Vacation Journal
Thursday, June 16, 2005
Thursday, June 16, 2005
We decided to act like teenagers and just drive around with no particular place to go and no particular thing to do. We looked for the Sandhill Cranes but did not find them. They must have moved, but we can't find them anywhere.
We took a couple side roads we had not been on before. They basically just lead to the Madison River for fisherman's access. I think we have now driven almost every road in the park that is open to the public.
We saw lots of people fishing today, but we still have not seen anyone catch a fish. However, we were doing some bird watching today and didn't see that many birds. We did eat our picnic lunch at a picnic area called Whiskey Flats. The Flats are a wetland meadow next to the picnic area. We saw lots of Yellow-headed Blackbirds in the Flats. They're nice entertainment during lunch.
We did see a group of Elk that included three calves. The calves are just now starting to show up. Apparently the females hide in the woods for several days after the calves are born.
We also saw one of the young Eagles standing on the nest in the Madison Valley. He opened his wings and flexed and flapped them a lot while hopping around the nest, but he never attempted to fly. Yesterday we got glimpses of two young eagles, but only one was showing today. The parents are gone from the nest a lot more now, so I guess the young don't need as much protection anymore. We hope we get to see them fly before we leave in 10 days.
We did have one first today - all five Trumpeter Swans on the Madison River were together near Seven Mile Bridge. We have never seen all of them in the same place before.
We got back to West Yellowstone by 4:00, picked up our mail, and relaxed for the rest of the evening. Our mail included a really cute picture of Haylee and her brother TJ. The picture is now hanging on the trailer's bulletin board along with the three pictures of our grandkids that have been hanging there since we left home.
We took a couple side roads we had not been on before. They basically just lead to the Madison River for fisherman's access. I think we have now driven almost every road in the park that is open to the public.
We saw lots of people fishing today, but we still have not seen anyone catch a fish. However, we were doing some bird watching today and didn't see that many birds. We did eat our picnic lunch at a picnic area called Whiskey Flats. The Flats are a wetland meadow next to the picnic area. We saw lots of Yellow-headed Blackbirds in the Flats. They're nice entertainment during lunch.
We did see a group of Elk that included three calves. The calves are just now starting to show up. Apparently the females hide in the woods for several days after the calves are born.
We also saw one of the young Eagles standing on the nest in the Madison Valley. He opened his wings and flexed and flapped them a lot while hopping around the nest, but he never attempted to fly. Yesterday we got glimpses of two young eagles, but only one was showing today. The parents are gone from the nest a lot more now, so I guess the young don't need as much protection anymore. We hope we get to see them fly before we leave in 10 days.
We did have one first today - all five Trumpeter Swans on the Madison River were together near Seven Mile Bridge. We have never seen all of them in the same place before.
We got back to West Yellowstone by 4:00, picked up our mail, and relaxed for the rest of the evening. Our mail included a really cute picture of Haylee and her brother TJ. The picture is now hanging on the trailer's bulletin board along with the three pictures of our grandkids that have been hanging there since we left home.
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