About 3:00 P. M. today, I finally made it to Bison Range NWR, which will be my home until mid-August. I'm pretty exhausted since I've been getting up around 4:00 A.M. each day and then staying up way too long in the evenings. I've also unloaded about two-thirds of my car and stopped for a little grocery shopping when I drove through Missoula, the closest big town.
So I'll just give you a peek of what I saw as I drove in and then as I drove around the part of the auto tour that is open. The staff expects to be able to open the rest for the weekend when we'll be celebrating Migration Day and Refuge Opening Day for the summer.
So far, I know I'm going to be getting a little training tomorrow, and then Saturday, I'll get to go birding early in the morning - I think it starts at 7:00 A.M. Then I'll run a game called Migration Headache for visiting kids for several hours. And finally, I'll get to go on an evening tour at 6:00 P.M.
It's 10:00 P.M. and I still need to take a shower and make my bed. I do have a large room with 2 single beds so for sure can have female company. We'll have to see if there is extra room for males.
Last night, I got to camp across the Tongue River from a dipper's nest. Very cool.
So I'll just give you a peek of what I saw as I drove in and then as I drove around the part of the auto tour that is open. The staff expects to be able to open the rest for the weekend when we'll be celebrating Migration Day and Refuge Opening Day for the summer.
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| View from the parking lot |
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| And turning to the right, you see this collection of antlers |
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| This huge crabapple tree is in the yard of one of the staff |
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| I was glad to see the yellow-headed blackbirds |
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| Prairies and forest make beautiful patterns |
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| The Mission River flows down from the Mission Mountains |
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| White-tailed deer |
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| I saw over fifty pronghorns |
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| This was the only bison visible tonight |
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| Lots of these flowers were growing in groups in the prairie |
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| Mountain bluebird - western are also supposed to be here |
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| A few of a small herd of horses used to herd the buffalo |
It's 10:00 P.M. and I still need to take a shower and make my bed. I do have a large room with 2 single beds so for sure can have female company. We'll have to see if there is extra room for males.
Last night, I got to camp across the Tongue River from a dipper's nest. Very cool.
I know I'm going to enjoy your pics from the bison range this summer. Glad you arrived safely.
ReplyDeleteYou sure hit the ground running!
ReplyDeleteIt's all that marathon paddling. Makes everything else look like a piece of cake. But I'm about to take a nap after only 6 hours of work.
ReplyDeleteYou seem to have landed a fortunate assignment. That picture of the Missouri River with the mountains in the background is stunning. As much as I love animals and shots of interesting flora, nothing beats a vista like that.
ReplyDeleteI found this is actually called Mission Creek. And we have Mission Mountains to the east and Rattlesnake Mountains to the west. VERY beautiful views, especially with a little snow still on them.
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