Shalkaho Park, Hamilton, Montana

Along the Bitterroot River lies a delightful City Park. It is named Skalkaho. Its all the normal things in a city park but also a delightful and easy set of trails. These parallel the river and you can encounter many birds, often times a moose, and this year a mountain lion was in the area.

We had a few days left with Jen and Eric. Eric had to work so we decided to stroll along the park’s many trails. The snow is melting, and the river was bank full as we began our stroll. We parked just north of town and at first headed down river. It’s a place where we have seen moose, but not today, The trees were budding, but we picked a bad time as the birds were not in evidence. Sometimes we see pileated woodpeckers and we did head a bird working on a tree, but it wasn’t the deep pecks of a pileated. Instead it was a different woodpecker and we did not spot it. The pileated woodpeckers leave huge holes as they search for grubs. There were quite a few people enjoying the trails. We did see some Canadian geese and a few mallards, but nothing unusual, It was a simple and easy hike made extra enjoyable with Jen and Renita. Again, thanks Jen and Eric for all your guidance. Clear skies and Love

Blodgett Point Hike

We took our first hike at altitude. Jen and Eric are careful to watch us and make sure we were not overdoing it. Their first selection was one we have never been on before. It’s a hike to a place called Blodgett Point and looks down on the Canyon hike we took last year.

This year, due to low snowfall, the hike was dry, and was about one and a half miles long, three miles round trip. The total elevation gain was about three hundred feet, which is about half the height of Devils Tower, which I use to rock climb.

We were passed by many others and on the way down a biker was attempting to ride up the trail. Something I will never try! It was a good pick and we will soon be hiking in Grand Teton National Park. Thanks Jen and Eric! Clear skies

Lee Metcalf Wildlife Refuge, April 2024

It’s about a five-hour drive to our daughter and son in laws home in Hamilton, Montana and we were warmly greeted with hugs upon our arrival. It rained lightly and a little snow fell but the pass was open and was clear of any ice. The next several days were more snow and light rain so we decided to go to the Lee Metcalf National Wildlife Refuge. Jen drove and Eric had the day off. It’s not very far away from their home and upon arrival we were surprised at the number of cars in the parking lot.

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The main attraction is a pair of nesting Great Horned Owls and their brood of owlets. It’s a short hike on a good path to the large cottonwood tree where the owls have their nest. We could see the male owl and female parents both perching in separate trees, (both were sleeping). Their three young were all in the hollowed-out tree and we could just see one of the owlets peeking out, looking for it’s parents. They were fletching and would soon venture out, but they stayed put on the day we were there.

Continuing on Renita took a picture of a Northern Flicker, and I took one of an America Robin sitting on its nest.

Further an osprey sat on the top of a tree overlooking the Bitterroot River. Everyone else watched as a bald eagle soared but it disappeared before we could get a shot, Further along a pair of California Quail nervously watched us.

They were introduced here years ago and do well in the Bitterroot valley. Many of the paths were muddy and so we decided to drive to the Refuge headquarters. There is a large pond awaited with many species of ducks. An osprey stared at the pond and took off while we were taking its picture.

It flew to the pond, dove and grabbed a fish in its talons. It returned to its perch above us for its meal. Nothing like fresh sushi.

Its mate sat on their nest a little further in but this meal was not for sharing. Several mallards fed by dabbling on the underwater vegetation. Besides the plants they also eat the small invertebrates that live in plants, It’s an extremely healthy food source. Ducks don’t have teeth, but they have a serrated bill with edges on their beaks, which helps them to tear off the rooted plants.

A Barrows Golden Eye swam by, you can see why they are so aptly named, and a Cinnamon Teal,(a crummy picture) and a pair of Northern Shovelers were also feeding.

Driving past the headquarters we watched a lone sandhill crane and stopped for pictures of a strutting turkey.

As it displayed its fanned out tail, a hen turkey watched, trying to decide if the tom was a suitable mate.

We also spotted a red tailed hawk, and I did get a picure of it flying overhead.

On the way back Jen and Eric pointed out a male pheasant.

Such a beautiful bird! It was accompanied by a brood of chicks, but they disappeared into the tall grass before I could take their picture. It had been a good outing, a nice day of birding, and it felt good to start our Montana adventure with an easy hike. Thanks Jen and Eric! Clear skies

Day 3 A Great Day with Grizzly 610 and her Subadults

Day 3 we drove to the usual spot and a crowd had already gathered. ^10 and her triplet subadults were coming down the mountain, The bears were already closer than we had ever been to them and now they were heading for the mass of people.

As they reached the stand of trees at the bottom 610 turned and her family followed her. Many people jumped into their cars and drove further south. I walked fast along the road being careful to stay outside the white line, (the ditch), and moved to the other side so I could watch the traffic as it approached. Renita stayed where she was with her camera, so we would cover two possible crossings. The bears kept moving parallel to the road and I called her to bring the car down as they were getting closer. I called her and by the time she arrived the bears had passed my spot and so we drove to a large meadow.

Parking, we waited and hoped it wouldn’t be long before they appeared. At one spot they huddled together. An elk carcass was there, or should I say a skeleton and one of the subadults was picking it up and chewing on a spinal column. Talk about a chew toy! This went on for a while and 610 started to move again.

Two of the subadults got in a fight. They would wrestle and then move and wrestle and move further. The sow started to walk directly toward us, and the third one joined her. She kept walking but the third heard the two fighting and turned towards its siblings and joined them. Meanwhile the sow got closer to us and as she neared the one-hundred-yard distance the Bear Management leader yelled that we should all get in our cars.

About then she turned around and saw that her triplets were not with her and so she turned back and rejoined them.By that time, we had arrived at the Pacific Creek Road.

Many of the cars and trucks had turned down it to head them off. Driving past them we couldn’t find a place to park as the ditch was very narrow, (you must park outside the white line). We moved further down to where a lot parking area was and waited for the bears. Some of the cars drove past us and a bear management team member stopped and told us the four grizzlies had crossed the road. Driving back, we saw they had crossed at a spot where we had parked and so we took pictures of their tracks.

Next we headed towards the dam but before we got there we saw vehicles parked and so we pulled over. There were two sets of grizzly tracks that had crossed the road the night before. The tracks were from 399 and her yearling called Spirit. You can see the difference in size.

They had appeared the evening before and escorted by the bear team crossed the road and river before continuing. They left the park boundaries and walked all the way to Wilson. We decided to call it a day and so returned to Jackson. Clear skies The next day we returned to the park. We did not see bears but just past the Lodge turnoff a wolf ran across the road. I could not get a picture, but later we were able to take pictures of the tracks. And yes we know the differenc ebetweena wolf an da coyote. It is only the second time we have seen a wolf in Grand Teton National Park and it made our day!

My hand is the same size as the track.

Grand Teton National Park Day 2

We arrived in the park later than we planned. A traffic jam was at the same place as yesterday and we hoped to see the bears, but not that morning. The bears had been out all morning but they disappeared over the ridge just as we arrived. We waited around in the hopes they would come back but almost everyone left and so we headed to another spot. It was a sunny day and we arrived at the oxbow at the perfect time. Three otters were swimming in the open water before diving under the ice shelf but soon returned, (freshwater otters can hold their breath for up to eight minutes). They all shot from the water onto another ice shelf and huddled together as if they were discussing the fishing. The sun was perfect, and their coats glistened from the water. It was the perfect shot. The best picture I have ever taken of otters. They returned to the water and swam away so we left looking for bear 399 and her cub, but they had not yet made an appearance. Our next stop was at Pilgrim Creek, and then Leeks Marina, From there we drove north to Yellowstone Park but the road was closed at Flagg Ranch.

Turning around we stopped as a fox was in the middle of the road. It was begging for food from a truck and ran to our truck hoping for a handout. People don’t realize that a human fed animal is a dead animal. The wild animals get used to eating human food, they become pests, are captured and then euthanized.

Near the entrance at Moran Junction, another traffic jam had formed. The bears had returned to the place they had been for the last four days but still stayed far away, almost four hundred yards. After a while they headed back over the ridge and so we decided to head to a pond, near Moose Junction.

On the way there, a car had stopped, and a photographer was taking pictures of a fox. The fox was mousing, and we watched as it located the mouse, by hearing, then leapt into the air and made a one-point landing on its mouth as it attempted to grab the small rodent.

It missed and so we drove on. We had watched fox and coyotes exhibiting the same behavior. Talk about acute hearing!

Nothing was at the pond, and we ate lunch there. Two years before we had watched as 399 and her four subadults walk out from the trees. That was an incredible experience as we watched alone for about twenty-five minutes before we were deluged with cars and photographers. (That was when we took the picture on our 2022 Christmas/Holiday Card.

We had a list of things to do in Jackson, so we called it a day. It had been a great day with otters, fox and even far away grizzly bears. On the way back to town we were wondering where the moose were and sure enough, they were just south of Moose Junction, (I wonder how it got its name)?

The moose are shaggy this time of year as they are shedding their winter coats. They have already lost their antlers. As I said before it had been a great day! Clear skies

Grand Teton National Park, Day 1

It’s about a five-hour drive from Casper to Jackson and the plan was to go in Grand Teton National Park and hope we would see bears. After all, two years ago we had lucked out and encountered 399 and her four cubs. Crossing Towgotee Pass, we drove to Moran Junction without seeing any wildlife. Entering GTNP we encountered a traffic snarl just past Pacific Creek Road. The crowd were using their binoculars and spotting scopes, but no one was taking pictures. Parking we got out our equipment and asked what the excitement was. We were told that grizzly bear 610 a daughter of 399, and her triplets, had been feeding on an elk carcass in a stand of willows/aspen. They had almost disappeared into the willows. We did get several pictures, but they were over three hundred yards away. Not a good distance but we still had seen grizzly bears. They disappeared into the willows and so we waited.

After waiting for an hour and a half we decided to make a quick run up to another spot which sometimes held grizzlies. Most of the people had left in search of bear 399, Approaching the Oxbow Bend, we encountered another traffic jam. This time the star was an otter that was sleeping on the ice shelf.

A small area of the bend had opened and several trumpeter swans, common mergansers, sandhill cranes and pied billed grebes were also using the open water.

The otter was sleeping on an ice shelf and woke up. It cleaned itself before devouring a piece of fish it had left for a snack. Before it dove into the water several ravens quickly appeared to clean up some scraps. We did not spot any more wildlife as we drove to Leeks Marina. Ditto for a drive on Park Road past Willow Flats to Signal Mountain where the road was still closed. Returning to where the bears had been, we parked as the bears were coming out of their napping place. They were still far away but the sun was right, and we could see the sow and her three subadults. She has a dark coat of fur where as her three offspring all have blonde colored coats. Several people told us that the bears had put on a show for the past three days. We were tired and headed to Jackson to get a place to stay. At last, our long trip was over, and we had been rewarded with seeing four grizzlies! Clear skies

Back to Wyoming

It’s a long drive from Grand Isle to Jackson, Wyoming, about 1900 miles. The plan was to drive it in five days as we can no longer jump in the car and drive eight hundred miles in one day. So the first stage was from Grand Isle to Shreveport, LA. The main attraction in Shreveport was whole deep-fried catfish! Severa years ago, we stopped there, and I had the best catfish ever, (ones I did not cook)1 Getting a room we next drove across town. The catfish was good, but it was overcooked. I still ate the three whole catfish, (drawn and headless), and it reminded me of when we would go to the Waterloo Fish Market and order whole deep fried bullheads.

The next morning, we planned a long drive to Wichita, Ks. It was about five hundred and forty miles, and it was a brutal day. This time we ate at another fast-food restaurant and the food was ok, but typical fast food, mediocre/bland. Leg three was a shorter drive from Wichita, KS to Ogallala, NE. If you ever go there be sure to stop at the Petrified Wood Museum. It’s from the collection of two brothers and is filled with western petrified wood. They also made miniature stone houses, churches and other structures from pieces of petrified wood. Some were also music boxes. As we have gone to the museum on three previous trips we did not make a fourth visit.

Day four was from Ogallala to Casper, Wyoming. Before we reached Wyoming we passed through a small town and Renita noticed a Rock Shop! Of course we had to stop! Had lots of beautiful specimens but the ones we wanted were not for sale. As we searched through the shop I found a small case of Larimar! It was rough precut slabs. The time to buy something is when you first see it. I made an offer for the case with eight small pieces, and he jumped at my offer. Darn, I offered too much. So now when we get back to our place in Star Valley I need to set aside a day to turn the precut slabs into finished pieces. Then we will hopefully wrap them in sterling silver and sell enough to make some money.

The sale made their day and his wife yelled from the living room, buy more! Passing Chumney Rock in Nebraska, We cheered when we read the welcome to Wyoming sign. By this time, we were tired of fast food and bought two tv dinners. When we were first married, we ate them as a treat and they were just as good, much better and cheaper than food. Finally on day four we left Casper and drove to Jackson. We had heard that the grizzly bears were out and so we hoped to have a repeat of 2022 when we took pictures of grizzly 399 and her four sub adults, (she released them three weeks later).

Birding on Grand Isle, Walking around the State Park

As always, we left Grand Isle on a happy note. It’s such a wonderful place and Connie and Gary are the best! Gary took me fishing to his secret place and I caught a sixteen-inch trout. He also took me out in his boat and after I set a record for small hardheads he finally found the spot and we caught three keeper trout and a bull red, (which of course was released unharmed as it was 36 inches).

We also took pictures of the destroyed Observation Tower and Fishing pier.

Dolphins feed in the surf, and as usual there were plenty of todaloo, which is a hermit crab.

They all posed menacingly shwoing their claws.

Our luck was against us and we didn’t see any, but we did see a flock of elegant terns. Renita also got a picture of a Summer Tanager, and a local birder told us of a tree called the Toothache tree.

Its leaves deaden your mouth, just don’t put in the whole leaf! Connie told us that a bird fallout happened right after we left. Clear skies