I Spent WHAT?

$45 in a candy store, yes you read that right. I was buying fudge for a friend though, that is my story. This place has everything from lemon drops to a bunch of black licorice. The Sweet Palace is in the town Phillipsburg, MT the town itself is the cutest town I’ve been in since I was a kid. This was another early start day for us as we wanted to drive from Drummond to Anaconda MT as this was a suggested day drive in one of the books. At this time I am still holding out hope for animals Custer State Park spoiled me. On the way to Anaconda I see something sitting on the fence post it turned out to be a red-tailed hawk having breakfast. So I got a treat and was able to take the time to photograph it. He finally flew away and we headed to Phillipsburg.

Well it was suggested I stop at the Palace so that was on the schedule. I first started out at the Police Museum. Inside was old time dispatch equipment, a cell taken from a jail that used to be a brig on a navel ship. Recycling at its best. Original court transcripts, cameras used in crime scene investigations. A cross that was made from 911 metal was an object that touched me.

After playing tacky tourist we were ready for second breakfast because we saw a sign that said homemade pasties. Of course we had to try. A pastie is like a small calzone filled with sausage and egg and covered in gravy. It is always good to eat where locals eat.

With full bellys I decided to go shopping I’m glad I brought both my walker and my cooling vest I have used both this trip. Start at one end of town and walk down one side of the street and back up the other side of the street. The town’s shopping district was only 4 blocks. The stores featured local artists and made in the USA. I was able to pick up some interesting trinkets. I also checked out some t-shirt shops but picked up no t-shirts (I know shocking). On to the candy shop but not so fast, I had to stop in a sapphire shop called the Sapphire Gallery. This is where you can look for sapphires in gravel. We will see how successful we are at are October rally, I bought 3 bags of gravel. I spent a total of 4 hours in this town just exploring. I think I might have been in the candy store for at least an hour.

After getting a sugar rush we set off on a ghost town adventure. The first and only stop was the remnants of Kirkville. Here we found old buildings and some newer buildings not sure if there is any current mining going on. I did get a treat it involved a badger, the only badger I ever encountered was the University of Wisconsin football mascot. He was just hanging out in a rock enclave.

We encounter some old buildings that were worth a few landscape pictures.

After exploring we went back into town and I decided to do the local museum, well worth the $5 admission. I got bold and even went down in the basement to explore some of the old relics on display.

We spent so much time exploring this area that we had to make another trip to the prison and auto museum the next day which was enjoyable in itself. I was able to get Roy’s scooter out that is a story on it own.

Wild Horses …….

not so much. I was holding out hope that maybe just maybe my Montana friend Stephanie was mistaken. She said that the ranchers are allowed to let their horse graze on state land. She also said that there are only two rogue herds and we were nowhere close. I was holding out hope though. Well, I finally was able to go through my pictures and the first dead give away was the horse trailer way in the back of one of the pictures. The second give away was the brand on the rump of the horses. That is what I get for having a lens that can see a gnat on the end of a hair. All in all I am glad they were not wild they sort of stayed put when I was fumbling with my camera.

That trip found us headed to Lincoln Montana on a day where there was not much smoke in the air of course this occurred on one of our last days in Montana, but we got at least a day of clear skies. Starting out in the morning by finding a geocache which had a special coin in it from a special lady.

More on her in another post. We then headed over the Continental Divide where you found out we were divided and I don’t know where the record button is. We did see a few young elk before we got into the mountain and that was all for large wild animals. You can also say I walked a part of the Continental Divide trail when I got out to take a picture of the sign. My story and sticking to it.

There was also this random cloud I thought I would share.

A total surprise that popped up out of the wild is called Sculpture in the Wild.

This is right before Lincoln Montana. I did not walk the whole area but was able to get two pictures of the close in sculptures. I did see a cute chipmunk that I tried to capture playing on a log, I did get him just sitting there though.

It is interesting how the artists were able to capture nature in man made structures. Lincoln was a town where you blink twice you will miss it.

We did see two sandhill cranes on our way to Helmville, Montana.

Why did we go there just to say we went there. It has some weathered buildings so I was able to practice more of landscape and composition.

Back on the road we pulled over one more time to catch what we thought were pelicans, no pictures though because they were sitting right in the sun. I did get a few pictures of geese that were also in the pull out.

One of the high points of this drive was to get a picture from the overlook above Helena I am glad the smoke cleared out. This drive was a great way to end our time in Montana.

Hey Bear

Yes, that is what you say when you come up on a bear in Alaska. No, I am not in Alaska. I was, however at Bear Country USA in Rapid City, SD. This is a drive thru wild animal park that has lions, buffalos, and bears. No tigers maybe one day I will get to Africa. I do have to say I was impressed with the amount of wide open spaces were provided for the animals in a near urban environment. After entering the gate and reading the rules, one rule was; pull to the side when taking pictures so cars can go around you. That rule was not observed by many, that was ok because it gave me more opportunity to take mountain lion pictures. I am getting ahead of myself though. Another rule was to leave your windows up at all time. On the flier you get upon entering it states ‘Stay in your cage the animals roam free here.’ There are no fences, so it is possible that you could have a visitor in your window. That might not be fun, although someone would get awesome pictures (just kidding).

The first animals right inside the gate is rocky mountain elk it was amazing the size of some of the bucks racks. The photos do not tell the whole story. This is where we encountered our first of many traffic snarls. This one was animal crossing the road. They are bigger so yes they have the right to go anywhere. We see a few reindeer hanging out by the cattle guard that separate the sections.

Around a curve we come upon two artic wolves lounging on a rock. It was a tad warm for wearing a fur coat so I understand not wanting to move. The next two animals were in hiding dall sheep and timber wolves. One of the wolves were on the passenger side of the car but I could not get a good picture.

The big horn sheep did not disappoint me with a baby who was nursing.

The nursing seems to be a repeating theme this year. I am ok with this because it is special to see the interaction between mother and baby. I was also entertained by one of the kids trying to balance on a stump just using three legs.

People who know me, know I have a few animals I still need to capture, (preferably in the wild). One being the polar bear the other is the mountain lion. After seeing the mountain lion behind a couple of electric fences I am ok with not seeing this one in the wild.

As we were driving by the enclosure one of the big cats were cranky and you could hear her displeasure quite clearly. Most of the lions were hanging out sleeping in concrete culvert I am thinking wow pretty kitty. I see the head and paws of the lion in the corner and my thought is yes this is close enough. I still want to see a polar bear in the wild.

Onward slowly to the bears because we have a bear walking down the road next to cars, he got off the road before he made it to our car. The path wound around a few man made culverts and tree structures that the bears seemed to enjoy. One that got some use was the ‘lake’ I was able to catch a bear getting out of the water.

On the way out of the bear area we had our own flasher bear. I think he was trying to hide behind a blade of grass. We finished up the trip by me dodging the rain drops to pick up some special things for my friends back home. This is well worth the trip if you are ever in Rapid City. It is not your normal zoo.

Animals Out In Front

of our dashcam. This year we have really been able to catch the animals running out in front of us. I have enjoyed being able to go back and get second and third glances of animals, or things I thought were animals. It is a plus when they hang out in front of the car because I can share these with you. I grew up in the Midwest so I have a little experience with deer running out in front of the car. I will say it is usually at night from a flat corn field. I will preface the video with I am glad Roy is the driver, because I would have thrown my hands up and screamed because I thought it was close. (it wasn’t that close)

https://videopress.com/v/29zB8638?preloadContent=metadata

Jumped Right Out There

During our stay at Custer we were also treated to a jokester who was this turkey kept wanting to weave back and forth. I think he was a wild turkey who was drinking his own brand. (remember my story lol). This guy trotted in front of us and then would not let us pass first one side of the road and then the other side of the road. This was a road less traveled in Custer State Park. I think it occurred when we were looking for you guessed it buffalo.

https://videopress.com/v/IJDGBpdH?preloadContent=metadata

Turkey Trot

https://videopress.com/v/jGGtXRCC?preloadContent=metadata

Double Cross

Also during one of our many dirt road adventures we came around a corner and saw a mom and baby pronghorn running like the wind. I never did see what was chasing them or what spooked them I do know I caught it on dashcam.

https://videopress.com/v/ScHEGNmu?preloadContent=metadata

Run

This buffalo I want to share with you did not cross in front of the car he did get close though. We were just driving up the road minding our own business, ok we were out just for an after dinner drive. I see this large black spot getting closer and closer I realize buffalo, (side note here why are the backsides so narrow?) so we slow down and watch. Roy also makes a U-turn so I can get a better picture with my cellphone, because I forgot my camera. I also wanted to show the right way to not be blocked by anything in the car when taking a picture, the kid in the sun roof has the right idea.

Living Large

The dash cam is still delivering and I will be sharing more of these adventures in the next few blogs, plus you can always find them under the 2021 videos tab.

SNAKE … eek

Yes, I did see one and it was semi close. On this outing there were animals that we had rarely seen or been able to capture with the camera. I need to mention it was another rainy day. We drove around it after I got a picture of course. (I try never to let a photo-op pass me by). Roy asked if I wanted to get out for a close-up or a selfie. My response was um, no I have a zoom for that plus my selfies need practice. Seriously, though if anyone can identify the snake I would be happy. This is one of those instances when you hear we have snakes in the park so be careful where you step, my thought was sure. My thought is I guess I will be careful when I step out of the car especially around the prairie dogs because that is where they hang out.

I had never thought about it before, but where do adult turkeys come from? Before you answer I bet you never thought about it either. Yes, they come from baby turkeys. The other day when we were driving around we saw an adult turkey with chicks but were not able to capture them on camera. (Dash cam doesn’t count in this case.) So I now have pictures after they crossed the road and dash cam of them crossing the road. So you see they do exist in the wild. We would have never captured these if it wasn’t for a detour to the Needles Highway in search of mountain goats.

I think the fact I caught the mountain goat was a one in a million shot. I am hoping on making it a two in a million shot. So the answer is no we did not see the goat. It was raining and windy at the needle eye. I did however get a few landscape pictures on the way back to camp. The sky opened to show a tad bit of blue and some detail on the needles. We also stopped at a place called ‘hole in the wall’ It was just that a hole in the wall of a rock face. So this detour led us to the turkey chicks. (not to be confused with the Dixie Chicks).

Now what brought us to even thinking about a detour and mountain goats was our trip around wildlife loop on a rainy day which was pretty much a bust. We got to the visitor’s center and saw traffic on a dirt road that buffalo usually are hiding, so off we go. The only thing we were lucky enough to see was a prong horn grazing by the side of the road. U-turn back to the visitor center, we spot a food truck check it out. We both had a buffalo brat and were treated to a buffalo sighting right in front of the car. (This is a case of dash cam counting because I have photos). Side note I talked to a family who was out here enjoying leave with their active military father. They were also lucky to catch a glimpse of the buffalo. From here we started to head back to the campsite but not before seeing the snake. Once back at camp we decided it was not time to head in so that is where the detour came in. Mixed throughout the day we spotted deer and I was able to get a few of these also.

As of July 3rd 2021 Roy has put on 1,300 miles just driving around and no more then 30 miles outside of Custer State Park. We’ve also gone through 3 tanks of gas.

Stubborn Rabbit

I can and will explain but this is what led up to our encounter with said bunny. We are now in the cycle of getting up for morning photography that is hard (Roy is rubbing off on me). It is true they say good light happens in the morning. So the 28th I have it all planned get up early, head to the Coolidge Tower Fire Outlook, take some panoramas because the view is amazing. That was the plan. That is not how it happened.

I was woke up to my phone going off at 6:15 am glad I answered it because I am going to try an hour horseback ride. (Maybe improve the balance for a few hours. The balance has been a little off, and horse riding is good for that. ) Back to the story. I fall back to sleep, then we had a power blip a long beep woke me up. I just did not have the energy to get up and out early. I got bad light because of it. We got up to the outlook about 11 am the sky was hazy and the sun was harsh I did get a panoramic. I also was lucky enough to see Crazy Horse Monument head on and George Washington on Mount Rushmore. I did take a few photos but they did not turn out, just gave me inspiration to come back and try again. seeing this was a bust we went home to eat and head into Custer to use my hotspot. (internet not happening at the campground). Back to the campground to decide where we wanted to drive again couldn’t be too far because we had dinner at 7pm.

So we headed out to wildlife loop again with a twist. We stopped to take a picture of this rock formation because the light was perfect. We then hit another dirt road for me to take a landscape with clouds and rolling hills. I find out this is one of the roads that lead to Wind Cave. So Roy and I headed for adventure. (Roy and I were both looking for more adventure.) The fact that the roads start in Custer State Park and end right outside Custer State Park it was an easy decision to travel the V. Did I mention it was also a one lane road. Well the first thing we see are Prairie Dogs these critters are prolific and they have nothing on bunnies. More on the Prairie Dogs in a few paragraphs.

So for this one lane road we are headed over ruts and stuff at a slow speed as to be able to see everything. I was able to catch out of the corner of my eye a pronghorn with her baby. They were definitely running from something and baby was trying to catch up I am mesmerized just watching how they slowed down and headed up the hill. Needless to say I did not take any photographs, we do have the crossing on dash cam though. We had one car pass us and then there was another car that decided to wait up at a turn out. This was a good thing because we ran across a stubborn bunny.

We start up towards the hill once we realize that we are going first, we see a bunny in the road. This bunny had a mind of its own and he was not budging. The rain that we had over the previous days left a water hole just perfect size for a rabbit. Picture this we slowly inch up on it until you can’t see it on dash cam thinking we get close enough that it will move. Wrong! So we inch in reverse the bunny is still there. We repeat the process again, same result. We even honk the horn the RABBIT did NOT even flinch. Roy then decides to creep up on it and have me open the door get out and chase him away. I took my camera with me got out and before I was around the front of the car it was gone. I will be sharing the dash cam of us going forward, backing up and repeating. So the guy on top of the hill started heading down and we met rolled down our windows and explained to the other guy it was the rabbit’s fault that we were not coming up the road.

The rest of the road was narrow even for a single lane had a few steep areas to it. In one place we drove up the hill and the road just disappeared over the crest. My only thought her was please no buffalo on the road at the top. There wasn’t thankfully. Although we did see a few down the road. Now for those prairie dogs. We are ending the adventure and we see hundreds of prairie dog holes on both sides of the road and even on the road. This critters were everywhere including running up down across the road. I know I will be back to photograph them. So the off road adventure had a stubborn rabbit in the middle of it all.

Buffalo Sightings

I can’t say we set out to go find buffalo on a certain day we just go driving. They will show themselves. This year we have gotten off the main roads onto the dirt roads, I’ve gotten better photos because of this. Yes, I do have lots of photos but I do not think I could ever have too many. The buffalo is a magnificent beast, they could crush you but are so gentle to their young. I have noticed that there are bulls that seem to keep away from the herd that you will see wandering around the park, you never know what you will find around a bend.

A great example of this; we were going after more pictures of the burros but when we got there we did not stop to take pictures there were too many people. I’ve explained these JAs are beggars and they draw a crowd. This was not a unproductive trip though, because right down the road there was a herd of buffalo off a dirt road. Roy drove past them and made a u-turn in a wide spot in the road so I could take pictures from a different angle. ( I love Roy’s ability to help me stretch my photography limits. ) So looking down on the vastness and also seeing all the cars on the dirt road observing them up close puts a whole new twist on things. I wonder what they think of being watched, or if they care. They care sometimes if they are snorting and shaking their head you are too close.

As I am taking pictures from the hill top I see a part of the herd start to charge towards the hill then more joined in. I am outside of the car taking photographs running through my head how quick can I move if they all charged up the hill. (answer: not that quickly.) I did venture away from the car because Roy told me they would not be here that quickly. Something spooked them so the flight instinct took hold of them. Once things settled down they started to return to the side of the dirt road and I realized that I would not be enveloped by buffalo we headed down to the dirt road to join the crowd.

It is amazing to see all the cars doing a snail slow progression to get the perfect buffalo picture or at least a cellphone snap shot. The park allow tours to find the wildlife. One of these Buffalo Safaris has multiple jeeps and because they are on a schedule they will bypass the line of cars. They looked like a colony of ants as we had about 10 of these hop the line. I think it was funny looking. I am not sure if I’ve covered this before but this year there has seemed to be a bumper crop of babies. They grow so fast, when we first arrived most of them looked young and had no horns, now you are seeing little horns appear and they seem to be putting on weight.

Once we moved up the line we did not want to travel all of the dirt road again Roy pulled a 3 point turn to head back down the road. This is where we were held up by a buffalo. His or her thought was using are car to lean on while chewing the grass. Slowly he/she moved on but not before I captured the sights and sounds of him/her next to the car. I looked up about this time and saw a mom and her calf headed towards us on the road. I much rather would have this type of traffic delay anytime. As we are winding down seeing buffalo on both sides of the road. I see a big bull standing alone on a hill looking over his domain. Perfect end to the buffalo safari.

Why Getting Out Pays Off

I wanted to practice panoramas and I wanted to include the ‘Needle’s Eye‘ (on the Needles Highway) in one of the shots. It was cloudy up the direction we were headed I said let’s try tomorrow. Roy’s like no let’s just see. I am so glad he pushed me to head up there. I got lucky. Right before the ‘Needle’s Eye’ there is a one lane tunnel, traffic was moving slow through it. We pulled up to wait our turn on the way through there was a mountain goat on one of the ledges right next to the car. I was nervous he might try and jump on the hood. He was looking for a way down. It is funny, a part of me wanted to reach out and touch him, but, common sense won out. After making it through the tunnel with no hoof prints on the car, I headed over to see if he had jumped down. He had and there was a baby and another goat licking the inside of the tunnel, this was an unexpected treat that would not have happened had we stayed home. That is the cool thing about being in a place for an extended period you can keep returning to an area and get different results. As for the panorama with the ‘Needle’s Eye’ my mind remembered it a different way,(so no picture) funny how memories play tricks on us. I had a similar experience with the Rushmore tunnels.

So after I finished taking pictures of the goats and the Needle’s Eye’ we headed off to find the burros but like every good trip you need a detour. Let me preface this with I hate heights, that said we decided to visit the Mount Coolidge Fire Tower. The road up is all gravel and climbs to over 6,000 feet. The views are amazing and I can see why this is still an active fire lookout. I will be getting some panoramas from this spot in the near future (even if I have to close my eyes on the way up.) I had an easier time going down the hill looking at rocks made that happen. I enjoy seeing the vastness from ground level. So after the detour Roy and I thought we missed the burros NOT.

These burros are beggars they will eat mostly anything, although they prefer apples but when that doesn’t work it’s carrots, or whatever you have. I was able to offer some people apples to feed them. (I’m a looker not a feeder). This boy Aiden was a little nervous about feeding one it was cool to see his smile once the burro took the apple. Also a father and his 2 daughters got in on the act. I think it is amazing how the interaction between people and animals develop. I also have been enjoying the bond between mother and child. I have photographed a nursing pair almost every day.

From here we headed off to find the buffalo because an outing is not finished until I get my fix for the day. We did not have to travel far either when we ran into a small herd just crossing the road. It is awe inspiring to think at one time the plains were full of these majestic creatures. The most we have seen at one time is about 300. Every year the park has a round up to check the health of the herd called the buffalo roundup.

We still were not completely around the loop and wondered out load where are all the pronghorns heading this year. A ranger had mentioned that the herd was having some issues and these animals are hard to find. Some one was listening because up popped a few of these animals. In fact one looked very pregnant. I was also able to get a picture of one.

So it just goes to show you never know what you will find when you head out on an adventure.

The Dog and Pony Show

I mean the Prairie Dog and Semi Wild Burro show all located on wildlife loop. Hanging around Custer and giving my long lens and arms a workout (I forgot how heavy the 150 – 600mm is), Roy and I decided to go hunt up some Prairie Dogs and maybe find some burros to add to the mix. We have gotten lucky with both seeing animals and being able to take the time to shoot them. I came prepared for the long haul, my chair, my ice vest, and camera now all that was needed was some cooperating animals. Before we set up shop to watch the Prairie Dogs a pack of burros and humans blocked our way.

These burros are descendants of the original pack mules used in the park. Here is a link to another blog that also talks about the burros They were first used as work animals then were used to ferry passengers up to the top of Black Elk Peak (formerly Harney Peak). When trips were discontinued the burros were left to roam the park. The fact that their ancestors were accustomed to human contact, they have remained semi wild. This allows tourist to feed them (apples and carrots). This year has been very fruitful for the herd, as a fire damaged some of them a few years ago and they lost some to diabetes. So the babies are a welcome sight. It was funny how mellow the baby was but also how close mama was to her foal. I did pet the foal she was so soft. The photo of this little girl just happened (right place right time). I got lucky that I did not get kicked. I was telling all of the kids do not walk behind the burro so what do I do. Yup, walk close behind the burro. I was busy taking pictures and almost screamed when one of the adults nudged my arm I’m glad he didn’t like my camera. The burros decided to move on so it was time to go to town. (Prairie Dog Town that is.)

So upon arriving I pull out my chair, don my vest, and grab the camera, i did not have to wait long until they were popping like whack a moles. I was also excited that I kept bouncing around to this hole and that hole. I finally settled down with a family of five mom dad and three little ones. The interaction was precious watching the sentry stand tall while the rug rats ran a muck. Then out of the corner of my lens I catch two lovers in the heat of the moment, ok maybe just foreplay. It all started with a hug, a coy gesture, some nibbles, and then the rest is up to you. Another mound held a mom and two babies who stuck together like glue. It was almost like a game of Simon Says. a behavior I tried to catch but always just missed was the way they throw food in the air and then jump after it. I was great at catching the landing. I spent a little over an hour photographing these cute little critters and look forward to more adventures with them. Roy and I have run across three other areas to set up camp with them.