Red Rock Lakes NWR, revisited

Emma and I headed out this morning (make that Sunday morning…wifi breakdown for three days  :( ) to visit Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge for the second time.  My sister,Pam, and I had driven there about a month ago, and really had a challenge driving the road.  Since then, the roads have been graded and all the 18 wheelers with cattle have finished their deliveries.  The cattle are on the grazing grounds, and the huge ruts from the trucks have been evened out.
As we headed out, the sprinklers were in action around Henry’s Lake.
After crossing the Continental Divide, and arriving in Montana, a misty morning greeted us as we entered the refuge.
The Pronghorns were out and about this morning.
As well as hundreds of ground squirrels, and plenty of mountain bluebirds.
As I approached lower Red Rock Lake, a flock of Canada geese took flight.

I had seen a Bald Eagle, an Osprey, and a Northern Harrier as I circled the lakes, but I also noticed a different raptor hunting on the flats surrounding the wetlands.
A pair of short-eared owls were looking for breakfast.  They hunted for quite a while and then found perches to take a nap on.  This fellow had a big bumblebee interrupt  his snooze.
The silhouette of the birds is what caught my eye.  Notice what a blocky head this bird has.  That’s a definite give away that you are seeing an owl and not a hawk.  What a hoot this was!  (pun intended :))  Short-eared owls are one of the few owls that will hunt in daylight.

By this time, my stomach was beginning to rumble, so we headed back to the Upper Red Rock Lake campground for lunch.
This was today’s view for our picnic lunch.  I had doused myself thoroughly with bug spray, so it was an enjoyable experience.  The mosquitoes have arrived in full force!  The abundant ground squirrels kept Emma entertained.  :)
Nearby, the dance of the Western Black Swallowtails was transpiring as I dined on my egg salad sandwich.  :)  Aleman left!

When we got back to the rig, a heck of an afternoon thunderstorm moved through with plenty of thunder, lightening, rain, and some hail.  After about two hours, things cleared up and I enjoyed some snacks and socializing at the site of new neighbors across from me.  They are from Arizona and both are avid fly fisherpeople.  I’m going to pick their brains about fly fishing in the next few days.  :)

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