The scenery has been fantastic and the weather gorgeous, with the exception of a little afternoon wind. My first night here it got down to 35 degrees, which was refreshing but I’m sure glad my furnace worked. Most birds I expected to see have been plentiful, except for the surprising scarcity of large raptors. And so far, no flat tires.
I’m a little concerned about my back. All this sitting while driving has caused me to get repeated, nasty cramps in my legs. I had four of them yesterday and they definitely get your attention.
But other than that, everything is going swimmingly. Here’s an example (if it posts correctly, it may not).
Pronghorns are abundant in the valley and I found this doe and her young fawn right at sunrise yesterday morning as I was leaving camp. Mama watched me with an eagle eye to make sure I wasn’t a threat, but Junior was just curious about the world – looking almost everywhere but where I was.
In addition to pronghorn I’ve been photographing a wide variety of birds, including Trumpeter Swans (also with babies). It’s been a productive trip so far.
Ron
It must feel wonderful to be back in MT. I am glad there have been no problems!
Stay Safe,
Kaye
Beautiful photograph! Glad the trip is going well so far.
Looking forward to seeing more fruits of your labor!!
We went up to Red Rock Summit last evening to watch the storm roll through the valley and because I chase lightning. The sunset with the dark clouds was glorious, didn’t you think? I did wonder if you knew why they have bird boxes on almost all the fences in the valley. Are they specifically for Mountain Bluebirds? Safe journey home.
Drink more water! A magnesium supplement helps, too. Easy to not drink enough when you are in a new place & excited about what you’re seeing.
Drink more water! A magnesium supplement helps, too. Easy to not drink enough when you are in a new place & excited about what you’re seeing.
It looks beautiful. Sigh at the cramps. They certainly get your attention don’t they? I used to wake my partner up in the small hours when they woke me shrieking. He can now sleep through them. I hope yours subside and look forward (a lot) to seeing more of your trip.
Cute baby! Sounds like a wonderful trip except leg cramps. I would be so happy with 35 degrees!
Ron – good to hear from you. Nice pronghorn shot. Other than various stretch exercises I use a product called Intense Muscle Roll On – all natural pain relief – I carry it with me to use if I get let cramps when I am out birding etc. Made by SkinSense Organic in Phoenix.
Glad the mama and baby pronghorns made a showing, for you and for us. There’s plenty of good advice in today’s comments about how to (perhaps) relieve your back/leg cramp issues so I won’t add any here (as if I had any). Just know we all feel your pain, some of us quite literally! Fingers X’d that the raptors appear before you must finally head home.
Glad to hear the trip is going well – sounds like a gorgeous area. I hope the leg cramps settle down soon. Thanks for the beautiful photo of the pronghorn doe and fawn.
So excited things are working out up there, Ron! Hope you get the leg cramps sorted soon. I love the shot of the mama and baby Pronghorns and am looking forward to seeing other Centennial Valley youngsters.
35 is going to sound wonderful when I’m dog-sitting for my friends in Vegas later this summer. It was 110 at their house yesterday and it’s only mid-June. 🙀
Centennial Valley is such a special place! I hope the Swainsons and the Ferruginous show up. Enjoy, John
Wishing you luck and comfort as you continue to brighten my days with your wonderful photos. Back pain appears to be the price we pay for outliving our skeletons. I’m another of your fans whose sympathy is based on experience.
Glad you ate having a great adventure so far!! Your legs are telling you to take more breaks, walk for awhile, then back on the road. Aging is SO fun! 😀
Good news! Except for the leg cramps of course……..
Brother Mike flies out of Ft. Benton for Poulsen and then on to Seattle this morning since weather plans to turn nasty over the next few days. Hope it cuts you some slack down there!
I’m glad that the scenery is all that you hoped it would be, except for the raptors. They’ll show up eventually.
As for your poor back, as a fellow back pain person, I’ve gone through pillows at the small of my back, those squishy but supportive pillows you sit on, and lots and lots of Ibuprofen. I’m now eyeing a plug-in heating pad.
How are your feet holding up?
Wonderful, as always, to get to experience parts of the world I would not without your photos and words! Merci, thank you!
Glad to hear that you made it up OK and that all of the tires did, too.
Surely sounds like a magnificent valley…..as one ages, keeping
magnesium pills/capsules around for leg cramps is very helpful–
just sayin’….I’m looking forward to your posts– especially the pronghorns–one of my favorite mammals. When running in herds–they FLOW around the hills like water……..
I always look forward to your daily updates. The photo you posted today of the mama pronghorn and her little one is precious.
Take good care of your back. I sympathize with you as I recently have developed back issues.
Safe travels.
That’s so exciting to hear about the Centennial Valley. It sounds beautiful and like you’re there at a nice time to see the babies. I hope the walking around looking at things helps your back. Is there much for wildflowers?
Well, you made it Ron (back issues aside). Got the post. Looks fine.
35 degrees in June. Different world.
Looking forward to the next post. Safe and happy journey to ya.