Bozeman and butterflies

I had a long list as I headed out to Bozeman, MT, yesterday.  Besides groceries, I needed to purchase an air compressor, and I also ended up buying a printer at Wal-Mart.  It was a 230 mile round trip, without a whole lot of excitement along the way.
The raft companies where doing a good business along the Gallatin River.
I did see a nice adult bald eagle during my brief 20 mile pass through the edge of Yellowstone on US 191.

Once I  got home, a pretty strong storm blew through the valley.
It left an eerie light over the campground, and a nice rainbow lighting the mountain ridge.

Mid morning today, I took Emma for a long walk on some of the dirt roads surrounding the campground.  I brought my camera along hoping to get some more wildflower pictures.
I did get a couple, but the astounding thing was the thousands of butterflies that surrounded us.  It was like being in one of those butterfly enclosures in a zoo.
I wondered if it was because of last night’s heavy rain that there were so many on the ground.
This variety really seemed to like the Astor-like blooms. 

Maybe you can guess that I have another question about Blogger.  I changed the header picture today and I can’t figure out how to get the picture to fit the space.  If I shrink it to fit, this is what happens.  If I don’t shrink it, it is way too big and only a portion of the picture shows.  I’ve gotten such great help with my other questions, I thought I’d throw this one out for suggestions.
I’ll leave you tonight with last night’s sunset after the storm.  :)

Thanks for stopping by….talk to you later,  Judy

A screen saver kind of day

Emma and I were on the road shortly after 7:30 this morning for our excellent adventure of visiting Grand Teton National Park.  In order to get there, we had to drive about 69 miles through Yellowstone NP.  For you dog owners out there, I want to tell you that each time I’ve gone through the entrance gate with Emma, the ranger on duty has given her a dog biscuit.  How welcoming is that!  I was ready with the telephoto lens on my camera in case we encountered any wildlife along the way.  Surprisingly, not even a bison was out and about. 
I was looking forward to seeing big mountains, and big mountains is what I saw!  It was a glorious day, weather-wise, and it seemed like every picture I took could be used as a screen saver or background picture for my computer.  I was on a Rocky Mountain high!
 I had a real challenge not posting 100 pictures tonight.  The views were just out of this world.  The water of Jackson Lake was very calm this morning, resulting in great reflections.
I took a gravel side road to get these wildflower pictures.  I think the two on the left are lupines.  They kind of remind me of the bluebonnets of the Texas Hill Country.  I’m not sure what the name of the yellow flowers is. (click on any pic to enlarge)
Emma and I drove to the summit of Signal Mountain to have our lunch.  Dogs aren’t allowed on any trails or in any buildings in the park, but they are allowed at picnic areas and parking lots.  There was only one picnic table here, but I figured that qualified!  :)  It was right on the path at the top of the overlook.
These were the views as I ate my sandwich.  Can you imagine a better place to have a picnic lunch?  I wrapped Emma’s leash around the table leg and she crawled under the table to take advantage of the shade.  Many  people came up to the overlook as I ate my lunch, and Emma greeted every one of them!

The hoot of the day came when one woman returned from the overlook and said “What a well behaved dog you have.”  I almost choked on my bite of sandwich!  No one has ever said that about Emma before!  She’s such a wild child.  Do you think maybe she’s FINALLY growing up???  I can only hope.  :)
After my repast, we went back down the five mile incline and continued on our way.
Along the way, we took the scenic route to Jenny Lake where these shots were taken.  I wasn’t able to stop at any of the visitor’s centers in the park because all of the parking lots were full to over flowing.  I couldn’t leave Emma in the car to hike back to them because of the very warm temperatures, and of course she wasn’t allowed inside.  Maybe some other time.  :(
I bet you thought I wouldn’t get a bird picture in today.  Ha!  This Grey Jay, and several others, were hanging around the Jenny Lake pull off looking for handouts.

The loop trip today ended up being right around 280 miles, and it took us a little over nine hours to do it.  It truly was an excellent adventure today!  I’ll leave you with this parting shot of Grand Teton National Park…
Those yellow splashes in the foreground are blooming sage.  What an enticing aroma permeated this pull off.

Thanks for stopping by….talk to your later,  Judy

There’s a first time for everything

The weather looked fine this morning, so I decided to take a drive back to Ennis, Montana, on a day that I knew Resveldt Meats would be open.  It’s a rather scenic drive along the Madison River.  Lots of trout fishermen were out today in boats and waders.

I drove 14 miles past Ennis to Virginia City, which people had said was worth the trip to see this restored town from the past.  It turned out to be not something I’m especially interested in. 
There was a nice overlook, however, of the Madison Valley.  This valley is very important as a wildlife corridor.  That’s Ennis in the lower left.

I stocked up on several varieties of sausage and some smoked pork chops at the butcher store, and then headed back to camp.
On the way back, I spotted an Osprey nest overlooking the Madison River.  I believe the female is on the left incubating the eggs while the male is watching on the right.

Once I got back to the rig, this was the scene that was unfolding out my front window:
For the last week or two, lots of cattle have been trucked in to the high mountain meadows for summer grazing.  Today, this small herd was moved via mounted cowboys and cowgirls to greener pastures.  :)

As Emma and I sat outside in the balmy temperatures this afternoon, I asked my neighbors if they were interested in going to the rodeo and chuck wagon dinner that is put on by a nearby ranch.  It turns out that this is the same working ranch that had the cattle drive this afternoon.  They sounded interested, but Jim, the husband, thought we needed to have reservations.  That’s when his wife, Jackie, suggested she and I hop on their ATV and drive over there to make a reservation.  I’ve never ridden on a four wheeler before, so I was up for the new experience.  :)  After making our reservation, she asked if I’d like to go for a little ride.  So, off we went up into the hills.  It was quite a ride!  We made it to the continental divide, and then drove off on a side tract into the mountains. 

We probably drove about eight or nine miles total before I suggested we head back since there were some very ominous looking clouds heading our way.  She agreed, and we high tailed it back down the rustic track.  We didn’t quite make it back to camp before the rains were upon us.  That was some cold rain!  As we hopped off and ran to our rigs, she said “Now you can check that off your bucket list!”  Yessiree Bob!  Four wheeling in the Rocky Mountains…not something I ever expected to do.

Thanks for stopping by….talk to you later,  Judy

A trip to Bozeman

The drive to Bozeman was very scenic.  About twenty of the 100 miles went through the western edge of Yellowstone NP.  I did see one grizzly bear as I drove along, but he moved out of sight before I could get my camera up to take a shot.
I don’t think I’ll ever tire of seeing snow capped mountains.

I did my shopping as quickly as I could since I had to leave Emma at home.  As it was, the round trip took me about seven hours.  On the way back, I decided to check out one of the forest service campgrounds in the Gallatin National Forest.



While I was driving through the Red Cliff Campground, I came upon these does in the middle of the mostly vacant campground.

There were quite a few sites and a dozen of them even had electric hookups.  I think I could have fit my rig into several of them.  The campground bordered the Gallatin River.  What a peaceful place it was.

I was able to find the kind of wine I enjoy, so I’m having a glass now as I write.  The weather was just gorgeous today.  I hope it continues tomorrow so Emma and I can give the Tower Falls area another shot.

Thanks for stopping by….talk to you later,  Judy

Another learning curve day

Yesterday was the day to learn about the new washer/dryer, and today it was time to learn about the convection oven.  I’m happy to report that today went better than yesterday.  :)

I appreciate all the comments and suggestions you all wrote.  The machine is vented outside.  I think I’d like to take stuff out when it is just damp, but I’m not sure how to do that just yet.  That door always seems to be locked when the machine is running.  I’ve always been a person who does the laundry once a week, but I guess I can adjust to running a load every other evening or so.  With only one of me in the rig, I have plenty of storage, so I think I’ll give it a try for a year or so, and then see. 

After giving the rig a good inside cleaning this afternoon, I tackled the instruction book for the convection oven.  With it in hand, I roasted two chicken thighs, and I must say I was pleased with the outcome.  Then I baked four Tollhouse chocolate chip cookies (all in the spirit of testing the oven:)).  They turned out just the way I like them.  You can’t beat a warm Tollhouse cookie in my opinion.  I think tomorrow I’ll try a garlic cheese flatbread.  It sure is a lot easier to use than crawling on the floor to light the pilot for my old tiny gas oven!  It was also a breeze to clean up.  So far, I give it two thumbs up.  :)
These are a few of the pesky brown-headed cowbirds that I’m plagued with at my feeders.  This evening I counted 90 of the buggers on and under the two feeders.  Ugh!  The other birds don’t have a chance.
 


























This male white-crowned sparrow has a territory right across the fence in the sage brush covered meadow.
This dark-eyed junco snuck in for a seed or two while the cowbirds took a break.

Of course it isn’t necessary for me to have bird feeders up, it’s purely for my enjoyment.  The birds do just fine with the natural food.  This pine siskin is probably gleaning an insect from between the pine needles. (I’m really not sure if this is a pine or a spruce)
Two siskins dueling over a branch.  It’s about the only time you get to see the yellow in their tails and wings.

I’m going to take a break from learning new things tomorrow, and head off to Bozeman, Montana.  Bozeman is a pretty good sized town, and the drive there is supposed to be very scenic.  I’d like to order some wine along with doing general grocery shopping. 

Thanks for stopping by….talk to you later,  Judy

Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge

What an adventurous drive Pam and I had today on our trip to visit Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge.



















The refuge was only 22 miles from the RV park, so we thought we’d take a quick drive over to have a look.  Ha!  We were in for quite a surprise.  After a little over a mile, the pavement ended, and we continued on good gravel roads.  That didn’t last long, though.  That 22 miles took us well over an hour to traverse.  The nice gravel road soon deteriorated.  We found ourselves behind a grader working on the rough road.  We soon passed him, and continued up over the mountain.  Top speed was about 20 mph as I dodged rocks and holes in the roadbed.  After about five miles, we found ourselves crossing over into Montana.

 
Eventually, we made it to the Upper Red Rock Lake.  The lake itself was a very unusual color.  It was opaque and kind of milky looking.  Not the pristine blue that you might expect up in the mountains.  As you can see, clouds were flying past with an occasional sprinkle.  We pressed on to the refuge headquarters.


















After viewing the displays at the headquarters, we drove on to view Lower Red Rock Lake.  There were two campgrounds on this refuge that are most suitable for tenters.  There are no hookups of any kind, but there is a pit toilet at the Lower Lake campground.  I wouldn’t suggest the drive for any motorhome or fifth wheel to get here.  There is a fifteen day limit for camping, but apparently no fee involved.  If you like tent camping, what a magnificent location these two little campgrounds would be!

I was hoping to see some trumpeter swans and Western grebes during our visit, but it wasn’t to be.  :(  This refuge was established to help the dwindling population of trumpeter swans back in the 1930’s.  It also exists as an undeveloped wilderness tract that serves as a corridor for migrating elk, bison, and other animals between the Yellowstone area and the northern Rocky Mountains.  I just may try to make another trip back to this refuge earlier in the day in the next couple of weeks.  It all depends on whether or not I want to do another bone jarring 50 mile trip in my little low to the ground car.  :)  There were a couple of places where I couldn’t avoid scraping bottom.  :(

As the skies began to look ominous, we headed back for Red Rock RV Park. 
This time we stopped for a picture at the Continental Divide.  Wouldn’t you know it, the skies opened up and the rain began in earnest just as I snapped a picture of Pam.

In the time it took us to get to the refuge and visit, the grader was able to make two passes up the road to Red Rock Pass.  That made for a slightly easier drive down the mountain, but I’m glad we got it done before too much of the rain came down.  What a muddy mess it would have been in a short time.

So, our quick trip to the refuge ended up taking a little more than four hours.  Stan didn’t accompany us on this trip as he wanted to just relax today in preparation for his and Pam’s getting back on the road tomorrow.  They will be heading out to the Grand Tetons, Utah, and then back home to Illinois.  It has been very enjoyable for me to have fun traveling companions for the last two weeks.  I will be sad to see them go.  :(  And Emma will be sad to see her boyfriend, George, leave.  I’m thinking she won’t miss little crabby Mitzi, though.  (I’m going to try to get some pics of them in the morning.  George is a smooth collie and Mitzi is a Corgi.)

A little update for all you helpful folks about my dry, cracking hands.  I’ve always used bag balm for this problem, but it just wasn’t cutting the mustard this time.  So, I took the suggestion about the cortisone cream, and it is having a positive effect.  Thank goodness!!  Now, if it would just work on the arthritis in my hands, I’d feel like a young whippersnapper!  :)

Thanks for stopping by….talk to you later,  Judy

At Home on the Range

We headed out of Red Rock RV Park this morning with Ennis, Montana, as our destination.





As we passed through the sage brush covered valley, we encountered several small herds of antelope.  (click pics to enlarge)



Antelope are pretty skittish, so I’m pleased that I got these shots.
After about an hour’s drive we approached Ennis, Montana.








Our mission there was to go to Resveldt’s Meat Market for authentic German sausage.  Sorry to say, it turned out that the butcher shop was closed on Mondays.  :(  So, after visiting a few of the shops on Main Street, we turned around and headed back to camp. 

As we were driving to Ennis, I had noticed a sign for a National Fish Hatchery along the way.  I suggested we stop there on the way back, and since I was driving, no one objected.  :)  It turned out to be a 7 mile drive up and down a gravel range road to get there.





This is where the 11,000,000 trout come from in Ennis!  This National Fish Hatchery works with six strains of rainbow trout.


This is the bluff where early Plains Indians herded buffalo over the cliff.  That was probably before the advent of horses.


Pam and Stan had never been to a fish hatchery before, so they found it very interesting.  I enjoyed it since I had volunteered at Bandon Fish Hatchery in Oregon.
We took one of the back roads home that was a little more scenic in this very scenic area.
Henry’s Lake is located just one mile north of our campground.

Emma and I sat outside in the afternoon while I tried to make some more adjustments on the new camera.  I finally got the manual focus set to match my eyes.  I like to use manual focus when I’m using the telephoto lens.  If I use automatic, the camera often focuses on something other than what I’m interested in.  Then I had to practice a little.
 

Luckily, a few birds were around.  :)  That’s a singing male white-crowned sparrow on the left, and a male black-headed grosbeak on the right.










As I sat at the picnic table, a pair of Cassin’s finches approached very close.  They wanted to use Emma’s water dish for a drink of water.

The weather we had today was the best we’ve had since we left Minnesota.  I hope it continues tomorrow.  Maybe summer is finally on the way in this neck of the woods.

I’d like to thank everyone for the suggestions for my dried out, cracking fingers.  Today I’m trying the cortisone treatment.  I sure hope it works.  :)

Thanks for stopping by….talk to you later,  Judy