, I'm sure. And an incident around 12:30AM involving some kids on bicycles doing some (not quiet) racing around the campground. There were also a lot of families thoroughly enjoying the outdoors, swimming and fishing, despite the heat.

I sat at a breezeless picnic table and finished “The Bean Trees” by Barbara Kingsolver. I was sorry when it was over -- I loved the characters and wanted to live more of their lives with them. There was some quiet movement toward dark in the large cottonwoods around my site. I identified the source to be a roosting collection of Turkey Vultures.

There was no Internet access, of course, but I did get in a short conversation with Patt at home.

The Yellowstone River to Glendive Montana

20090904—The Yellowstone River to Glendive Montana

This morning I woke with an idea that I could get back to the higher parts or Theodore Roosevelt National Park before the construction workers arrived and caused a slowdown. Well, by the time I got to the road from the camp site, they had already started, but the pilot car had just departed and the flagger let me go. So I didn't have any delays after all. I got to a nice look out spot and went through my morning routine there, starting with a couple of cups of coffee. It's nice to travel in an RV.

From there I saw a single bison, an older bull, coming across a small meadow way below me. It grazed it's way along and eventually disappeared in a tree lined gully. It had not reappeared in an hour or so, so I decided to take a hike across some plateaus. Eventually I did spot it lying down and chewing its cud. The walk was refreshing, and, like last evening, gave me the feeling that I had that whole park to myself. I watched other bison from the road for a while after that, then drove slowly down, reaching the park entrance about noon.

Lunch was at an USFS picnic area and campsite just outside the park. I was attended by a downy woodpecker, vesper sparrows, cedar waxwings, mountain bluebirds and mourning doves. I was also entertained there by a guy practicing with his archery gear, aiming at a turkey target propped against a campsite marker.

From there I headed North to Watford City, then West, then took some State highways crossing to the West into Montana, after ~40 miles, near Sidney. MT16 took me ~70 miles into Glendive for the evening. Most of the route after lunch kept me along the Yellowstone River which flows Northeast to join the Missouri just North of Watford City. The Yellowstone is the color of milky coffee here. I saw irrigation equipment that certainly depends on the water from that river, but none was running. It is probably late in the season for irrigation, with a lot of wheat harvest and hay cutting and baling underway here.

Northern Unit of Theodore Roosevelt National Park

20090903—Northern Unit of Theodore Roosevelt National Park

I Headed North on US85 this morning after an eventually successful search for a propane refill. Although frustrating at first, I came to see that the difficulty in finding this made it all the more important to do so, since I need it for both refrigeration and cooking and I expect to be another week or so in Southwestern North Dakota and Southeastern Montana where availability might continue to be a problem.

The ~ 50 mile route North passes near and in a few places through designated USFS National Grasslands. These are parcels, sometimes contiguous with another, of a section of land, or sometimes half sections. I pulled into a picnic site on one of these for lunch and saw that they do not require fees to use them. That site had a restroom and several resident tent campers--six males in hunting garb. Several appeared to be carrying concealed sidearms (bulges in the right places under their T shirts). I don't remember what the regs on that are here, and also do not know what hunting seasons might be open, although it seems early for hunting season just now.

After lunch I arrived at TRNP and got a site for overnight and a nap. The camp ground is 5 miles in along the park access road. Starting up the road later, it was, as I had been warned at the entrance, under construction. I waited 20 minutes for a guide car, then followed that for ~4 miles. During that stretch I could not pull off anywhere to take in the fabulous sights. After that stretch there were ~eight beautiful miles of road, with some nice overlooks and a lot (~100) of bison. One other car had come in with me, and that couple left (turned back) after reaching the end of the road. For the next three hours I had the upper half of TRNP to myself as far as I could tell. I hung out, and as sunset neared I tried to capture some panoramas with the camera. Then heated a can of soup for supper and headed slowly out. Traveling as dusk showed me some wildlife that had not been visible on the way in—a couple of wild turkeys, 6 deer, some rabbits.

I'm finishing this to a nice night insect sound chorus in a way underused campground. Perhaps the warnings about road construction are prompting potential visitors to go elsewhere.

Theodore Roosevelt National Park

20090901 and 02 -- Theodore Roosevelt National Park

I've spent the last two days in the park. I spent several hours driving slowly past bison (who were unconcerned by a car, even an RV, just a few feet from them. Think driving through a herd of cattle on the road), wild horses (just a few) and prairie dogs. I hiked in the cooler part or the day today, seeing a few towhees, goldfinches, sparrows, and a Turkey Vulture and watched two Golden Eagles bathe in a stream and groom afterwards. Not a very busy birding place this season. I enjoyed a thunderstorm, took pics of a sunset and sat a lot at the campground where human sounds were virtually drowned out by the insects.

Despite the short post, this is one of my favorite places. I love the quiet ambiance. Pleasant valley is the name of one of the attractions here. The whole place is quietly pleasant, a great place to forget the cares of day to day life. I'm carefree just now, but thoroughly enjoying it anyhow.


Check out the attached link to get the details on this wonderful place:
http://www.nps.gov/thro/index.htm

Back to North Dakota

20090831—Back to North Dakota

This morning I returned to the USFS Ranger Station in Lemmon and talked with two very helpful staff who gave a lot of oral and printed info about the National Grasslands program. I bought a map showing the FS lands from there North to above the northern unit of the Theodore Roosevelt National Park. I used this to decide to follow US12 to US85 heading North to North Dakota. Along the way I was entertained by a radio program geared to the Indian Nation (at the Standing Rock Reservation, just to the North), giving calendars of events and public service announcements mixed in with comments from a curiously unselfconscious host who made a running commentary on the announcements and the 1960's songs he played. I wish the station had a website so I could stream it at home. I used the map to walk some grassland parcels a bit and visit a small outlier National Wildlife Refuge, unlisted on the State map. I have a lot of literature to read later this evening.

I need to mention a wonderful metal sculpture in Lemmon built up from a couple thousand used and discarded items (tractor seats, belt link chains, skill saws, bicycle sprockets and many other things) all recognizable. Needless to say—I got pics. The sculpture depicted a larger than life cowboy riding a bucking dinosaur (the kind with a couple of horns running from his forehead down the middle of his face and with a large, wide frontal shield, kind of rhinoceros shaped). The 60 million year anachronism fit in nicely with the petrified wood park, only blocks away. Or maybe the folks there are creationists and the world is only 4500 years old?

When I reached I94 I headed East 18 miles to Dickenson where I scored some soy yogurt, then turned back West to reach the Theodore Roosevelt National Park ~5:00PM.

I checked into a commercial RV Park just outside the gate to get WiFi access.

Petrified Wood

20090830 -- Petrified Wood

I walked the periphery of Indian Ridge Campground before departing for Mobridge. There I squatted on some motel's WiFi for a while and send the blogs that had accumulated and checked email. Crossing the bridge over the Missouri (mid span) brought me into the Mountain Time zone. I wished Tim had been with me to observe the event.

15 minutes along US12 brought me to the turn off for the Sitting Bull Memorial. That is a pedestal topped with a bust of Sitting Bull. Nothing else except a short 300 word history of that great man. It is on a high point overlooking the river and the plains near the place where he was born. Apparently, per a brochure at Indian Ridge CG, there is a non-profit attempting to raise money for a visitor center, but there was no sign of that at the memorial itself.

On the road, ~another hour brought me to McLaughin. There the Grain Growers Union dominates the town. There was some activity, although limited by this being Sunday. I watched four 18 wheeler size trucks disappear into the elevator buildings, then emerge empty to be weighed again. On the adjacent tracks a quarter mile of grain hopper cars were being shunted in, and an engine was left attached to move them along to the next ones could get in position. It looked like they could load 2 cars at once. There was also a very large pile of grain heaped outside, I think from the harvest last year, since it had some greenish discoloration, but I could not get close enough to this to look at it closely. The pile was perhaps 500 yards long, with a triangular cross section perhaps 40 feet high at the top. Later, some miles farther along US12 I saw a combine harvesting a large field, and got some photos as it neared the end of a pass and turned around for another.

In mid afternoon I pulled off US12 at Lemmon, looking for a grocery story. Across the street from that there is a square block comprising the worlds largest petrified wood collection and historical museum. There are a couple of ~8 foot long petrified logs, dozens of stumps, dozens of obelisks built from smaller pieces, a museum building with exterior walls built of this, complete with 'petrified mud' flooring including petrified or fossil grass or reed imprints, a gift shop, some rocks with signage claiming that the slash marks or grooves they showed were dinosaur claw marks, a few dinosaur bones, and a whole lot of of other marvels. The museum was two rooms each the size of Janski's store containing a lot of donated items, both natural history and old timey stuff from the Native Americans and settlers.

Crops in this area are wheat, sunflowers, corn, oats. All of the straw is baled for sale. A lot of hay, in the same large barrel shaped bales as well, from smaller fields and ditches that do not permit use of the big rigs used for the other crops. I think some hay also comes from lands that have grassland conservation easements, that permit a cutting after mid July when, supposedly, the birds have finished nesting. After an area of rolling hills near the Missouri, the land is way flat and open.

I saw a US Forest Service Ranger station on the outskirts of Lemmon, closed for Sunday. I'll return tomorrow to get info on the National Grasslands they administer. In the meantime, I headed 12 miles South of town for an evening at the Shadehill Recreation Area administered by South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks (a State Park).

No cell coverage here.

Back to the Missouri River

20090829 – Back to the Missouri River

It was a beautiful clear and chilly morning at Fort Sisseton. This prompted me to walk around the grounds. The Fort was built in 1864 and abandoned about 25 years later. The buildings were mostly lost between that time and the 1930's when some reconstruction began—so there was not much 'authentic' there except some items in the museum. But, from pictures and other evidence, they appear to have done a great reconstruction job. It has an open and clean feeling to it, kind of stark, probably very unlike the actual feeling soldiers had while actually serving there. There were a few birds in the reconstructed cemetery and some prairie remnants along my almost 2 mile walk.

I drove for an hour and a half, along SD10 to Sand Lake National Wildlife Refuge. HQ was closed due to the weekend, but a ranger approached while I was finishing a peanut butter sandwich. He has been stationed there for ~20 years and was full of info. I learned that the large number of tree skeletons lining many of the potholes were the result of a very wet year in 1997 that had flooded them throughout the summer. That was the wettest year on record till this year which exceeded that. The water remains very high throughout the area, consistent with my experience as I began this trip, the flooding in Fargo that Tim and I experienced, and areas of fields that I see on my current trip—areas that had been planted and started to grow, then flooded out. Well, the high water restricted available roads at the Sand lake Refuge, so I spent only a short while there, then resumed the trail West.

The next ~80 miles were gently rolling then flattened out. Larger farms, much hay, corn and soybeans, and as I approached Mobridge there were a lot of sunflower fields. The source for my winter bird feeding in Olympia, I suppose. Or maybe the supply for the baseball players to spit out on TV?

I pulled into the Indian Creek Recreation Area near Mobridge ~6:45 for dinner, a short walk and then blogging. A phone call completed and another to go, then it's goodnight. Just in case you wondered, Mobridge is the cleverly named site of the first railroad BRIDGE across the MissOuri River in this area.

Into South Dakota

20090828 – Into South Dakota

I found a small area of the grasslands I had been seeking just a few feet away from my campsite this morning. This was associated with a bluebird trail just above the campground. Many of the plants here were familiar from childhood, as were the sounds of crickets and other insects as I began the walk. I don't have deep enough knowledge of the plants to describe them, however many of them were flowering at his season. One area of the walk had some small woodlots included and at the border of these there were a large number of Monarch butterflies sheltering from a rather stiff breeze, sallying out when I disturbed them as I passed and then returning to perch on a type of shrub/tree that I have not yet identified. There were also frogs on the trail and in the grass that I disturbed. They were like those from home at Rice, and averaged to the larger end of these, with bodies maybe two inches long. I recalled that I had also seen these frogs over the last few days at Carlos.

Leaving there, I picked up US12 in Ortonville and crossed to Big Stone City (it is not a big city), SD and then shortly to Milbank. After ~20 miles there was a large grain shipping terminal, with elevators, storage, its own railroad spur, two Burlington Northern engines, and a mile (at least) of train cars. I continued West on US12 for another ~30 miles, then turned North to visit Waubay NWR. Just a couple of miles off the highway there was a pasture with 200-300 buffalo next to the road, with most of the buffalo near the fence, just 30 yards away. I approached them slowly and got some pictures, although they were a little concerned with my presence and slowly moved away. At the refuge I picked up a map and the literature, then hiked for an hour. It was not very productive birding although I may have picked up one or two trip birds there.

I returned to US12 for a few more miles, but the trucks and traffic seemed to keep pushing me along faster than I wanted. The highway is 4 lanes, excellent, new concrete, but the shoulder is narrow and difficult to access due to a 3-4 inch drop most everywhere. So I decided to parallel US12 to the North, aiming for SD10, heading North on SD25 at Webster. Along the way I came across a large rookery of Double Crested Cormorants (estimate 250-300)with many still on nests. Then later a large flock of American White Pelicans and more Cormorants crowded on the bank of a pothole—a great view in stark black and white.

Terrain along the road here is flattening out with a large number of potholes. Crops between are soybeans, corn, wheat (being harvested now) and hay without irrigation. The farms are somewhat larger than yesterday, with fewer treed areas.

About 5:00 I pulled into Fort Sisseton State Park for supper and overnight. No cell coverage here.

Big Rock Lake — Minnesota River Headwaters

20090827 – Big Rock Lake — Minnesota River Headwaters

I've decided to generally follow US12 back West, until Missoula, then head North to Glacier, and from there West on US2 till I cross the Cascades. Unless something comes up.

With that in mind, I went a little South and West today, through Morris and then to Ortonville following backroads. The country was very reminiscent of that from the Rice area and that from Rockville to Osakis. The crops are largely corn, soybeans, sorgum and hay, with some potatoes at one point. The farms are relatively small and seem to be occupied. They are broken up by small woodlots, some rows of trees and the natural trees and shrubbery in low spots and along streams. I did not see irrigation, and few cattle were grazing.

Ortonville is on a large lake, Big Stone Lake, (10th largest in Minnesota) that is unique in that is drains both to the South forming the headwaters of the Minnesota River which in turn drains to the Mississipi and to the North to ultimately end at Hudson Bay. There are some islands in the lake, but the lake's name comes from the Native American name for the area—that of big stones. This area has large scattered rocks, well worn and rounded, and smoothed off rock ridges visible, leading to that name.

I scouted the Big Rock National Wildlife Refuge, expecting to spend time there tomorrow. I was looking for some access to the native prairie and grasslands that are in this area. However the refuge is closed for remodeling, rerouting roads, and upgrading facilities. The roads are walkable, but mostly off limits to cars. It was also quite noisy, with a lot of quarry or gravel pit operations going on just outside the boundary at the North East end. I did finally find a ranger who assured me that the mining had no relationship to the refuge closure. All this made the refuge somehow less attractive, and I settled for a drive through on some of the open roads at dusk.

Then I headed for a campsite at Big Stone State Park, just North of Ortonville. There I had one loop of the campground all to myself. A highlight was some owl calls, similar to Great Horned calls, but with an extra note or two and a wavering quality to the call.

Carlos Lake State Park

20090826 – Carlos Lake State Park

The park was so nice that I stayed on there for an extra day. I took some walks, looked at the birds that came my way, read a lot (thanks for the book, Bob), took a nap, and re-organized the RV a bit.

20090825 – On the Road Again

20090825 – On the Road Again

I resumed the roadtrip today, heading West with a due date in Olympia of 9/16/09.

After a visit with a friend in Becker, MN I headed generally North and West toward Rockville, Cold Spring, and Osakis, MN. This route, from Becker, took me through some towns that I was familiar with from earlier days, although I had few specific memories of any of them other than that they were hometowns for some of the people I went to school with in Onamia, and later Hastings and Fort Wayne.

I chose this route to check out the Catholic churches in Rockville, etc. I was looking to identify the locations of some of the pictures that had been puzzling me from the Rice Picture Box. I found the church in Rockville without any difficulty, but it did not match any pictures I was puzzling about. Cold Spring remains a puzzle. I found a Catholic church downtown, but it was not of the right vintage. I suspect the one from the early 40's has been rebuilt. In Osakis I had to search a little, since this is a bit bigger town. And I hit the jackpot. The pictures were of the Immaculate Conception Church there and of the associated garage and pastor's residence.

After that, I headed to Lake Carlos State Park, near Alexandria, MN, For the night. The park lived up to my expectations from earlier visits to MN State Parks. The entrance station was staffed, the park was clean and well maintained, and the bathroom/shower was attractive and clean. No fooling around with tokens or quarters for the shower—that is included in the entrance fee. The park was less than ½ occupied on this weekday. I chose a relatively isolated site, although that did not matter much since the sites all have visual barriers and feel nicely private.

Family Visiting in St Paul

20090625 - Family Visiting in St Paul

I stuck to the shore of Mille Lacs for a while this morning, attracted by the mirror surface of a very calm lake. I spent a while watching Merganzer chicks following their mother through wild rice beds and fishermen heading out in large and small boats, hoping for an early catch of Walleye.

After an hour or so of dallying, I continued South on US169, soon leaving it again for for a drive through Onamia where I found a lot more memories. The Crosier complex on the North end of the town has undergone a lot of changes in recent years. The high school and junior college buildings have been repurposed to a residential facility for troubled youth (I think boys with drug problems). Crosiers added a building on the West side of their property for meetings, their Asmat displays, and I think, a processing center for their mailings. Just to the south of that, and adjacent to the hospital, there is a new assisted living center for the larger community, as well as for the older Crosiers and St Francis sisters. The parking lot between all these was full, telling of a lot of action inside, but I saw only a couple of people outside, none that I recognized.

After that I continued South on 169, stopping in Princeton for lunch, and arriving at St Paul in early afternoon. I found the driving there in the Rialta not at all comfortable, but after a short visit with Ellen and Clarence, I parked at Bob and Yvonne's house without mishap.

I am currently parked there. During the next few weeks I will be moving around this area, visiting family and friends. At this point I'll suspend the blog for a month or so, then pick it up again when I start the trip back West.

Driving the Minnesota North Country

20090624 – Driving the Minnesota North Country
My trip South was slowed by many smaller points of interest along the way. From Bemidji I went to Lake Winnibigosh at several points, then Grand Rapids, Atkin, and, finally, Garrison for the night at an unremarkable RV site, on the Western shore of Mille Lacs Lake. I was generally following US2 to the East , then US169 to the South, although I left these many times. The smaller points of interest were mostly partial memories I have of traveling with Dad on his business trips to this area. Nothing specific was familiar, yet everything seemed to spark some ghosts of memories and I indulged the whims I had about following roads off the main highways. Mille Lacs Lake holds many of these ghost memories for me. I stopped to take a few landscape photos to remind me of the day. It was not a birding day, although I did see a few on drivebys. I only mention one below, because I think it may be a new one for the trip.

Birds: Wood Duck

Itasca Park

20090623 - Itasca Park

Rainbow Lodge is only ~40 miles from Itasca Park, aka Headwaters Park.

I visited the actual headwaters area for the 4th time and, as before, thoroughly enjoyed the scene, There were a lot of international visitors (I recognized German, French and Spanish and saw some Asian faces). The kids playing in the water were a kick, as were the parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents looking on, laughing and taking pictures. One aspect of this is that, although there are no 'rules' in place on how to have fun there, and very little continuity of people from day to day, you could go there any summer day and find the same things happening.

As I began a drive through the park the sky became increasingly ominous. At one point I neared a parking area for a lake, finding a canoeing party hurriedly pulling out of the water and loading canoes. Another couple was running to a clear view of the lake with a camera. Both with good reason. There was a front of clouds approaching quickly and foreboding some serious wind and rain in a few minutes. The front was low and made up of a series of waves, reminiscent of ocean breakers, covering the whole sky to the West. I also got my camera out to document this, and got a few shots in the minutes before the storm hit. After that I finished the drive in heavy rain.

I continued to Bemidji, and looked up a restaurant (The Minnesota Nice, on Bertrami Street) one street over and only a few blocks total from the Paul and Babe statues. Tim & I had learned of this while talking to some folks at the campground in Fargo. It was nice to be warmly greeted by the waitress (Mica) who seemed not surprised that I would show up there. I had a great lunch, use of the yellow pages book, and got directions to a place to get an oil change, only a few blocks away, and a referral to the RV camp where I am now.

I used the Internet to get a phone number for cousin Tom Sauer--unfortunately he is leaving for a 3 week trip to Alaska tomorrow morning. So visiting and catching up with him will have to wait for another time (August, I think).

I also made some plans with Patt. My schedule for the next month or so looks like this:
---return to Olympia (by train) about July 18
---Family visits from late July till mid August
---Return to Minnesota and pick up the stored RV about Aug 18
---Patt will join me for the drive back to Washington (or major parts of it) starting August 25.
---Support the Nisqually Land Trust Salmon Bake on September 24.
---be a home body and cat caretaker starting 24 September for ~3 weeks while Patt goes on a birding cruise from Los Angeles along the Mexican Rivera.

Tomorrow I turn South toward the Twin Cities.

Birding was not a focus today: Chestnut Sided Warbler, American Goldfinch, American Crow, Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Black-capped Chickadee, Purple Martin, Red-breasted Nuthatch, Common Loon, Song Sparrow, Cedar Waxwing, Ovenbird.

Tamarac National Wildlife Refuge

20090622 – Tamarac National Wildlife Refuge

Rainbow Lodge is just a couple miles North of Tamarac National Wildlife Refuge, so I was able to spend a full day there. Driving in the Refuge I was struck by how different this area is than the farm country just 50 miles to the West. I recognized the plant life from my childhood and youth and the travels I have done in the North Country before. Some of the treed areas were open underneath, due to the shading by all the trees competing for sunlight. The edges and ditches are a jumble of annual and perennial plants. I also could not help but notice that this is the first day on the trip that mosquitos were a serious concern, along with giant deerflies, when I tried to enter the woods.

Despite that, and high humidity (resulting from the rain of last night) and temperatures in the 80s, I did walk a couple of trails, drove many of the Refuge roads and poked into the lake access points. It sure would have helped to have Tim's great birding eyes along today.

I returned to the lodge, showered, had dinner and will walk around the grounds after I post this.

Birds: Great Blue Heron, American White Pelican, American Crow, Ovenbird, American Redstart, Bald Eagle, Ring-necked Duck, Canada Goose, Brown-headed Cowbird, Yellow Warbler, Trumpeter Swan, Red-winged Blackbird, Mourning Dove, Blue-winged Teal, American Robin, White-breasted Nuthatch, American Goldfinch, Barn Swallow, Pine Siskin, Lazuli Bunting, Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Yellow-shafted Flicker, Grey Catbird, Eastern Wood Pewee, Cedar Waxwing, Common Yellowthroat, Chipping Sparrow, Ruffed Grouse, Warbling Vireo.

Moving North a bit

20090621 - Moving North a bit.

You will have noticed that I was successful in posting the blog entries that I had accumulated over the past week.

I spent the morning at Long Lake Campground finishing these. Then I drove the few miles into Detroit Lakes and cruised the town for about half hour, just to get the feel of that attractive community, and hoping, a bit, to spy an espresso shop or stand. While at Long Lake I had perused some literature on this area, and called one of the resorts to secure an overnight in their RV spaces. The Rainbow Lodge is ~20 miles North on US59, then East on County Road 113, then South for a couple of miles after the well marked turnoff from CR113. It is a 4 season resort which could be very nice in any season, I think. However, it is currently living up to the 'rain' part of it's name. Rain started shortly after my arrival and has continued since then. So I have been organizing photos, doing laundry and looking over info on tomorrow's planned excursion to Tamarac National Wildlife Refuge.

This place does have Internet access, but no cell coverage.

No birding today.

20090620 – Goodbye Tim

20090620 – Goodbye Tim

Tim got on Amtrak at 2:30 this mornng. He reported later, from Barb's, that he had caught some sleep by the time the train reached Little Falls, then he stayed awake to watch the passage through Rice and to the Cities. He connected with Karen there and he, Barb and Karen joined in a short call to me. Now they are off on their own adventures.

Meanwhile, I returned to the Lindenwood Campground and slept till 6:30, showered, had breakfast, and headed to OK Tires. They did a nice job, moving the rims back to their proper positions, mounting the new tires, and bending back the mud guard that had gotten messed up when the tire incident happened a few days ago. The one disappointment in the tire replacement was that the freshest tires they had for the front of the van were manufactured in October of 2007—20 months ago. This means that they have only four years life left, if retired per spec, and will age out before I use all the miles from them.

Getting out of Fargo was a bit slow because of road construction on the route I unwittingly chose. I picked up US10 and in Minnesota I obtained a map, used the GPS and watched the bars on my cell, hoping to get a campground where I could both post the accumulated blog entries and call out to keep contact with Patt. Alas, I had to settle for cell service, unable to locate a campground with Internet access. So now my plan is to finish editing all the blog entries before leaving here tomorrow, then try to pick up some free wifi in Detroit Lakes tomorrow as I pass through.

My stay at Long Lake Campground promises to be pleasant enough. I am typing at a picnic table with the RV at my back and looking down a slope through Maple trees at a strip of cattails, then open water of Long Lake. The swimming activities of mid afternoon have finished and even the jet-ski craft are finally, probably temporarily, quiet for the supper hour. Baltimore Orioles, Red-winged and Yellow-headed Blackbirds, Yellow Warblers and American Robins are audible above the freight train rumblings from across the lake.

The campground itself is dedicated to swimming from the dock and a float a little way out and to catching skin cancer in a way that is familiar from my past years in Minnesota, but very unlike anything I had encountered earlier on this trip. Certainly, this is partly due to the great clear and warm weather this afternoon, which has been lacking up till now. But I think there is also a cultural component to this enjoyment of the lake country—I've encountered it only in Minnesota and Wisconsin. Although my experience is mostly limited (except for Wisconsin) to areas of the country West of the Mississippi.

Birds: today limited to a few drive bys: Belted Kingfisher, American White Pelican, Rock Dove, House Sparrow, American Robin. Here at the lake: Baltimore Oriole, American Robin, Red-winged Blackbird, Yellow-headed Blackbird, Yellow Warbler, Common Yellowthroat.

20090619 – Fargo

20090619 – Fargo

After breakfast we continued East on US2, exiting on the East side of Grand Forks Air Force Base, then a few miles North and East to Kelly's Slough National Wildlife Refuge. We spent a couple of hours there, picking up at least one new bird for the trip. We thought that access to the Refuge during spring migration, which finished a few weeks ago, would be very nice. There is a wide gravel walking trail giving great spotting scope view of shallow lakes on each side. Signs there indicated that this is very busy in high season. Today we saw only one other birding party of two. We finished there before noon.

After the short drive into Grand Forks, we filled with gas at Cenex, and saw Al's Diner next door. This seemed more attractive at this point than the Perkins we had considered (Tim had almost fixated on) for lunch. The wraps we ordered held us through the afternoon.

We had considered Grand Forks our destination for the day, and the point for Tim's Amtrak boarding. Yet, it was early in the afternoon, so we headed for Fargo, the next Amtrak stop Eastbound, thinking that would also give me convenient access to the tire store tomorrow.

Entering Fargo we in fact saw the OK Tires store and noted it for tomorrow. Then we headed for the depot to buy Tim's ticket. Historically, Fargo had 3 depots, a few blocks apart. We saw the old Northen Pacific depot first, then learned we needed to go to the Great Northern station which is now the Amtrak depot. Both these depots have been repurposed and saved as historical sites. This is very fortunate—the NP building had been scheduled for demolition before becoming the City of Fargo Park headquarters. The Great Northern is now a bicycle shop, with only the detached luggage outbuilding now serving Amtrak. These are both very attractive buildings--classical depots. The architect for the NP depot (?? Cass) designed several other depots as well, including the one in Little Falls, Minnesota and, Tim thinks, the Minnesota State Capitol as well.

Downtown Fargo also has a nice coffee shop across from the NP depot (Babb's—which copied several themes for the Seattle Public Market for it's decor).

After learning that the Amtrak station would open only at 10:00PM, we headed for Lindenwood Park where Tim had earlier secured the last available RV hookup (by phone). The few sites there were crowded together, the remnant of a larger park that was underwater due to flooding on the Red River. We walked around, trying to catch a bird or two, had soup from cans in the RV, watched a couple of innings of a kids baseball game, talked to our neighbors (which resulted in a referral to a supposedly great restaurant in Bemiji) and made phone calls (Tim talked good Fargo to Karen). Tim finished packing and we got to bed ~9:30.

Birds: Killdeer, Mourning Dove, Blue-winged Teal, Northern shoveler, Gadwall, Canada Goose, Red-winged Blackbird, Redhead duck, Cliff Swallow, Norhtern rough-winged Swallow, Mallard, Marsh Wren, Sedge Wren, Bobolink, Western Meadowlark, Clay-colored Sparrow, Barn Swallow, Common Yellowthroat, Lesser Yellowlegs, Marbled Godwit, Great Blue Heron, American Avocet, Spotted Sandpiper, American Goldfinch, Song Sparrow, Turkey Vulture.

20090618 – Sully's Hill National Game Preserve – Devil's Lake

20090618 – Sully's Hill National Game Preserve – Devil's Lake

Lightning continued throughout the night till about 3:00, then we had a nice rain for a couple of hours before we rose to clearing skies. We left Dry Lake Campground after getting good looks at a Brown Thrasher. On the way out we again stopped to admire the ~12 Great Egrets in a roost tree along our exit road. In Devil's Lake Tim picked up a few supplies from K-Mart while I worked the phone trying to locate a tire outlet that carried the Continental tires that Volkswagen recommends for the Rialta.

I contacted the VW dealer in Fargo using the literature that comes with the Rialta. They did a search, then called back referring me to OK Tires in Fargo, and saying that the tires for the back of the vehicle were in stock, but tires for the front were not available in the Continental brand. I called Patt to discuss the purchase and we agreed to replace all the tires at this time since those on the Rialta are 9 years old now.Tim had returned by that time, so we took off for our target for the day—Sullys Hill National Game Preserve.

We drove about 30 miles to the preserve, and looked at the trail system map. Then I dropped Tim for a couple of hours of solo birding while I went a few miles back to pick up a cell signal. With that I ordered 4 tires for installation Saturday morning, got the address for that, and went back to bird solo for half an hour, before meeting Tim for lunch.

We feasted on peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, potato chips, pickles (me) and string cheese (Tim) while watching some bird feeders at the headquarters building. Finishing that we went for another bird walk, finding that some trails were closed due to flooding. We left the refuge via a scenic drive encountering ~10 buffalo and an elk on the way. These critters obliged us with great looks and posed for a few photos.

We had learned of a great stop in Devil's Lake. We retreated there for soul food (apple pie and ice cream) with coffee. Then drove East for ~ 60 miles to the Larimore Dam Recreation Area RV campground, just North of US2 at Larimore. We are staged for a foray to Kelly's Slough NWR before entering Grand Forks. Tonight will be one to catch up writing blog posts (although there is no Internet available again) and doing high finance to settle accounts for the time Tim and I have shared on this roadtrip.

Birds: American White Pelican, Double-crested Cormorant, Great Egret, Canada Goose, Mallard, Mourning dove, Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Downey Woodpecker, Hairy Woodpecker, Least Flycatcher, Great Crested Flycatcher, Eastern Kingbird, Red-eyed Vireo, Barn Swallow, Black-capped Chickadee, House Wren, American Robin, Gray Catbird, Cedar Waxwing, Yellow Warbler, American Redstart, Eastern towhee, chipping Sparrow, Lark Sparrow, Song Sparrow, Red-winged Blackbird, House Finch, House Sparrow.

20090617 – International Peace Garden and Rugby

20090617 – International Peace Garden and Rugby

We broke camp in Bottineau and headed downtown in search of a postcard of Tommy the Turtle for Tim to send to Grandson Andrew. A great conversation with the 3 clerks in the drug store ensued. They were all fired up for Bottineau Days (a civic anniversary) that was scheduled to start later that day. Unfortunately we could not stay. We also took the opportunity to pick up a latte (Tim) and Americano (Fred) and four cookies for later in the day.

We continued North from Bottineau, then East on ND43 to the International Peace Garden. This international effort had a very good ambiance, including the mandatory gift shop, some formal gardens, just now being refreshed with plantings for the year, a nature trail where we did our morning birding, and structures on each end of a long mall where you could straddle the international border and look along the border which was a little more obvious than that 'imaginary line' we learned about in grade school. It was a line that had been cleared of trees and vanishing into the distance, somewhat in the fashion of a powerline right of way. It was visible for many miles to the West because of the elevation of the Peace Garden site and the topography of the rolling hills in that direction. The site also included a non-denominational chapel that was ringed inside by a number of inspirational quotations about peace and the commonalities of people throughout the world. These were excerpted from statements by Gandhi, Frost, Nixon, Jefferson and a many others. We were able to exit this site and return to the greater US after scrutiny by an unsmiling border official despite the fact that Tim had not brought a passport along.

The one thing that we were both grateful for not seeing at the peace garden was any evidence of the 20 miles of fencing erected to protect this border (nevermind the other ~2000 mile unprotected part) erected by our? Federal government a few years ago.

From there we headed South on US281 for a few miles before throwing the tread from our right rear tire. Despite leaving a long strip of rubber on the road, the tire did not blowout and we achieved a safe stop. While Tim headed back to get the strip off the road (to prevent another vehicle from encountering this unexpectedly, since it was just over the rise of a hill) I noticed a billboard announcing Dale's Truck Stop, just 1.5 miles down the road. We eased into Dunseith and although the Truck Stop was not apparent, there was a gas station where a County Sheriff connected us with a customer who had a tire and repair service located another 1.5 miles away. Half an hour and $25 later we had the spare mounted and were on the road again, thankful for our good fortune, to Rugby.

Within the Rugby, North Dakota, city limits there is a ~30 foot high obelisk of field stone and concrete topped by a golden ball. This marks the geographic center of North America. It is a relatively unremarkable structure with a couple of lights for night visibility powered by solar panels and surrounded by benches where you can sit to obtain a centered feeling. We did.

Heartened by the day's experiences, we headed East on US2 to a few miles beyond Penn, ND. A blue RV Camper sign pointed us North along an unnamed road to Dry Lake Campground (we had called there for directions). Some of the ~ 2 mile approach is through standing high water on each side of the road. We enjoyed great looks at Great Egrets hunting there and roosting in a tree a few hundred yards distant. The campground is a very nice site overlooking Dry Lake (which is not at all dry now, averaging 6' depth we were told) across a large mowed field. Other customers at the site are typically fishermen and the place may be quite busy on weekends. Tonight the only other customers were a group of 8 Mung fishermen who slept under a tarp and were seeking White Bass—which according to our host are not highly prized in our culture.

Tim and I both spent some time on Tim's cell phone, since mine did not have coverage, conversing with family. I did some research in the vehicle documentation, and got some advice from Patt and Tim about the required tire replacement. We then went to bed, enjoying heat lightning and distant thunder. We realized that we are approaching Summer Solstice. Here, relatively far North and on the Western edge of the Central Time Zone, it was 10:00PM and not fully dark yet.

No Internet today in the outback.

Birds: American white Pelican, american Redstart, Red-necked Grebe, Lesser Scaup, Brown-headed Cowbird, Common Loon, Eastern Kingbird, Yellow Warbler, Double-crested Cormorant, Warbling Vireo, Red-winged Blackbird, American Robin, Black-billed Cuckoo, Mallard, Veery, Rose-breasted Grosbeak, Song Sparrow, Hairy woodpecker, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Great Crested Flycatcher, Red-eyed Vireo, Black-crowned Night Heron, Great Egret, American Coot, Northern Shoveler, Mallard.

20090616 – J. Clark Salyer National Wildlife Refuge and Bottineau

20090616 – J. Clark Salyer National Wildlife Refuge and Bottineau

We were awakened by a pair of Baltimore Orioles singing this morning—two males trying to outdo the other apparently. We had our, by now standard, breakfast of coffee, granola and yogurt supplemented by orange juice and a banana before leaving Minot. A 45 minute drive took us to the J. Clark Salyer National Wildlife Refuge to the NorthEast. This is a large refuge running from the Canadian border south for about 45 miles. It contains the Souris River, grasslands, marshes, woodlands and sandhills – and birds of all those types of habitats. We had a very educational talk with one of the refuge managers who described the activities they are doing to retain and restore the native grasslands. We also observed a seminar for staff from other area refuges—they were learning plant identification and 'transect' survey methods so they can assess the status of the native plants in the areas they are responsible for and can measure the results of their management efforts.

We had a very enjoyable drive for about 20 miles of the refuge roads, picking up the species listed below. One highlight of this was the large numbers of Black Crowned Night Herons that rose up as we passed them, mostly along the last third of the drive. We are both accustomed to seeing these singly and infrequently—but today we had an abundance of them (guessing ~50) with 7 visible in the air at one time.

Human noise intrusions were rare on the refuge today and I want to note that I may return there for some sound recording sometime in the future. The area between 'pool 320' and 'end of the woods crossing' were especially attractive for that being quiet except for a large quantity and variety of birdsounds.

We emerged from the refuge about 5:30 and drove to Botineau. After some difficulty we located one of the RV parks listed—this owned and operated by the city, and next to the ball diamonds and sports complex. The highlight of this area was the very large ('damn big' as we heard it from the girl at the Cenex station who gave us directions to the site) statue of Tommy the Turtle riding a snowmobile. Reasonable rate of $12 per night. Dinner was across the street at the Norwegian House restaurant where they serve very good walleye which qualified as part of my vegan diet since it is soulfood.

We found very few woodticks today, after yesterday's abundance.

No Internet available again tonight—these blog postings are piling up....

Birds: Baltimore Oriole, Mourning Dove, Franklin's Gull, American Coot, Yellow-headed Blackbird, Red-winged Blackbird, Barn Swallow, Black Tern, Savanna Sparrow, Clay Colored Sparrow, Baird's Sparrow, Northern Pintail, Common Yellowthroat, Double-crested Cormorant, American Coot, Redhead Duck, Marsh Wren, Common Tern, Lesser Scaup, Eared Grebe, Black-crowned Night Heron, Song Sparrow, Red-eyed Vireo, Western Wood Pewee, Bald Eagle, Bobolink, Great Blue Heron, Eastern Kingbird, Lark Sparrow, Kreider's Red-tailed Hawk, American Robin, House Sparrow, Northern Rough-wing Swallow, Northern Shoveler, Gadwall.

20090615 – Mouse River, Foxholm and Minot.

20090615 – Mouse River, Foxholm and Minot.

This morning we drove from Kenmare to the Upper Souris National Wildlife Refuge. We learned early on that the Souris is the French word for Mouse and the Mouse River flows into, is the center of, the Upper Souris NWR. At the North end of the refuge there is a RV campground (appropriately named the Mouse River Campground) and river front (perhaps summer cottage) resort community that dates back to the 1930's. We walked through this and around it birding. And trying to recall memories that Tim had of one of the Sauer ancestors fishing on the bank of the Mouse River (according to Mom's description of a picture of this in the Rice Picture Box).

That afternoon we drove part of the auto tour at the South end of the refuge, then headed for Foxholm, ND. Tim had noticed this important town in the Sauer genealogy on the map earlier that morning. Foxholm is very small at this time, with only a few dozen houses apparently occupied. It does have a Catholic church in excellent condition, so we sought out the graveyard associated with this. We got direction from two men at a welding shop, the only business we saw open. The graveyard, St Mary's Cemetery) is about a mile North (uphill) from the church. We found 6 graves with Sauer last names: Steven John Sauer (1/17/1970-5/29/1988), Clarence E. Sauer (2/4/1932-5/4/2005), Sandra L Sauer (8/7/1942-10/25/1974), Edward J. Sauer (3/17/1904-9/14/1941), John M Sauer (3/3/1871-11/19/1945), Rose M Sauer (5/13/1882-12/22/1956). We were not expecting Foxholm on our itinerary, so did not have awareness of the other last names we should have looked for. We did look for Schneiders, but found none. We did not look for Loomis, but recalled that name later. We do not recall seeing any Loomis markers.

Foxholm is only 20 miles North West of Minot, so we headed to the city (US52, then US2)for an RV spot, a few groceries and dinner.

Birds: American goldfinch, Western Wood Pewee, Eastern Bluebird, Barn Swallow,
Bobolink, Chipping Sparrow, Song Sparrow, Sedge Wren, Brown-headed Cowbird, House Wren, American Robin, Mourning Dove, Least Flycatcher, Clay Colored Sparrow, Yellow Warbler, Canada Goose, Red-winged Blackbird, Sora (heard), Downey Woodpecker, Mallard, Wilson's Snipe (heard), Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Baltimore Oriole, Cliff Swallow, Orchard Oriole, Mourning Dove, Yellow-headed Vireo, Clark's Grebe, Western Grebe, Purple Martin, Wild Turkey.

20090614 – LostWood National Wildlife Refuge

20090614 – LostWood National Wildlife Refuge

Tim and I drove to the Lost Wood National Wildlife Refuge this morning and spent the day there, returning about 5:30. Early on at the refuge we were stopped by another birder driving through. It turned out he was scouting to prepare for a field trip scheduled for tomorrow from the ABA conference/meeting in Minot. He learned I was from Olympia and asked if I knew Bill Tweit or Mike Denny. He said that they were two of the finest people on the planet. He asked me to give regards to Bill from “Don formerly from Idaho”, which I will certainly do later. Bill and Don apparently were State Editors for the ABA journal at the same time. Don helped us to put the Baird's Sparrow in his scope, and gave us much information which we used throughout the day.

Looking over the information about the ABA field trip tomorrow, we found that we had seen all the birds they highlighted in their blurb. Independent of that, we felt we had a very satisfying day. We both rated this refuge 5 stars, second only to the Medicine Lake Refuge in Montana for great birding so far on this trip.

Upon return to Kenmare we shopped for some yogurt, bread, chocolate and beer. We could obtain only the first 2 of these items. The chocolate options in Kenmare are quite limited at Gartner's Jack & Jill. That store does not have a beer license, and North Dakota has restrictions on sales at Liquor Stores on Sunday, so they were closed. So that part of the search was futile too.

We finished the day with supper of our leftovers from last night's meal, then went for a walk along the river where Tim picked up ~12 woodticks. I made some family phone calls from there. A shower will feel good before bed—this is the first day on my roadtrip where the temperature is still hot at bedtime.

No Internet access available again today.

Birds: Sharptail Grouse, Common Raven, Canada Goose, Northern Shoveler, Ruddy Duck, Mallard, Gadwall, Red-winged Blackbird, Yellow-headed Blackbird, American Avocet, Killdeer, Common Yellowthroat, Redhead, Clay-colored Sparrow, Horned Lark, Brown-headed Cowbird, Baird's Sparrow, Savanna Sparrow, Piping Plover, Nelson's Sharptail, Wilson's Phalarope, Redhead Duck, Pintail Duck, Lesser Scaup, American Wigeon, Horned Grebe, Blue-winged Teal, American Bittern, Red-tailed Hawk (Krider's), Marsh Wren, LeConte's Sparrow, Black Tern.

20090613 – Culbertson to Westby to Kenmare--Hello North Dakota

20090613 – Culbertson to Westby to Kenmare--Hello North Dakota

We spent the early part of the day birding backroads in a northerly direction along the North Dakota border aiming toward Westby—in far northwest Montana. We had been pointed to this area by a ranger at Medicine Lake (Jerry Rodriguez) who said that the city park would be quite active and the area North of the city was one that had the very short grass preferred by Sprauge's Pipets. However, the park was not very active when we arrived in the afternoon, but perhaps would be during migration as a unique treed oasis in the area. We struck out on the Sprauge's Pipets. Then we crossed into North Dakota, spending the night in a campground operated by the City of Kenmare.

Birds: Mourning Dove, Western Meadow, Ring-necked Pheasant, Gadwall, Northern shoveler, Lesser Scaup, Eared Grebe, American Avocet, Wilson's Phalarope, Baird's Sandpiper, Song Sparrow, Pintail, Killdeer, Eastern Kingbird, Western Kingbird, Blue-winged Teal, Red-winged Blackbird, Brown-headed Cowbird, Ruddy Duck, Red-tailed Hawk, Grasshopper Sparrow, Horned Grebe, Yellow-headed Blackbird, Sora (heard), Warbling Vireo, Marbled Godwit.

20090612 – Medicine Lake

20090612 – Medicine Lake

Medicine Lake National Wildlife Refuge was our goal for today. We accessed this from MT16 ~30 miles North from Culbertson. We were greeted by two very helpful staff. One, Jerry, spent 15 minutes with us describing the refuge programs, how they are maintaining the native prairie by various methods, including prescribed burning and grazing, some restoration projects they are doing, and many birding highlights on the refuge and in the vicinity. He also gave some instruction on the behavior of the various sparrows that we hoped to see.

We spent the day driving the roads through the refuge, stopping often to identify new birds, going through an ID process, then moving on a few yards to start that all over again. We used the spotting scope a lot.

Perhaps 75% of the refuge is water and wetlands, and contains an important nesting place for American White Pelicans-Jerry said there were ~1000 nests there last year. The whole area is very quiet and there were some extended periods during which we heard only ourselves and the natural sounds of the place—birds, water, insects and wind. Visually, the refuge is open grasslands. Excluding some fences and informational signs and the roads themselves, there was often little evidence of human intervention. Power lines and trash thrown from cars and dropped by visitors was virtually non-existent. We left the refuge around 5:00, picked up a few groceries, did laundry, ate green salad and potato soup in the RV, reviewed the day's birds and at 10:15 have closed down except for this blog writing.

Birds: Chestnut-collared Longspur, Upland Sandpiper, Canada Goose, Western Meadowlark, Northern Harrier, Northern Shoveler, Wilson's Phalarope, Killdeer, Tree Swallow, Red-winged Blackbird, Western Grebe, Barn Swallow, Western Kingbird, Eastern Kingbird, Clay-colored Sparrow, Ring-necked Pheasant, Baird's Sparrow, LaConte's Sparrow, Bobolink, Redhead, Lesser Scaup, Pied-billed Grebe, American Wigeon, Starling, Brewer's Blackbird, Eared Grebe, Gadwall, Yellow-headed Blackbird, Song Sparrow, Marsh Wren, Brown-headed Cowbird, American Bittern, Grasshopper Sparrow, American Avocet, Blue-winged Teal, Spotted Sandpiper, Wilson's Snipe, Mourning Dove, Lark Sparrow, Least Flycatcher, Chipping Sparrow, Yellow Warbler, Horned Lark.

20090611 – Fort Peck to Russel Wildlife Refuge to Culbertson

20090611 – Fort Peck to Russel Wildlife Refuge to Culbertson

It was a short morning drive from Glasgow to the Fort Peck Dam on the Missouri River. This is a massive earthen dam built in the 1930's creating a very large Reservoir—the first obstruction on the Missouri River. The Reservoir has only a few access points, and is almost surrounded by the Russel National Wildlife Refuge. Our low clearance vehicle did not permit exploration of the refuge on this Eastern end. We walked on an interesting nature trail and talked with a reserve field staff person who turned out to be from very close to our home. He is from Princeton, Minn and went to college at St Cloud State, the same as Tim, although perhaps 10 years later. After the nature trail we had a peanut butter sandwich, chips, and fruit lunch, then returned to US2 for the drive through Wolf Point to Culbertson. We concluded that it would have been much preferable to sample this refuge on the Western end, about 70 miles SouthWest of Malta.

At Culbertson we secured a space at an RV park, then went North on MT16 to a detached segment of the Medicine Lake National Wildlife Refuge. We birded from the car there for about an hour, then headed back to Culbertson for supper, a shower, review of the birds from the day, more conversation, and (soon) bed.

One interesting event, among many for the day, was when I saw a bird get hit by the car in front of us on our way back from the Medicine Lake Refuge. We stopped and went back to find the bird which was dead on the shoulder of the road. We had the opportunity to examine a Horned Lark in detail and compare it to the pictures in the books that we had along. The books showed the features of the bird more distinctly than the actual bird. This may help us to understand why we often have difficulty matching the birds we see to the pictures in the book. The books, by necessity, simplify reality, emphasizing points that assist in distinguishing one species from another—almost creating a caricature.

Birds: At Fort Peck-American Goldfinch, Red-winged Blackbird, Western Kingbird, Lesser flycatcher, American Robin, Orchard Oriole, Cedar Waxwing, Osprey, Grey Catbird, Western Wood Pewee, Western Meadowlark, Common Tern, Great Blue Heron,
At Medicine Lake Refuge-Western Grebe, Bobolink, Gadwall, Ruddy Duck, Cliff Swallow, Ring-necked Pheasant, Eared Grebe, Eastern Kingbird, Western Meadowlark, Blue-winged Teal, American Coot, Red-winged Blackbird, Yellow-headed Blackbird, Northern rough-winged Swallow, Sora (heard), Mourning Dove, Savanna Sparrow, Northern Shoveler, Pintail, Killdeer, Horned Lark.

Bowdoin Refuge at Malta

20090610 - Bowdoin Refuge at Malta

Bowdoin National Wildlife Refuge is a short 5 mile drive from Malta and we spent most of the day there. We arrived at ~9:30 and walked the Display Pond Trail for an hour and a half, then had a snack and talked with one of the refuge staff for a while. At noon we started the 15 mile loop drive and birded that till 5:30, when we decided to head back to Malta for gas and groceries and to Glasgow for the night. We chose Shady Rest RV Park in Glasgow for the night, based on the attractive name. Supper, showers, calls back home, review of the bird list for the day and more conversation finished the day.

Birds: Common Nighthawk, Gadwall, American Wigeon, Blue-winged Teal, Swainson's Hawk, Sora (heard), American Coot, California Gull, Mourning Dove, Northern Rough-winged Swallow, Barn Swallow, Cliff Swallow, House Wren, American Robin, Grey Catbird, Brown Thrasher, Starling, Cedar Waxwing, Yellow Warbler, Clay-colored Sparrow, Lark Sparrow, Red-winged Blackbird, Western Meadowlark, Baltimore Oriole, American Goldfinch, House Sparrow, Downy Woodpecker, Brown-headed Cowbird, Yellow Headed Blackbird, Ring-necked Pheasant, American Bittern, Wilson's Phalarope, Marbled Godwit, Forster's Gull, Baird's Sparrow, Ruddy Duck, Pintail Duck, Eared Grebe, Redhead, Horned Lark, Willet, Killdeer, Song Sparrow, White-faced Ibis, Black-necked Stilt, Wilson's Snipe, Red-tailed Hawk.

Tim Arrives

I spent the morning walking the streets of Havre, and trying to access a "wildlife observation area." I could not finish the drive to that area because of a rather heavy rain shower that made the road conditions deteriorate to the point that I was uncomfortable taking the Rialta farther in. In fact the drive back out concerned me a bit.

Tim arrived on Amtrak at 2:00, about 20 minutes behind schedule. No fault of his, he told me. We hugged, had lunch, looked at a steam locomotive and statue of James J. Hill, then headed North on MT233, to within a few miles of the Canadian border. We were looking for two wildlife refuges that showed clearly on the map, but found that they are undeveloped, without signage or entry roads. This was about a 30 mile drive along a very nice, but very infrequently used, road. We did a lot of birding from the car, and stepped out a few times to scope some ponds. One highpoint of this drive was when we found a Red Fox family. An adult ran away from the spot we first saw them, but 4 kits stayed behind, just on the other side of the ditch, and played with one poppong in and out of its den hole, which was clearly visible.

We then headed East on US2 to Malta and found a RV camp for the night. Tim is currently re-arranging his stuff, and finishing the moving in process.

We had some nice conversations during the day, catching up on each other's lives and kids and plans. I'm looking forward to much more of that in the days to come.

Birds: Upland Sandpiper, Red-Tailed Hawk, Swainson's Hawk, Western Meadowlark, Osprey, Song Sparrow, Mourning Dove, American Avocet, Horned Lark, Eastern Kingbird, Gadwall, Marbled Godwit, Western Kingbird, Northern Harrier, Mallard, American Wigeon, Vesper Sparrow, Brewer's Blackbird, Killdeer, House Sparrow, Rock Dove, Long-billed Curlew, California Gull.

Patt Goes Home, Fred Goes to Havre

20090608 – Patt Goes Home, Fred Goes to Havre

Another early start today to get Patt to the airport on time. She reports that her flight was uneventful, although there was a de-icing process before she left Great Falls. She said that the home front looks great, with the expected birds in the yard and flowers looking and smelling fine. Pictures Patt sent later this evening confirmed that Spring has progressed at lot there since I left.

I showered, did laundry, tank maintenance, added water to the house batteries, and vacuumed the interior of the RV today. The route to Havre followed US87, then US2 for the last couple of miles. Flat open country for the most part, some views without power lines intruding. There were about 20 miles of parked train cars on the track that parallels US87—coal cars I think, but need to check on that. They have very low sides. I am amazed at the investment in steel and fabrication that these represent, idle now. We had noticed the same scene South of Great Falls.

Havre is as I recalled from the quick pass through here 20 years ago-linear layout, looking like a busy working ranch town.

No birding today, although Patt heard Cedar Waxwings at Dick's as we left there this morning.

More Festival Birding and Patt Packs to Leave

20090607 - More Festival Birding and Patt Packs to Leave

We rose again at 4:00 AM and went to the festival site for the buffet breakfast (way better than yesterday's) and soon were in a carpool for Benton Lake National Wildlife Refuge. This is only ~10 miles from Great Falls, to the North. Check it out at http://www.fws.gov/Refuges/profiles/index.cfm?id=61510. We drove slowly for the next 4 hours, stopping perhaps 10 times and saw a bunch of birds. The weather was a cold wind, driving rain sideways, so out out-of-car time was often very short.

The Festival had closed down after we left this morning, so we returned to Dick's RV for lunch and naps that were much needed after the early rising.

Patt finished packing a while ago, leaving some things in the RV for a possible re-connection when I reach Minnesota. She also cooked a great meal, including fresh salad, topped with a glass of wine. I have many instructions on things to do, and how to do them in her absence.


Birds: Canada Goose, Gadwall, American Wigeon, Mallard, Blue Winged Teal, Cinnamon Teal, Northern Shoveler, Canvasback, Redhead, Greater Scaup, Bufflehead, Ruddy Duck, Pied-billed Grebe, Eared Grebe, Black-crowned Night-Heron, White-faced Ibis, Northern Harrier, Swainson's Hawk, Sora (heard), Killdeer, American Avocet, Willet, Whimbrel, Long-billed Curlew, Marbled Godwit, Wilson's Snipe, Wilson's Phalarope, Franklin's Gull, California Gull, Burrowing Owl, Western Kingbird, Eastern Kingbird, Horned Lark, Tree Swallow, Marsh Wren, American Robin, European Starling, Vesper Sparrow, Savannah Sparrow, Chestnut-collared Longspur, Western Meadowlark, Red-winged Blackbird, Yellow-headed Blackbird, Brewer's Blackbird, House Sparrow, Mourning Dove, Rock Dove.

Wings Across the Big Sky

20090606 - Wings Across the Big Sky

We rose at 4:00 to arrive at 5:00 at the Holiday Inn that is headquarters for the festival. Breakfast there was some artificial egg and bacon biscuit served in a cellophane bag, straight from Fort Worth, Texas via the refrigerator.

We joined a carpool to the destination for the morning field trip--some back roads along the Teton River near Choteau, MT. The roads West in this area dead end at the Bob Marshall Wilderness, a very large protected area just South of Glacier NP. Toward the end of the drive, we skirted Pine Butte, a major Nature Conservancy holding. The area was beautiful, although visibility was very limited due to clouds, blowing snow and freezing rain. The mountains were never visible, although we did get glimpses of Pine Butte and many more intimate scenes in subdued colors, whites, tans, grays, the black/greens of conifers and the emergent greens of some wheat fields, willows and chokecherries. There were dozens of winter calendar photos just waiting to be taken. We got some nice views of birds. Our traveling companions were excellent birders and conversationalists, intimately familiar with Montana wildlife and conservation issues.

Lunch was an OK salad, sandwich, and chips buffet. This was followed by a talk by David Sibley, author of several major birding books. He is a shy and careful speaker, with deep knowledge of his specality. He described his evolution, not so much as a birder, but as a bird illustrator, and took some questions. He autographed books afterward, enduring a long line of people with things they wanted him to write in their copies of his books. Patt observed that his white shirt was not pressed. I attended a flycatcher ID session in the afternoon, and we had dinner at the festival. It was good to get to bed after that early rising--to be repeated tomorrow.

Birds: McCowan's Longspur, Chectnut-collared Longspur, Long-billed Curlew, Lark Sparrow, Cliff Swallow, Wilson's Snipe, Brewer's Blackbird, Northern Harrier, Pintail, Mallard, Redhead, Northern Shoveler, Wilson's Phalarope, Vesper Sparrow, Common Raven, American White Pelican, Horned Lark, Common Tern, California Gull, Ring-billed Gull, Red-winged Blackbird, Yellow-headed Blackbird, Black-necked Stilt, American Avocet, Cinnamon Teal, Double-creasted Cormorant, Starling, Turkey Vulture, Mourning Dove, Short-eared Owl.

Cool

20090605 - Great Falls

"Cool" applies in several ways:

First, this AM we had the refrigerator serviced at Martin's RV here in Great Falls. I had pre-ordered needed parts after consultation with Valley RV in Missoula. They were here, but those were only part of the problem. The burner orifice also needed cleaning and some electrical connections were intermittent and needed to be pinched down with a pliers. I was very impressed by the service, both the attitude of Bill, the owner, and the completeness of the work. We tested several times, till he was satisfied--I was ready to go and satisfied more easily. Now I am confident that our food will stay as cool as we want when we are outback with this rig.

The weather has also cooled off and clouded up, preparing to rain or at least shower tomorrow. There was snow predicted earlier, but apparently they have rescheduled that for another time.

We went to the opening of the Wings Across the Big Sky Festival this evening. The speaker was Vince Yannone, who is an outdoor enthusiast, birder, and educator with the Montana Wildlife department. He gave a rambling presentation of many experiences with birds and other wildlife. These were fascinating, many funny, educational and engaging, based on careful observation and intimate association with critters. He poked fun at some of the State and local officials (I do not know any of them) in a good natured way. I suspect some of them were present. The talk went way over it's scheduled time and held the ~ 300 attendees attention throughout. I was part of the overflow and chairless part of the crowd. This promises to be a fun and cool festival.

Our birding today was limited to a short stroll at the edge of the RV park.

Birds: Yellow Warbler, Cedar Waxwing, Black Headed Grosbeak, Mourning Dove, House Sparrow, Rock Dove, American Robin, Starling

Great Falls for the Festival

We hung out at Hellgate Campground till mid afternoon spying on the bank swallows, reading, hiking, and, yes, even a nap. Then continued South on MT284 around the south end of Canyon Ferry Lake, then North and West on US12, then North on I15 through Helena and into Great Falls. The goal of this is to make an early appointment to Martin's RV Service for refrigerator repair, prior to the opening of Montana Audubon's Wings Across the Big Sky festival. Just as a point of interest, there is a great bakery, with espresso, in Townsend, on US12.

Birds: Yellow Warbler, Western Meadowlark, Grey Catbird, Tree Swallow, Canada Goose, American White Pelican, Common Raven, Western Kingbird, Starling, Black-billed Magpie, Bank Swallow, Killdeer, Mallard, Black Headed Grosbeak, Golden Eagle, American Robin, House Sparrow.

Ferry Canyon Reservoir

20090603 – Hellgate Campground

We went to the East out of Helena on Ferry Canyon Road, reaching Ferry Canyon Reservoir, a BLM project. We passed up a few campgrounds, and pulled into Hellgate Campground, a large, mowed and open place 65 numbered sites in 3 loops and access to the reservoir. Very few spaces are occupied. We camped along a small stream, lined by cottonwoods and cedars. The higher land surrounding the camping area starts with sagebrush, then a bit higher up has patches of lodgepole pine. Part of the higher area burned several years ago. The area is very quiet during this off season and it feels like we have the place to ourselves. I walked about 1/2 mile into the surrounding wooded hills in mid afternoon. Back there, there were several 5 minute periods when I could hear no manmade sounds.

We spent a very relaxing afternoon reading, napping, walking and birding. There were some fun (for us) interactions between Tree Swallows and Mountain Bluebirds competing for a nest box, and, later, a Common Raven attempting to get supper from unseen nests along the stream and being chased by blackbirds.

Patt is getting quite adept cooking in the Rialta, creating pasta dishes (from jars of course, served over soba noodles, along with cooked mixed vegies and salad. She is calling me for dinner now. I expect dinners will be more sparse later, unless Tim has hidden talents when we join up in a few days.

The reservoir is apparently home to a large and unwelcome population of Carp. There is a bow hunting festival approaching that takes many of these each year, destined for the park dumpsters. We could easily see many Carp from shore anywhere we stood. We saw one high tech bowhunter pulling his boat along with a trolling motor, and shining lights into the water, hunting through dusk and long after dark.

Birds: House Sparrow, Robin, Vesper Sparrow, Brewer's Sparrow, Lark Sparrow, Mountain Bluebird, Red Winged Blackbird, Common Raven, Bullock's Oriole, Yellow Warbler, Barn Swallow, Tree Swallow, Starling, Grey Catbird, Eastern Kingbird, Osprey, Mountain Chickadee, Northern Flicker, Mallard, Western Kingbird, Canada Goose, American White Pelican, Killdeer, Black-billed Magpie.

Missouri Headwaters

20090602 - Missouri Headwaters

The day started exactly where yesterday left off with cold wind driving scattered raindrops. We read for an extra hour, then started out about 10:30, expecting to arrive at Helena at the end of the day.

We followed I90 West for ~35 miles then pulled off near Three Forks for the Missouri Headwaters State park. There the Missouri is formed by the confluence of the Madison, Gallatin and Jefferson Rivers. Miraculously, the wind had died down a lot by this time, and there was a rain free period while we explored the park till about 3:00. I climbed a rocky rise and learned that I was standing on the exact spot that Lewis and Clark had used as a viewpoint to map the confluence. I have not attended very much, on this trip, to the Lewis and Clark historical sites. This not due to a lack of interest in those, but another focus just now. This was a heady moment, nonetheless.

We followed I90 West, exiting to the North on US69, then picking up I15 into Helena. The drive along US69 in this area was especially attractive, much of it just above the Boulder River flowing thru the bottom of the valley, meandering, and overflowing, in this season, into a willow lined channel.

We finished the day with soup and a tossed salad, thanks to Patt's persistence in shopping for the makings yesterday. An after dinner walk along the periphery of the Lincoln Road RV Park provided some views of sunshine on the mountains to the East. Hopefully this bodes well for tomorrow.

Birds: Red Winged Blackbird, Brewer's Blackbird, Bald Eagle, Wilson's Snipe, Spotted Towhee, Yellow Warbler, House Wren, Eastern Kingbird, Red Tailed Hawk, Common Raven, Tree Swallow, Barn Swallow, House Sparrow, Western Meadowlark, American Robin, Bullock's Oriole, House Finch, American Goldfinch

Retreat to Bozeman

20090601 - Retreat to Bozeman

We woke to a cold and overcast day, so different from the past few days that were clear and calm with highs around 80. This?? caused Patt to sleep in while I went for a walk along a hillside path with lodgepole pines on the uphill side and a swollen Sheep Creek overflowing into a willow choked bottomland on the other. This was where the Sandhill Cranes had risen from last night and I was hoping for another look. No luck on that, but a nice walk nonetheless.

We continued on US89 for a few miles, till the cutoff on MT259 to Newlan Reservoir where we picked up some waterfowl and had a great learning session with swallows who obligingly lined up on a fence and dead tree branch for us to compare, learn and then self administer a quiz to test our new knowledge.

We stopped for lunch and to finish warming up at Dori's restaurant in White Sulpher Springs. This had at least a dozen taxidermy prizes for us to enjoy? mounted so they could watch us eat out soup and sandwiches. They also had the birding route guide that we had been following on the counter, and under the check out counter glass top, where often you see chewing gum and mints, there was a great collection of Swarovski glass including the 8.5x42 binoculars that Patt uses, a 10x40? that I lust after sometimes, a 35x?? and a bunch of rifle scopes. The prices looked competitive with larger retail venues. The collection totaled nearly $20,000.

Our 'guided' route had now ended. We continued along US89 South till reaching Cottonwood Reservoir and stopped to view a large gathering, ~150, of American White Pelicans. Then noted that there was a bonanza of waterfowl on the water so we broke out the scope and stood beside the camper in wind and a cold drizzle for a while. It is not unusual that birding under these conditions simultaneously seems both way too long and way too short for me. After a really long time, we soon got into the RV, turned the heater way up, gave a half-hearted look at a USFS campsite a couple of miles down MT86, and agreed that a RV Park in Bozeman would be a good option for the night.

It is. And I got to post a few stored blog entries too.

Birds: Spotted Sandpiper, Mountain Bluebird, Tree Swallow, Belted Kingfisher, Killdeer, Grey Jay, Chipping Sparrow, Yellow Rumped Warbler, American Wigeon, Red-breasted Nuthatch, Mallard, Brown Headed Cowbird, Brewer's Blackbird, Common Raven, Common Merganser, White Crowned Sparrow, Pine Siskin, Mountain Chickadee, Vesper Sparrow, Cliff Swallow, Violet Green Swallow, Northern Rough-winged Swallow, House Sparrow, Black-billed Magpie, Mourning Dove, American White Pelican, American Coot, Canada Goose, Cinnamon Teal, Northern Shoveler, Red Winged Blackbird, Double Crested Cormorant, Canvasback, Western Grebe, Gadwall, Ruddy Duck, Golden Eagle, Red-tailed Hawk, Western Meadowlark.

Kings Hill Scenic Byway

20090531 – Kings Hill Scenic Byway

After some morning birding at Aspen Campground we continued South on US89 for a few miles. We birded a cemetery, drove some more, then stopped for a short hike to Monarch Falls. A beautiful Falls with an upper and a lower section, quite accessible and enjoyed by children playing around the edges and trying to move logs and other fun things. We lunched there, then continued South, stopping at a now closed ski area that was highlighted on the birding trail guide. Then pulled into USFS Jumping Creek Campground on Sheep Creek. USFS has been cutting fallen trees, providing a more than ample supply of firewood for each of the 10 campsites (and for some locals poaching the supply, enjoying the free labor of the forest service crew). We hiked, napped, read and birded the remainder of the day here.

Birds: Yellow Rumped Warbler, American Robin, Chipping Sparrow, Common Raven, Red Eyed Vireo, Warbling Vireo, Mountain Chickadee, American Dipper, Grey Jay, Sandhill Crane, Ruffed Grouse (heard drumming).

Patt Arrives

20090530 – Patt Arrives

Did more maintenance on the RV, filling water, gas, dumping the holding tanks, then headed to the airport for some reading while waiting for Patt's arrival. Her plane was on time. We picked up some food for the next few days, then headed Southeast on US89, generally following a route I found in a pamphlet titled “Birding Trails in Montana's Russell Country”—route called “King Hills Scenic Byway”. By the time we got to the first point of interest Patt was nodding off and needed a nap. The site was a State Park, next to a stream. Lots of kids playing in the cold water, escaping a warm afternoon. She slept for an hour and a half while I walked up the stream trying to pick up a few birds. I was about a mile out when a rattlesnake and I startled each other. After that I headed back, feeling quite exposed in my moccasins rather than the hiking boots that would have been more appropriate.

We went another 30 miles then pulled into the US Forest Service Aspen Campground south of Monarch. Here we heard more birds than we were able to see or identify. Supper, an early campfire, and early to bed for Patt who has a lot of sleep to catch up from her recent busy schedule. I hope she gets some benefit from the vacation style of the coming week. It's good to have her here.

Birds: House Sparrow, Starling, Brewer's Blackbird, Common Raven, Grey Catbird, Spotted Towhee, Blue-Grey Gnatcatcher, American Robin, Yellow Warbler Song Sparrow

Great Falls

20090529 – Great Falls

I spent the day doing some errands around Great Falls, laundry, re-organizing the camper for Patt's arrival and getting a nap.

I've noticed before that some the layout of some cities is easy for me to pick up on, while in others I feel extremely directionally challenged. Missoula was easy. Great Falls is not, for me.

to Great Falls

20090528 – to Great Falls

I left my private campground after a quiet morning walk. The maps of the area were in some disagreement about the Wildlife Management Area, so I decided on Brown's Lake Fishing Access. Only 3.5 miles from the cutoff from MT200. Almost immediately I came across Mountain Bluebirds and a Bald Eagle so I knew I had made a good choice. I spent ~three hours birding and taking bird pictures along the road and at the lake. There was a busy, but attractive campground on the lake and a lot of fishermen meditating on chairs next to their pickups and cabovers.

Heading East again on MT200, there were a few more campgrounds and fishing accesses in the National Forest then, at Rogers Pass private property took over and campgrounds were no longer available. I took the Stearns-Augusta road North for a few miles toward Bean Lake seeing some nice birds in the fields, probably because I could drive more slowly without highway traffic urging me along. Returned to MT200 for more Big Sky type views, cattle grazing and irrigated hayfields. Some of the rolling hills morphed to mesas and small rocky cliffs as I approached Great Falls.

I caught up with Patt, made some plans for her arrival, downloaded and organized the photos I've taken so far, and spent the night at Dick's RV Campground.

Birds: Common Raven, Spotted Sandpiper, American Robin, Song Sparrow, Yellow Rumped Warbler, Pine Siskin, Mallard, Red Breasted Nuthatch, Canada Goose, Kestrel, Osprey, Red Winged Blackbird, Mountain Bluebird, Red Tailed Hawk, Bald Eagle, Yellow Headed Blackbird, Red Necked Grebe, Lesser Scaup, Brewer's Blackbird, Tree Swallow, Black Tern, American Coot, Bullock's Oriole, Great Blue Heron, Bank Swallow, Vesper Sparrow, Sharp Tailed Grouse, Long Billed Curlew, House Sparrow, Starling.

National Bison Refuge

20090527 - National Bison Refuge

I got an early start heading North from Missoula on US93 toward the National Bison Refuge. Good thing it was an early start, because at least half of the ~40 miles was a major highway construction zone. Slow going. Wonderful big sky open rolling hills, mostly cleared, with a lot of lodgepole pine up toward their tops and farther in the distance. Even farther in the distance was Glacier Park, and the mountains in that were clearly visible, creating beautiful scenery. Leaving US93, signs pointed me around the South end of the refuge, then North for a few miles. I kept seeing birds so stopped for a while and looked down on some fields and shrubbery from a railroad track. Got a few nice ones and some of the urgency out of my system, and a mile or two later came to the entrance.

The refuge was beautiful with great vistas and very few man-made artifacts visible (fences and roads excepted) or audible. Visitors can take a ~12 mile one way loop. Today the buffalo were at the far end of that. Before seeing the buffalo I saw a couple of deer, many antelope, a Black Bear and a bunch of birds.

About 1:30 I headed back to Missoula to pick up MT99 for Great Falls. I'm spending the night as the only occupant of a Fish & Wildlife campground and river access, 40 miles from Missoula. No cell signal.

All the rivers here are high, just like those in Idaho. There are some flood watches in effect for parts of Missoula.

I used the part numbers that I got yesterday to try to schedule service for the refrigerator. VW dealer could not make an appointment less than 3 weeks out, but referred me to Martin's RV in Great Falls. Martin's ordered the parts, expect them in by Monday, and will call me when they arrive.

There is a Wildlife Management Area near my campground. I plan to check that out in the morning, then continue East.

Birds: Black Billed Magpie, Killdeer, Eastern Kingbird, Wilson's Snipe, Song Sparrow, Osprey on nest with chicks, Red Winged Blackbird, Grey Catbird, Western Meadowlark, Lazuli Bunting, Brown Headed Cowbird, American Kestrel, American Robin, House Wren, Mountain Bluebird, Canada Goose, Spotted Sandpiper, Common Raven, Starling, Red Tail Hawk, Yellow Rumped Warbler, unidentified Sparrow, unidentified Hawk.