Day 27 - The Last Leg of the Trip

We stayed at a really nice motel in Billings called the Ledgestone and it was reasonable. We left at 8:20 AM on I-90 to Hwy 212.  I was pretty country and I love Montana!  At 12:15 we were welcomed to Wyoming, but only for a short time until we were in Belle Fourche, SD.  We saw many of the nation's fastest running mammals - the Pronghorn Antelope.  We stopped to photograph a group of bucks.  On the way we stopped off the highway for a stretch and there were birds everywhere in the sagebrush!  I loved seeing the Lark Buntings as I don't see them often in my area.

Lark Buntings are cute birds that flit around.

At 1:30 we had a picnic at a rest stop near Sturgis.  Probably our last picnic for a long time.

While driving we were going through this blog and adding details that I was too rushed to put in earlier.

3:00 PM In Wall, SD.  I was thinking how I'm looking forward to a hot bath and sleeping in my own bed again. Waking up to sit in my recliner sounds great too!  Having creature comforts will be nice as well as clean clothes. I also look forward to not using public restrooms and outhouses. 

We are home! We returned at 7:20 PM.  We have traveled 600 miles both yesterday and again today. It will be good to get out of the car. 

I plan to replace most of these photos with better ones this week. I will also write up a summary before completion.  It was a fantastic trip!

A Pronghorn Antelope

They are North America's fastest land mammal.

There were many Pronghorn Antelope seen in Montana and Wyoming today.

Our crazy-looking picnic site at the Sturgis Rest area.

Day 26 Birds

There were two Red-necked Grebes on the lake along with a family of Common Mergansers.  I also heard Sandhill Cranes nearby and saw the Common Loons at a distance.  We enjoyed listening to the loons calling at night.

When we left the campground we saw about six Osprey platforms and four of them had nests with young and adult birds. 

This is the best look I've ever had of a Red-necked Grebe, so that was a treat.

At a nearby gas station a Barn Swallow was guarding its nest.

At a picnic area I heard a Common Nighthawk calling and I find this guy in the tree.

It was interesting watching in preen.  I got some nice video of that.

Day 26 - Heading East

It was a chilly evening and we slept well.  I got up at 7:00 AM and birded around the campground.  After eating hash and eggs we packed up. Then we showered before taking off for our long drive.

It was difficult to drive by the exits for Yellowstone National Park and Glacier National Parks, as they are two of our favorite places. 

We both had trouble staying awake while driving today and we were worried about finding a motel or camping spot on a Friday evening in the smaller towns ahead, so we pulled over in Billings, MT to find a motel.  We will get home tomorrow though!

The pretty lake was calm and quiet this morning.

This Red-necked Grebe was not a life bird for me, but it is the best 
look I've ever had of one.

This little squirrel was keeping an eye on me.

I enjoyed seeing the variety of flora across the west.

Day 25 - Heading to Montana

We left Kennewick, WA at 9:00 AM and we made our way across Washington and into Montana.

On the drive it was mostly range country through that part of Washington.  There were tall funnels of dust or sand along the way that were interesting to watch. I think that they may be called dust devils.

12:45 PM We were just welcomed to Idaho!  The Coeur d' Alene, Idaho was very pretty! We had our picnic by the lake.

About 4:00 Mtn time We arrived in Montana. We are back in a National Forest area.

We love Montana, but we already knew that!  We were here back in our 20s.  We are almost to Missoula and then we will search for a campground.

We found a really pretty lake at a state park called Lake Placid. We are tenting there tonight. We grilled burgers, went for a walk and had a campfire. The mosquitoes are pesky.  Just a moment ago while lying in the tent the loons began calling. We love that sound!

We had a picnic by a lake.

Rainier cherries from the fruit stands were a favorite mid-afternoon snack.

Our campsite at Lake Placid was quite nice!

Day 24 Birds

This morning before we left I heard the Varied Thrushes and others in the campground before we left. I found a few hummingbirds that were either Allen's or Rufous Humminbirds. I will have to look over the images when I return home.  Rufous comes up as rare on eBird, but the bird looked mostly tan and white in the morning light.  

At a rest area I noticed two nests with filled with Western Kingbirds.  By the time I got my camera the parents were not there with them and I didn't have time to wait for their return.

I'm still unsure of which hummingbird this is.

Western Kingbirds young in the nests squawking for a meal.

These Western Kingbirds were older.

A pair of Cassin's Finches settled in near me.

Day 24 - It's Time to Head Home!

I got up at 7:00 AM to bird in the mountains one last time.  We packed up and left the campground at 8:20. We drove down the road a ways to do one more Redwoods hike.  The Simpson-Reed Trail proved to be one of our favorites with many giant trees and downed trees. The fern undergrowth and bridges were really neat too.

Now we are on our way to Portland. The interstate through the mountains is not easy to drive. We must both have vacation letdown because we are both really tired today. 

10:05:  We are greeted by the "Welcome to Oregon" sign.  The state has pretty country with conifer-covered hills and open meadows.  Oregon does not have self-serve gas, so that is really different.

We have a nice view of Mt. Hood and Mt. Ranier from the interstate, so that is nice, but we arrived in the Portland area at the worst time! It is rush hour and the four lanes are barely moving.  We will be so glad to get out of here!  It took us 2 hours to go 20 miles.

The drive along the Columbia River went on for many, many miles. It had a couple of large powerhouses and huge barges and ships.  The landscape was beautiful! There are also vineyards and orchards along the way.  We stopped at a cherry stand and got a bucketful of Ranier Cherries for $10. They were delicious!

7:00 PM We saw the sign: "Welcome to Washington". Its 7:45 PM and we are behind schedule. The traffic in Portland really slowed us down.  It's been a long day in the car, but we are hanging in there.

It's 9:00 PM and we found a motel room in Kennewick, WA.  It's time to get out of the car as we've been on the road for almost 12 hours, but we covered some ground and saw some interesting places today.

I birded near the clear stream this morning.

Photos cannot capture the grandeur of these Redwoods.  I guess I'd say you need to plan a trip to see them.  They are breath taking!

Here's Brad by a Redwood tree.

Check out the size of that fallen Redwood on the right.

The roots of this fallen Redwood are huge too.

Mt. Hood

Day 23 Moving to Jedediah SP

We were up at 7:00 AM in our Redwoods Campground.  I fried up some eggs, we packed up and took off at 8:20.  We did some hiking through the Redwoods, hiked at Humboldt Bay NWR for about 2 hours.

We decided that Founder's Grove was our favorite Redwoods place.  There were so many of the big trees and some were huge logs were lying on the ground and they were impressive. Some of those trees were as tall as a football field is long - from one end zone to the other.

We were in Eureka at 11:45.  There were quite a few hitchhikers and many homeless people. So sad.

There are signs talking about Bigfoot being here.  Ha-ha! Salmon fishing seems to be a big part of the economy.

On the "Lady Bird Johnson Trail" we could see the affects of the drought with stressed plants...especially the fern understory and the huge Rhododendron plants.

At the Humboldt Lagoon State Park, which appears to be the shoreline area of the ocean,  I met a woman who was collecting small pieces of driftwood on the beach. She said that she polishes them. We picked some up too since they were so unique.  Also, the waves at that beach were huge! I was mesmerized by them.  

Before we set up camp amongst the Redwoods, we saw Roosevelt Elk today and they were quite regal looking.  I have much better images taken with my camera.

It was 53 degrees again today.  Nearly everyday has been in the 50s while near the ocean. We expected it to be warmer in California, but I guess we needed to be farther south for that.

Camping among the Redwoods was supposed to be a really neat experience.  Sadly we had close, 20+ neighbors that were very, very loud from 6:00 PM until after 10:00 PM.  Too bad. We had a campfire to wrap up the evening.

Humboldt National Wildlife Refuge

Checking my wingspan

An interesting bridge at "Lady Bird Johnson Trail" through the Redwoods.

A Rhododendron flower

A Roosevelt Elk

Here I am hiking through the Redwoods.

Day 23 Birds

After breakfast I went to the car to get a trash bag and a Stellar's Jay landed on the table.  It is a really pretty bird.

We arrived at the Humboldt Bay NWR and I saw a large, white bird flying over a field. Then it began to hover in one spot. I was happy to see my first White-tailed Kite!  It was a really fun to watch!

We also saw a huge rookery with hundred of Great Egrets in a tree at quite a distance.  That's the largest rookery I've ever seen!

If you leave the table for even a moment, the birds drop in to steal 
some scraps!  This Stellar's Jay ate a bit of egg left on a plate.

Not a good photo, but the only photo I got of my lifer, White-tailed Kite.

This a form of Cackling Goose called the Aleutian Cackling Goose 
that are found at the Humboldt Bay National Wildlife Refuge.

Checking my Wingspan

This is the Great Egret colony in the distance.

This a beautiful Tree Swallow.

Day 22 Birds

After looking over my photo from yesterday and asking an expert, we decided that the loon in question was a lifer, Pacific Loon - immature, but today I saw an adult Pacific Loon.  This photo was shot at quite a distance, so it is not sharp.

A surprise life bird!  I saw some cormorants and then near them were Pigeon Guillemots!  I wasn't expecting to see them nor did I realize that I'd be able to identify them so easily.

This morning I saw my first Allen's Hummingbirds chasing each other around. 

Later at the Redwood Forest I heard and then saw my first Varied Thrush! It was a really cool bird!  That was life bird #45 for the trip!

Pacific Loon - Life bird!  Google an image of this species.  
It is quite unique and beautiful!

Pigeon Guillemot - Life bird!

Great Horned Owl

I saw this Peregrine Falcon on a huge rock out in the ocean.

I had seen a lifer Pygmy Nuthatch back at the Grand Canyon, but I 
didn't get a good photo that day.  I was happy to get a better shot today.

Unknown Empid

Varied Thrush - Life bird!  This is not a good photo, 
but it is a stunning bird.

White-crowned Sparrows are very numerous along the Pacific Coast.

I didn't need to worry about seeing a Western Gull because 
there are many of them along the Pacific coast.