Vacation Journal
Tuesday, June 14, 2005
Tuesday, June 14, 2005
What a long day! We left the trailer shortly after 9:00. We went into Idaho and took a drive up a gravel road to the top of Sawtell Mountain. The drive was about 10 miles and we gained 3,500 feet. It was a good gravel road that is well-maintained because it is traveled every day of the year. The top of the mountain is 9,862 feet. There is a LARGE FAA radar complex on top as well as several other radio facilities. The radar complex is staffed 7x24x365. There was a lot of snow on top, but the road was clear all the way. You can see snow-capped mountain ranges in all directions. You could see the whole backside of the Tetons. They were gorgeous. We enjoyed all the views and then took the mostly one-lane gravel road back down. There were several hairpin curves, but only near the top. There is a second FAA building halfway down the mountain which is also staffed. It has a big garage that houses snowplows. One of the staff members at this location is charged with clearing the road to the top everytime it snows. It did snow quite a bit last week while we were getting rain in West Yellowstone. The road is open to the public between June 1 and November 1. I recommend that anyone out this way should give it a try. It is only about 25 miles from West Yellowstone.
We next took a dirt road (mostly dirt, with occassional gravel) 27 miles into a true wilderness, Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge. This refuge is credited with saving the Trumpeter Swan. We saw at least 10 Trumpeter Swans as we drove through the area. I'm sure there are a lot more. We drove to a very primitive camping area on the banks of Lower Red Rock Lake to watch birds. We also drove up to a small dam and watched some more. Altogether, on our drive in and out and our two stops, we saw 24 different kinds of birds in about three hours - mostly without leaving the pickup. Actually we saw a few more, but we identified 24 kinds. We got seven new birds: Western Meadowlark, Caspian Tern, Forster's Tern, Franklin Gull, Northern Waterthrush, American Avocet, and Wilson's Phalarope. The Caspian Tern would hover in the air just offshore and about 25 feet up. If it didn't see any small fish, it would move about 50 feet and do it again. If it sees a small fish, it dives into the water with a big splash and usually comes out with a two or three inch fish in its mouth. We saw one dive close to us. We also saw several others fly by with small fish in their mouths. They hover almost as good as a hummingbird.
We saw hundreds of Mountain Bluebirds and various swallows, especially Barn Swallows. They both showed a lot of blue in the bright sunlight we had. We also saw many Ruddy Ducks and American Coots. We got close views of a Western Grebe diving to feed. He could go a long ways underwater. He often went 50 feet or more before he resurfaced, but he always worked his way back to where we were standing because there was running water where we were. The American Avocets and Wilson's Phalaropes were in flocks of 15 to 20. They didn't mind my noisy truck driving up beside them. We got to enjoy them for as long as we wanted.
I also saw what I think was a beaver swim by on the lake. I took a picture with my film camera and then he went underwater when he saw me and I never saw him again.
We saw one female Pronghorn with a very cute and small young Pronghorn - the smallest one we have seen.
Just as we were about to get back to civilization, we saw one Raven chasing another Raven. We stopped to watch. The Raven being chased had an egg in its mouth. I guess the other Raven was trying to take it. It was amazing that the birds could twist and turn so much and the egg did not get broken. We saw a Raven steal a duck egg last year and fly off with the egg unbroken in its mouth. Apparently Ravens have a soft touch with that big mouth of theirs.
We got back to West Yellowstone after 5:00, ate a pizza for supper, and went to see Star Wars III: The Revenge of the Sith. It was a long day. It got up to 74 degrees at one point. I felt like I needed to hose myself down to cool off. I'm not use to these hot temperatures.
We next took a dirt road (mostly dirt, with occassional gravel) 27 miles into a true wilderness, Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge. This refuge is credited with saving the Trumpeter Swan. We saw at least 10 Trumpeter Swans as we drove through the area. I'm sure there are a lot more. We drove to a very primitive camping area on the banks of Lower Red Rock Lake to watch birds. We also drove up to a small dam and watched some more. Altogether, on our drive in and out and our two stops, we saw 24 different kinds of birds in about three hours - mostly without leaving the pickup. Actually we saw a few more, but we identified 24 kinds. We got seven new birds: Western Meadowlark, Caspian Tern, Forster's Tern, Franklin Gull, Northern Waterthrush, American Avocet, and Wilson's Phalarope. The Caspian Tern would hover in the air just offshore and about 25 feet up. If it didn't see any small fish, it would move about 50 feet and do it again. If it sees a small fish, it dives into the water with a big splash and usually comes out with a two or three inch fish in its mouth. We saw one dive close to us. We also saw several others fly by with small fish in their mouths. They hover almost as good as a hummingbird.
We saw hundreds of Mountain Bluebirds and various swallows, especially Barn Swallows. They both showed a lot of blue in the bright sunlight we had. We also saw many Ruddy Ducks and American Coots. We got close views of a Western Grebe diving to feed. He could go a long ways underwater. He often went 50 feet or more before he resurfaced, but he always worked his way back to where we were standing because there was running water where we were. The American Avocets and Wilson's Phalaropes were in flocks of 15 to 20. They didn't mind my noisy truck driving up beside them. We got to enjoy them for as long as we wanted.
I also saw what I think was a beaver swim by on the lake. I took a picture with my film camera and then he went underwater when he saw me and I never saw him again.
We saw one female Pronghorn with a very cute and small young Pronghorn - the smallest one we have seen.
Just as we were about to get back to civilization, we saw one Raven chasing another Raven. We stopped to watch. The Raven being chased had an egg in its mouth. I guess the other Raven was trying to take it. It was amazing that the birds could twist and turn so much and the egg did not get broken. We saw a Raven steal a duck egg last year and fly off with the egg unbroken in its mouth. Apparently Ravens have a soft touch with that big mouth of theirs.
We got back to West Yellowstone after 5:00, ate a pizza for supper, and went to see Star Wars III: The Revenge of the Sith. It was a long day. It got up to 74 degrees at one point. I felt like I needed to hose myself down to cool off. I'm not use to these hot temperatures.
Archives
May 2005 June 2005 August 2005 September 2005 August 2006 September 2006
