All is Well

Figured I needed to put up a post of some sort this evening. A brief recap of the past two days is in order.

Yesterday morning I left Dickinson about 8am. Went back to Ilo Lake NWR. Didn't get any really good photos there. On to the North Unit of Theodore Roosevelt NP. Got some nice scenery photos there and one so so photo of a White-tailed deer. The only thing of note about that photo was it was the only time I saw deer in the park. I got to Medicine Lake NWR after 5pm. Mostly did a drive through to figure out where might be good spots to try to photograph birds. Wasn't really concentrating on photography, but got good photos of an Upland sandpiper and Willet. Got to the motel in Plentywood after 8pm. By the time I got my stuff in the room, Miz Winnie walked, and the computter hooked up and connected, it was after 9pm. It had been a long day, I was tired, and verging on cranky. A good nights sleep does wonders though!

I was back out at the refuge relatively early this morning. Based on what I had seen the evening before, I really wanted to get some photos of Eared grebes. They are not a bird one would normally see in Nebraska (other that during migration). Did okay in getting some photos of a couple Eared grebes, but I was frustrated in my attempts to get them with a young'un. Came back to the motel in the early afternoon and got caught up going through photos from the past couple days. Went back out this evening and hit the potluck with an Eared grebe and a young'un. I took over 400photos (which includes other photos taken of other birds). Taking that many photos in a short period of time means I had my finger on the trigger button almost continuously for a short bursts. It also means that because the birds are moving about and you are constantly trying to move with them, there are lots of out of focus junk photos. On my first go through of those 400+ photos, I deleted 100. Don't know how many on the second round. I now have the grebes down to 35 photos. Still have to winnow out more. I need to get some space from those photos for tonight, and get a fresh look at them tomorrow.

An entirely separate issue. There was an unfortunate incident with Miz Winnie and three other dogs in Dickinson. Continuing on to Seattle is definitely in question at this point. I have pretty much made up my mind about what to do, but want to sleep on it one more night, or perhaps given the time, one more morning. More on that later.

Theodore Roosevelt National Park

Spent part of the day in Theodore Roosevelt National Park. Have throughly enjoyed the park. Was thinking today, if I could only go to Badlands NP or Theodore Roosevelt NP, which one would I pick. The scenery is similar, ie. badlands. Badlands NP is flatter, and the road is straighter, Theodore Roosevelt is hillier, and the road is not nearly so straight.

My final decision was Theodore Roosevelt NP. There are plenty of visitors, but not the hordes that there were in the Badlands. Makes it easier to stop in unauthorized places and take a photo or two. Getting to either park before school is out would probably revise visitor numbers down some, but there were plenty of old geezers like me, so it might not make that much difference. I do think the scenery is slightly more dramatic, and there are far more animals to photograph. The last one is probably what swung the vote to TRNP.

Saw more Bison. This guy was really shaggy and he looked different from the others in this mini-herd. I suspect he is not an adult, though he certainly wasn't a calf. Right after I got this photo, he ambled across the road right behind my car and rubbed and rubbed on one of the posts holding up the guard rail. Guess he had an itch!


Friday I saw a mini-herd of feral horses up on a hill. Today they were down by the road, and that allowed for close up photos. These two mares seemed to be enjoying a few quiet moments without their colts nearby.


The rest of the critter pictures are here.

I went through Arby's drive through to pick up their Chicken Cordon Bleu (mmmm) for dinner on the way back to the motel. Noticed this sign, and couldn't resist the urge to photograph it.


Moving north and west tomorrow to Plentywood, MT

Lake Ilo National Wildlife Refuge

Saturday did not go as planned.

First of all I didn't get up as early as I would have liked, because I was up too late the night before. Checked the weather report and took one look at the radar screen and said, oops, guess I will sit tight for awhile. After that little squall passed through, I headed out. The skies looked pretty good. Dark to the east and south, but good to the north and west, which was where I was headed. Lake Ilo NWR was on my way to the North Unit of Theodore Roosevelt NP, and since I can never pass a wildlife refuge by, it was my first destination.

This Willet chattered at me as I photographed him


This Upland sandpiper was posing nicely and I was firing away with the camera when I heard a big pickup approaching. I was mumbling under my breath to myself about it as he passed by. After he was gone and I was looking at the photos I had just taken, I mumbled, thanks pickup guy, you just got me a nice one.


I would have liked to stay at the refuge, but I looked at the time and said, gotta move on. The sky to the north and west still looked pretty good, so off to the west I went. As I went west the skies started to darken and the wind began to pick up. By the time I got to where I had to turn north to go to the North Unit of the Park, I had decided that heading south was my best option.

This photo was taken shortly after I turned south. The skies looked blacker than this photo portrays.


Got back to the motel and took Miz Winnie for a short stroll. Hustled her along as I could hear thunder in the distance. We hadn't been in the room long when the wind picked up, the thunder, lightning and rain started in earnest. Didn't last too long, and it cleared up after that. Probably would have been okay had I gone to the North Unit of the Park, but better safe than sorry.

The Scenery of Theodore Roosevelt National Park

Some scenery photos from Theodore Roosevelt National Park

One very big, very white cloud

Fauna of Theodore Roosevelt National Park

Well, I made it through all the critter photos, deleted the junk, picked and chose the ones I think are the best, and got them uploaded to the photo site. So, here are the one's I like the best.

Photographed this Lark sparrow very early in my time at the park. So early, that I kind of forgot about getting his photo. I think Lark sparrows are the prettiest of the sparrows.


Aw, Mom, I love ya (Prairie dogs)


Feral horses reside in the park. After taking a bunch of photos of this herd, I realized the grungy white pickup also parked in the pullout was a guvment vehicle. So I talked to the Ranger for a couple of minutes. She verified that this was one of several mini-herds of feral horses in the park


Check out the nasty scar on the shoulder of this feral horse


Then there were the Bison. Look at the tongue this guy has!


The rest of the critter photos are here

Not even going to tackle the scenery photos this now morning.