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.