Lake Como, Montana

We loved it at Hamilton, but it was time to head back to Wyoming. Eric and Jen had wanted to take us to Lake Como, but the weather had been bad. The kids were both back to work and it finally cleared so Renita packed us a lunch, and we made the short drive to the lake. It did not take long for us to drive the short distance and when we got there, we found that the roads were typical forest service roads. The first one we drove up had large rocks poking through the roadbed. Deciding to be cautious, our car did not have a skid plate, and we returned to the dam area.

As soon as we stopped, we saw a woodpecker and returned to the car to get our cameras. We followed the sounds and both of us got good shots of a hairy woodpecker.

Next a tee swallow perched atop a barren tree and following that bird, another, a red breasted nuthatch, worked its way down an aspen tree and posed for a picture.

Another bird landed on the ground and let us take its picture, this time it was a white breasted nuthatch.

After a few more steps and we spotted a savannah sparrow. Or at least that is what we thought it was, (we are weak on sparrow identification). There were others walking the trails and we passed a large fire scarred log that had been a food source for an unknown animal.

It had torn huge chunks out of the wood looking for grubs. While there can be an occasional grizzly here, we guessed it was a black bear. Returning to the car we drove to the other side of the lake. Walking along the edge of the water, an American Avocet bobbed its head and called, hoping for a female.

It did not really care about us and allowed us to get close. The male avocet was in its breeding colors, during the winter they are mostly white with a few brown markings. Walking along the shoreline I posed for a picture.

Chipmunks came out and begged for food, but we do not feed wild animals!

Buffalo head ducks paddled by, and a common loon dove for fish. Driving up the road to a camping area the road dead ended and we turned around stopping at a picnic table for lunch. As we ate lunch,a western bluebird lit on a tree branch begging for its picture to be taken.

The sun came out and lazed away the rest of the afternoon. The next day we would drive back to Star Valley, Wyoming where we have our fifth wheel rv set up on our rv lot. We will stay there fort here for the summer fishing, photographing wildlife, playing pickle ball, and exploring the area. Of course, we will work on making cabochons, preparing for this summer and next winter’s shows. Clear skies.