In September, 2023 Ruth and I did a trip that we called "Our Western Odyssey" drive. We did almost 7000 miles through Iowa, South Dakota, Wyoming, Montana, Utah, Colorado, and Nebraska - just naming states west of the Mississippi River. We returned with 10,000 photos, T-shirts, stickers, bites, bruises, a cracked windshield, maybe a cracked rib, Covid positive, and big smiles. We added 8 animals and 18 birds to our life list - and we each lost 6 pounds from our body fat.
We traveled interstates and lesser highways - we drove secondary roads, gravel roads, dirt roads, open range, and we trekked single track roads rarely seen by the tourist or a road-work crew. We did 75 miles of trails with 20 pounds of camera equipment and water. We drove up some very steep hills and low-geared for as much as 40 miles of tight, downward switch-backs. We ate nuts and raisins, cold-cuts and cheese on crackers, fruit, Gator aid - and there was that huge hand-dipped icecream cone at a store 100 miles from nowhere. Sometimes, we ate in a restaurant if we returned before they closed.
So, after almost a month, we returned home and below 6500 feet elevation, but our hearts and minds still linger in the mountains and big skies. Below are my favorite photos with comments to show you why.
AS YOU BROWSE, CLICK ANY IMAGE TO ENLARGE
Along the way, we saw a few interesting things.
Man leading dinosaur - South Dakota
Mt. Moriah Cemetery in Deadwood, SD. We had to see these graves.
Wall Drug is a hoot for a tourist trap.
Dignity of Earth and Sky (shortened to Dignity for brevity) is a sculpture on a bluff overlooking the Missouri River near Chamberlain, South Dakota. The 50-foot (15.24 meter) high stainless-steel statue by South Dakota artist laureate Dale Claude Lamphere depicts an Indigenous woman in Plains-style dress receiving a star quilt. According to Lamphere, the sculpture honors the culture of the Lakota and Dakota peoples who are indigenous to South Dakota.
Of Course, we had to go to Mount Rushmore. I tried to get photos that offer different prespectives of this American treasure. Mount Rushmore. One shot on approach, one closeup, 2 from the tunnels leading out on a very exciting road (not for nervous drivers), and the last from several miles away in Custer State Park, SD..
Custer State Park, SD is just full of animals
- some a little too close.
- some a little too close.
How can you deny a Prairie Dog when he's begging at the roadside? Ruth gave him an apple - cored and sliced of course.
There are wild Burros in Custer State Park, SD. They will put their heads into your car and insist on having a trick or treat time. Of course, Ruth had apples.
There are Longhorn Cattle in Custer State Park, SD. Thankfully they did not put their heads into our car. And Ruth did not feed them.
And on we went into Bighorn National Forest. Traffic wasn't a problem. These are Pronghorn Antelopes, plus a Wyoming Red Squirrel.
Bighorn National Forest, WY
The only traffic was loose cattle. Cattle are free-range in this area.
Wondrous scenery, friendly cowboy, a moose - and lots of tight curves.
Wondrous scenery, friendly cowboy, a moose - and lots of tight curves.
We descended a full mile over 16 miles of switchbacks - 1st and 2nd gear all the way.
Nice waterfall at the top end. The 4th photo shows the road behind us, and the last photo shows the destination - Bighorn Basin, WY.
Some of the Pryor Mountain wild horses and a few shots of the great scenery in the Bighorn National Recreation Area, Wyoming.
Wild Horses on the Crow Reservation, Montana.
Yes, we drove down that road - the scenery was wonderful.
Our "home" near the entrance to Yellowstone National Park. It isn't the Ritz, but we loved everything about it.
No phone service, glitchy internet, indoor toilet,
and a kitchen!!
- quiet, with nice scenery.
No phone service, glitchy internet, indoor toilet,
and a kitchen!!
- quiet, with nice scenery.
Yellowstone National Park
Redtailed Hawk with prey, and a buck Mule Deer.
Some scenery from Yellowstone - Old Faithful geyser, interesting house, and big sky shots. Lots of places to picnic!
The Bighorn Sheep of Yellowstone!
Ruth's favorite is the baby one.
Ruth spotted a bull moose, and made a 70mph u-turn. And I managed to get the shot before he ran into the bushes.
This Coyote just trotted up beside the car in late afternoon. Sometimes they just come to you without having to look.
Yellowstone NP.
We stopped to take a "reflection shot" at Sylvan Lake in Yellowstone. Ruth told me she saw an "elk" just up the lake on the shore, so we moved to the parking area just 100 yards up the road. As I trotted down to get a shot, a guy parked nearby yelled at me "Be careful, there's a grizzley around that bush ahead of you."
Then, she roared!!! LOUDLY! Ruth thought it was a truck. My bladder said 'bear"! Then I got in position to get photos of her,and saw the 2 cubs with her. What a wonderful surprise.
The rangers were really happy I spotted her - they wanted all the details. The bear is called "Snow". They had been looking for her and the cubs all season.
Yellowstone wildlife -
Least Chipmunk, bull Bison, White Pelican, Black-billed Magpie.
Some scenery from Yellowstone NP.
Wonders around every curve.
This chipmunk didn't seem to mind how near I got. I was able to use a wide-angle lens to get close-up photos.
The Grand Tetons!
This female moose was feeding on aquatic plants in a river in the Tetons. I didn't know they did that.
The male signals his intention to test the female for sexual receptivity by flicking his tongue. In Grand Teton NP.
Grand Teton NP - last look. We headed south after this.
Farson, WY - 100 miles from nowhere, and the only place to get gas. We tried the "Baby scoop" of ice-cream. It was really good, but more than either of us could eat.
We decided to take the dirt road down into the gorge. Wow!
Flaming Gorge wildlife - Uinta Chipmunk, Woodhouse's Scrubjay, and Clark's Nutcracker. All new to us.
We went wandering into the single-track roads of Pilot Butte, near Green River, WY - looking for the wild horses. And we found them!
Some wild horses of Pilot Butte, near Green River, WY
They like to nuzzle a lot.
Some wild horses of Pilot Butte, near Green River, WY
Some were out in the sagebrush, and some came very close to us.
The Pronghorn Antelope is the fastest mammal in North America. It can run 55mph for a half-mile or 35mph for 4 miles at a time. The stride is 24 feet. Wow.
Pilot Butte, near Green River, WY
New birds for our life list from the Green River, WY area: Brewer's Sparrow, Brewer's Blackbird, Ferruginous Hawk.
And we spent a couple days at Arches.
Our brand-new boots were getting pretty worn by this time.
My best try at getting the Milkyway at Arches.
Look carefully and see the shooting star. Bonus!
We spent a day in Canyonlands National Park.
The overlooks were breath-taking.
The roads in these photos are all one road - going down into the canyon and out into the valley. Ruth would not drive this because of the sharp, steep switch-back.
(look closely and see 3 cars on the switch-back.) Canyonlands National Park.
On the way to the Rockies, we drove through the wonderful scenery of Colorado National Monument. This park has been used for many old west movies. The scenes may seem familiar to you.
We spent 5 days in the Rockies. But we tested positive for covid, so we had to have medication and down time. Anyway, we got photos before heading back home.
For this week of the trip, my daughter, Jen James, invited us to stay at their house, about 30 minutes drive from the park entrance. They have a beautiful home in the foothills, about 6500 feet elevation. This is a sunrise view from the front room.
New birds for our life list from the Rockies:
Mountain Chickadee, Stellar's Jay, Red-breasted Nuthatch, Pygmy Nuthatch, and the beautiful Red Crossbill.
That beak looks like he ran into a wall. I really wanted to add the Red Crossbill to my life list. Turns out, they are easy to spot in the Rockies.
A Red Crossbill's odd bill shape helps it get into tightly closed conifer tree cones. This bird places the tips of its slightly open bill under a cone scale and bites down. The crossed tips of the bill push the scale up, exposing the seed inside.
The Red Crossbill is so dependent upon conifer seeds it even feeds them to its young. Consequently, it can breed anytime it finds a sufficiently large cone crop, even in the depths of winter.
In the Rockies: I was sitting on a rock getting shots of an elk with his harem. All of a sudden, the elk took notice of me and started towards me, pawing and snorting.
The first photo shone here was the last one I got before running. The others were sorta blurry.
All this time Ruth was screaming at me to run back to the car. I was happy getting real close-ups of this big guy.
Heading home!
Happy, healthy, and safe.
