Note: Some readers will likely be annoyed when they try to read today’s post. Two days ago, while I was working on this post, my screen suddenly jumped and after that the entire look of my blog had changed. The text is smaller and even the photos look a little different. It only effects my blog – nothing else. At the time I wasn’t even using the keyboard or the mouse so something weird must have happened with WordPress.
So far I haven’t been smart enough to fix it myself so I may have to get some help. In the meantime, apologies to my readers.
I’m home. It was an adventure.
I came home a day or two early because of a huge winter storm system approaching western Montana. On Thursday evening I was rocking and rolling inside my little trailer with wind gusts I estimated to be 60-70 mph (growing up in Montana I’m pretty good at estimating wind speed) and it was raining when I got up Friday morning. The forecast called for rain on Friday and Saturday and snow on Sunday, so I decided to tuck my tail and head for home, arriving Friday afternoon. I still believe that was the smart move.
But it was glorious while I was there, mostly. Weather was good to excellent most of the time but the wind picked up each afternoon.
Wind would normally put a damper on bird photography but in one magical spot I found, huge flocks of phalaropes and stilts, and smaller groups of other birds, took advantage of the wind and literally cavorted in it, providing me with many hours of entertainment and photo ops for flight shots over several days.
This is one of the smaller flocks of Wilson’s Phalaropes that were playing in the wind, which allowed me to get the entire flock in the frame. Most flocks were much larger.
Wind sometimes helped with individual birds too. The wind slowed this White-faced Ibis down, so I was able to get quite a few frame-filling shots of this bird as it was coming in to land on the shore.
Touring the huge Centennial Valley was like seeing an old friend again and I found and photographed a fair number of interesting birds during the process. I also had visits with some interesting people who play vital roles in the Centennial Valley, including at Red Rock Lakes NWR.
For this report I’ll divide the things I want to mention relative to the trip into three categories – The Good, The Bad and The Ugly.
The Good:
- No flat tires on this trip! I’ve had as many as four flats on other trips to the valley.
Cell phone photo of Trumpeter Swans on Lower Red Rock Lake. That’s my lens on the left.
- I actually stayed in a primitive campground this time – River Marsh Campground within the refuge. It’s isolated and remote (about 3 miles off of the main gravel/dirt road through the valley) and I was the only camper there for the entire trip. I could and did photograph birds on Lower Red Rock Lake while sitting on a chair in front of my trailer, which is what I was doing when the cell phone photo above was taken.
- Besides birds, pronghorn were abundant and some of them had fawns of varying ages. I actually found and photographed one pronghorn doe that had triplets.
- While touring the very remote North Road I met a local rancher, Justin (a nice guy), and visited with him for over half an hour. Justin runs over 1000 head of cattle in the valley. It was interesting to get Justin’s perspective on a lot of things relative to potential conflicts between ranchers, the refuge and visitors to the valley – including trespassing, running cattle on refuge land, gopher hunting and recent efforts to promote more cooperation between ranchers and conservation organizations such as the Nature Conservancy.
- Red Rock Lakes NWR has been without an official manager for some time but late Thursday I had the honor of meeting the new manager on the evening before her first day on the job. We visited for about 20 minutes through my open pickup window, about things such as cutting barbed wire to free raptors and pronghorn caught in the “devil wire” and challenges faced by federal workers these days. I won’t name her because the announcement still hasn’t been made officially and it’s not up to me to make it. I believe she’ll be the first female manager of Red Rock Lakes NWR. I predict that she’ll be a good one.
The Bad:
- With the impending storm, on Friday morning I had to get outa there in a hurry, and early. I know from experience that those roads turn into grease when they’re more than just a little wet and pulling a trailer would only make it worse, especially going up Monida Hill. It was a nightmare trying to get my trailer hooked up to my pickup while it was raining and still mostly dark. Thankfully it didn’t start raining really hard until I was almost halfway across the 45-mile-wide valley. To make things worse, with me sopping wet and anxious to get on the road, I forgot to pay my camping fees. I’ve mailed the money to the refuge but I still feel like a freeloader.
- My electric coffeemaker died on my second day there. Damn good thing I have alternate ways of making coffee.
- The propane stove in my trailer is faulty. Burners won’t stay lit unless I keep the control knob depressed. Can you imagine trying to cook while having to use one hand to hold the knob down the entire time? That’ll be fixed under warranty.
- Too much sitting while driving caused me to have four severe leg cramps on my first full day there. They were bad enough to make me consider going home (although I wasn’t sure how I was going to do that in my condition). Thankfully they didn’t reoccur after that first day.
- I bent a leveling jack on my trailer, an old habit of mine while I’m negotiating rough roads or trying to get in or out of tight, dicey spots with the trailer.
The Ugly. There’s only one ugly.
This trip almost ended in disaster very soon after it began. Less than an hour after I left home for Montana, I ran over road debris on the freeway. Lots of it. It was completely unavoidable, especially while pulling the trailer. I’m not sure what the debris was but it looked like multiple large, flesh-colored, irregularly shaped chunks of something similar to Styrofoam – all differently shaped but each one was significantly larger than a basketball, some nearly twice as big. At 65 mph while pulling the trailer I couldn’t swerve so I just ran over them. Seconds later I saw the pickup that had lost part of its load pulled off the side of the freeway in front of me.
I say it “looked like Styrofoam” but I don’t think Styrofoam could cause as much vibration and noise as this stuff caused when I ran over it. For several reasons I believe it was something heavier and more dense than Styrofoam but I really don’t know what it was.
Once I realized that I survived without a wreck, or a blowout, I pulled off at the next exit to check for damage and found none (another vehicle was pulled over there for the same reason). I was most fearful about damage to some of the underside plumbing of the trailer. But I got lucky. Very very lucky.
I’m home from a shorter trip than I intended it to be but I’m very glad I went. I’ve just barely started looking at my many photos from the trip but you’ll likely be seeing quite a few of them over the next couple of weeks.
The first three miles after I leave that campground headed for home in the wee hours of the morning is always a sad part of the drive for me. But this time this Short-eared Owl was waiting for me in the dim light at the cattle guard. ‘He’ flew off before I got there but he landed close enough for me to get this shot as he was taking off again.
I like to think he was there to tell me goodbye and wish me a safe trip home. But then I can be a bit of a romantic. And an anthropomorphist.
Ron
So much fun to read your accounts when things test you. The pics you put up are so perfect. Thanks you always. Linda covey
Glad that you went – and got home safely (and there safely after your battle with the foam stuff. The shot of the swan was beautiful!!
And – loved the story of the owl – bidding you farewell and a safe journey home. Stove problem would be SO frustrating!!!
Thanks for sharing. Ever thought of moving back?? I asked you that when you retired – but can’t remember your reply. I’m retired 38 years – and counting. Moved 6x since then – and would love to return to Snowflake if it were possible. Alas -It is NOT! Take Care!
“Ever thought of moving back?”
I sure have, Judy. Many times over the years.
I retired days after turning 57 and I wanted to move back to MT then but back then my health insurance (from the school district) wouldn’t transfer out of state. By the time I got on Medicare at 65 my back had gone bad and I was too damn old for such a move anyway.
When I found out I was a Canadian citizen (dual citizenship because my mother was a Canadian citizen when I was born) I also considered moving to Alberta but I still had the back and age problems. So I’m stuck here in a state that drives me crazy.
When I graduated from the U of U in 1970 it was always my intention to move back to MT for my career but for complicated reasons that didn’t happen. Seemingly small decisions when you’re young can sure affect the rest of your life.
Glad you got to get out among-‘em in MT, Ron. The shot of the phlock of phalaropes is pretty special. I’m thinking that Galileo sent the Shortie to wish you safe travels home. What a relief that potentially very ugly events turned out to be relatively benign!
Glad you like the phalarope shot, Marty. I like photos like that too but not everyone does.
Was beginning to worry about you. Glad to hear you are (reasonably) well and safe. That third photo with the swans just tugs at my soul. what an awesome land that is. Had to read the sentence noting “huge winter storm system” a couple times. In June? Seems Montana is a different world than what I know, and boy do I want to go there some day.
That Shortie sighting was both a farewell and a hello. That must have felt good.
Love your bird photos, but I have come to look forward to reading your stories of the days and nights that come along with those photos. wouldn’t hurt to throw a few shots of the surroundings and features of the places you visit. Stuff of dreams. Keep it coming.
“Seems Montana is a different world than what I know”
It’s a different world than a lot of people know, Michael.
That Shortie sighting was one of only two I had on this trip. I got no photos of the other one.
I should have a few “shots of the surroundings and features of the place” that I can include in future posts. I’ll do it for you… 🙂
Thank you!
I am so pleased that the good outweighed both the ugly and the bad – which is not always the case.
And looking forward to seeing more photos. Lots more.
Thanks, EC.
Happy that you made the trip even if cut short this time. You always tell a nice story along with the pictures. Yes winter has still got its foot in the door in Wyoming and Montana, this time of year.
“You always tell a nice story along with the pictures.”
That means a lot, Trudy. Thank you.
My cousin Ken Dudley often said that it could snow in MT any month of the year. Including July.
Perhaps it’s because I’m (as usual) late to the party, but absolutely no issues here with text or photos on your blog today. And although it was cut short, I’m very happy the time you had in your beloved valley was mostly a photographer’s (and camper’s) delight. Could have done without the road debris, wailing winds, broken burner and coffee pot, but all in all, an Excellent Adventure was had. Some of my best adventures involve putting up (or taking down) a tent in the rain! Looking forward to seeing more photos; Ibis and Shortie definitely whet the appetite. 😉
“”absolutely no issues here with text or photos on your blog today.”
I’m delighted to hear that Chris, in part because I may not be able to fix it so it might become a permanent feature.
I once almost went sailing high over Lake Powell when I was trying to keep my tent from being blown away in a windstorm. I was cleaning sand out of my ears for hours after that. Maybe days…
Do you usually find it easier to come in from the Monida side or do you ever use the Rock Road that enters from highway 20? Did you see any Mormon Crickets this year?
Suzanne, I always go in from Monida. For me it’s a straight shot on I-15 of 297 miles from my home in Murray UT to Monida. I’ve been an I-15 boy ever since it was built (highway 91 before that). Long story…
Nope, I didn’t notice any Mormon crickets on this trip.
I had you in my thoughts this weekend and am happy to learn you are home safely. I’m sorry your trip was so short. You can go again when the time is right.
Thanks, Betty. I may go again in the fall. Or sooner if I can’t resist the temptation…
Thank you Ron. Just to be clear: You manually decide your ISO for each and every photo shoot? I’m looking into a more powerful laptop that can handle Lightroom. Slightly fearful of the learning curve, but I’m up for it. At my age, I guess I have nothing to lose!
“Just to be clear: You manually decide your ISO for each and every photo shoot?”
Yes, I do. But usually I don’t have to change it all that often because light conditions tend to be fairly stable over short periods of time. I just keep an eye on my shutter speed and change my ISO if I have to.
I was fearful of that learning curve too but it wasn’t as bad as I thought it might be. These days I absolutely despise having to process an image taken as a jpeg.
Hope the next is better for you.
Thanks, Charlotte. Overall, this trip was a good one.
I was down south during part of your trip where it was 102-105 degrees. I was thinking of you and how wonderful it would be to feel cold. I have been delightfully enjoying this cold front since my return home. I was concerned about you with this same cold front and storm. Seeing photos of snow in parts of Montana and Yellowstone had me messaging you about your whereabouts. Glad you made it safely, it’s a bit scary being out alone. I still do it but lately prefer company. If I got a flat on the 4Runner there is no way I could change it alone. The tires are too heavy for me now. Road debris is a huge problem, I can’t imagine trying to dodge it with hauling a trailer. I look forward to more photos as you post them. Centennial looks very similar to the Camas Valley. It was painful for me to leave and come back to Salt Lake from all the beauty and solitude. I bet you felt similar even while escaping the storm.
” I bet you felt similar even while escaping the storm.”
I sure did, April. But then I always do when I’m leaving that valley.
Thanks for your concern about me on this trip. I’m always a little bit concerned about myself but that makes me be extra careful. So far, in all my trips up there, I’ve never had a major disaster. A few minor ones, but that’s to be expected.
Welcome home Ron! Overall an excellent adventure especially with the owl saying goodbye.
Thanks, Kathleen. That’s not the first time an owl has greeted me at that cattle guard when I’m on my way home.
Thank you! From home in New England it’s always good to hear about other parts of the world! And I always enjoy and appreciate your critter photos!
Thank you, Mary. More critter photos are coming.
You are a man who can do it all, but would be neat and safer
for you if you had a friend who would accompany you on these
trips. Good thing the good outnumbered the bad and ugly.
Love watching and photographing Stilts. When they arrive at one of our lakes they will fly around and around before deciding where to land. Really fun to watch. Interesting post.
Glad you enjoyed it, Everett. With this little trailer, having anyone else along would be much too ‘cozy’ for me. And for them, I’m sure.
WOW! You’ve been on my mind with the weather coming in. Worst of us went around us tho we did manage to pick up some needed rain that came down nicely over time! Glad you were able to get up to the Centennial and enjoy a short trip without major disasters. 😉 Luv the abundance of birds! 🙂
Thanks, Judy. Before the storm hit I saw that they were forecasting up to 2′ of snow in parts of Glacier NP and over an inch of rain in Cut Bank. I hope CB got at least that much because they really need it.
That was an eventful trip for you. I think you are pretty brave to go on these trips all by yourself. On another note, I love your birds in flight photos. Do you think you could always show your shutter/aperture/iso that you use for your photos?
Thanks, Mel. I’ll try to remember to include my image techs for the photos I post from this trip in the future.
Techs for the Short-eared Owl photo in this post are 1/1600, f/5.6, ISO 2500. My ISO was bumped up quite a bit because it was still pretty dark.
Thank you Ron. I have my new Nikon Z50 ii and am still learning my way around white balance. May I ask you if you use Auto ISO but with a sensitive range of 100 and the maximum being 10000? That was on a YouTube video by Hudson Henry. I would think you would have ‘blown out’ photos all the time with that high of an ISO with a Bird in Flight. That is all I photograph: My tagged Red Tail hawks. Plus, I do not have Lightroom as my computer can’t handle it so I don’t shoot in Raw and then do post processing.
Mel, I never use auto ISO and always use auto white balance.
I predict that once you start shooting in RAW you’ll never go back. During processing the positive difference is enormous.