Sunday, July 12, 2009
Centennial Mountains Tour Part 2
This blog takes up where the last one left off, touring around the Centennial Mountains. The tour started at RedRock RV Park on July 1st, 2009, along Red Rock road and proceded West through the Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge. The goal is to reach the RV Park by going around the West end of the east-west range.
We left off at the Upper Red Rock Lake campground where several songbirds are frequently seen. There is a natural spring that you can drink from or fill your canteens if you like. Often, the long distance bicycle riders traversing the Continental Divide from Banff, Canada to the Mexican border stop here and spend the night. On this trip I encountered Michael from Basel, Switzerland filling up his water bottles after a nights stay here.
Michael from Switzerland stayed overnight at the Upper Lakes Campground on his way to Mexico.
We left off at the Upper Red Rock Lake campground where several songbirds are frequently seen. There is a natural spring that you can drink from or fill your canteens if you like. Often, the long distance bicycle riders traversing the Continental Divide from Banff, Canada to the Mexican border stop here and spend the night. On this trip I encountered Michael from Basel, Switzerland filling up his water bottles after a nights stay here.
Michael from Switzerland stayed overnight at the Upper Lakes Campground on his way to Mexico.From here you pass Shambo Pond where there is usually a pair of breeding Trumpter Swans, but not today. Of course, it is far from the road and its possible they were just hiding in the grass or at one corner of the pond. From here the Refuge is quite open and on the south is bordered by some large private ranches. The grasses are high and quite green here with several small creeks running quickly along the road making for some scenic views.
A creek borders the Refuge from private lands here.
Soon you come upon Lakeview, Montana. This is the headquarters of the Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge. A few buildings and a small visitor center are here. In the summer several graduate students perform mostly biological experiments or research here. There is NOTHING more here except for some private housing for the permanent employees of the Refuge and a few cabins for rent. There are no commercial stores here. Gasoline is still about 40 miles west of here.
Centennial mountains give way to rolling hills south of the road here.
Once past Lakeview, the mountains give way to rolling hills and a very flat valley and Lower Red Rock Lake. The lower lake is filled with small little islands and is full of water fowl. The road to the lower lake is closed so far this season due to the second year of road construction. After all this construction it will still just be a dirt and gravel road. Once the road opens, I'll travel there and try some bird photography.
Vulture scavenging a dead calf.
Driving along here I spotted a vulture close to the road. He was having a meal on what appeared to be a small calf. I didn't get out of the car to identify it further for fear of scaring him away. I suspect the calf died by a bear or maybe an injury or poisoning. I suspect he will have friends join him soon to finish it off.
Red-tailed Hawk soaring over Red Rock Road.
Not far down the road I encountered a Red-tailed Hawk soaring above. These hawks inhabit this area and hunt for small rodents that inhabit the tall grasses.
Once past the lower lakes you encounter an old abandoned farm with picturesque antique buildings testifying to a long gone era of successful ranching here.
I'm watching for any unique wildflowers as I drive slowly along Red Rock road and my eye catches an odd shaped purple group of flowers, so I stop. It turns out that these are Chives (Allium schoenoprasum) and are completely edible. They are also extremely attractive flowers. I had seen these earlier at a different location in the Refuge before they had bloomed and they were similarly attractive but with a dark purple sheath around the flowers, appearing like a turban perhaps. The stems are hollow and if you took the effort to pull one up there would be a blub. (I didn't do that in respect for the next observer coming across these.)
From here, the road dips into a valley and continues as far as the eye can see westerly. There are few other travelers and it is very pleasant to just stop and take in the quiet and wide expansive views.
Reggie looking west on Red Rock road.
Soon I came upon a sign that pointed to a side destination along Bean Creek. I was totally unfamiliar with this road but it appeared to head off into some lovely forest and I was up to the challenge. I was hoping this was the shortcut I had observed earlier that crossed the Centennial Mountain range to the other side.
An inviting side trip to West fork of Bean creek.
I immediately observed some nice wildflowers growing along the side of the road and stopped for the photo opportunity. Below me was Bean Creek, flowing through heavy forest. I did keep one eye out for bears as did Reggie (my retriever) as he poked around the area. The first flower that caught my eye was a beautiful light purple aster looking flower. I later classified it as an Idaho Fleabane (Erigeron asperugineus) due to the rough and narrow leaves that it possessed. There were just a few specimens growing out of the disturbed roadside.
Idaho Fleabane along Bean Creek road.
Not too far away was another purple and hairy flower growing out of the side of the disturbed cliff along the road. This is an interesting form of the Penstemon called the Fuzzytongue Penstemon (Penstemon eriantherus).
Closeup of the fuzzytongue penstemon.
A creek borders the Refuge from private lands here.Soon you come upon Lakeview, Montana. This is the headquarters of the Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge. A few buildings and a small visitor center are here. In the summer several graduate students perform mostly biological experiments or research here. There is NOTHING more here except for some private housing for the permanent employees of the Refuge and a few cabins for rent. There are no commercial stores here. Gasoline is still about 40 miles west of here.
Centennial mountains give way to rolling hills south of the road here.Once past Lakeview, the mountains give way to rolling hills and a very flat valley and Lower Red Rock Lake. The lower lake is filled with small little islands and is full of water fowl. The road to the lower lake is closed so far this season due to the second year of road construction. After all this construction it will still just be a dirt and gravel road. Once the road opens, I'll travel there and try some bird photography.
Vulture scavenging a dead calf.Driving along here I spotted a vulture close to the road. He was having a meal on what appeared to be a small calf. I didn't get out of the car to identify it further for fear of scaring him away. I suspect the calf died by a bear or maybe an injury or poisoning. I suspect he will have friends join him soon to finish it off.
Red-tailed Hawk soaring over Red Rock Road.Not far down the road I encountered a Red-tailed Hawk soaring above. These hawks inhabit this area and hunt for small rodents that inhabit the tall grasses.
Once past the lower lakes you encounter an old abandoned farm with picturesque antique buildings testifying to a long gone era of successful ranching here.
I'm watching for any unique wildflowers as I drive slowly along Red Rock road and my eye catches an odd shaped purple group of flowers, so I stop. It turns out that these are Chives (Allium schoenoprasum) and are completely edible. They are also extremely attractive flowers. I had seen these earlier at a different location in the Refuge before they had bloomed and they were similarly attractive but with a dark purple sheath around the flowers, appearing like a turban perhaps. The stems are hollow and if you took the effort to pull one up there would be a blub. (I didn't do that in respect for the next observer coming across these.)From here, the road dips into a valley and continues as far as the eye can see westerly. There are few other travelers and it is very pleasant to just stop and take in the quiet and wide expansive views.
Reggie looking west on Red Rock road. Soon I came upon a sign that pointed to a side destination along Bean Creek. I was totally unfamiliar with this road but it appeared to head off into some lovely forest and I was up to the challenge. I was hoping this was the shortcut I had observed earlier that crossed the Centennial Mountain range to the other side.
An inviting side trip to West fork of Bean creek. I immediately observed some nice wildflowers growing along the side of the road and stopped for the photo opportunity. Below me was Bean Creek, flowing through heavy forest. I did keep one eye out for bears as did Reggie (my retriever) as he poked around the area. The first flower that caught my eye was a beautiful light purple aster looking flower. I later classified it as an Idaho Fleabane (Erigeron asperugineus) due to the rough and narrow leaves that it possessed. There were just a few specimens growing out of the disturbed roadside.
Idaho Fleabane along Bean Creek road. Not too far away was another purple and hairy flower growing out of the side of the disturbed cliff along the road. This is an interesting form of the Penstemon called the Fuzzytongue Penstemon (Penstemon eriantherus).
Closeup of the fuzzytongue penstemon.On that same "cliff" I spotted the large Gumbo Evening Primrose (Oenothera caespitosa) growing. Its also called the Desert Evening Primrose. It has a beautiful pink bud and a white flower with each petal being heart-shaped. The entire flower was almost 4" across, large by any flower standard. I read where the flower turns pink after the first nocturnal fertilization.
Gumbo Evening Primrose with bud inserted into image.
The road continued to wind through deep forest and had been obviously groomed recently by the forest service. I was encouraged by this work on such a lonely road, thinking it might indicate it was an important road that went across the "divide". Unfortunately it ended about 4 miles in at a road berm that clearly discouraged further travel. I later saw on a map that the road was intended to be a loop back to Red Rock road. Maybe some day?
Reggie checks out the other side of the road barrier.
So, we turned around and headed back, looking for bears and deer, each which most probably inhabited this forested canyon. We stopped a couple times for more flower shots, but nothing new was found. We resumed our exploration of Red Rock Road. The road climbed another hill and at the top we were afforded the view of the Lima Reservoir , which is filled by the Red Rock Creek. It exits the reservoir and soon joins the Jefferson River on it's way to the Missouri and the Gulf of Mexico (several thousand miles from here).
Red Rock Creek fills the Lima Reservoir seen here with Antone Peak in the background.
From here, the road finds its way to Interstate 90 about 8 miles from this spot. The magic is temporarily broken by civilization but we soon (about 8 miles) exit (now in Idaho again) to a dirt road at a place called Beaver Canyon. Beaver Canyon was once a busy place where miners came in search of the Montana gold, but now nothing but a sign remains to remind us of this long ago search of fortune.
Road sign noting the history of this place, Beaver Canyon.
Gumbo Evening Primrose with bud inserted into image. The road continued to wind through deep forest and had been obviously groomed recently by the forest service. I was encouraged by this work on such a lonely road, thinking it might indicate it was an important road that went across the "divide". Unfortunately it ended about 4 miles in at a road berm that clearly discouraged further travel. I later saw on a map that the road was intended to be a loop back to Red Rock road. Maybe some day?
Reggie checks out the other side of the road barrier.So, we turned around and headed back, looking for bears and deer, each which most probably inhabited this forested canyon. We stopped a couple times for more flower shots, but nothing new was found. We resumed our exploration of Red Rock Road. The road climbed another hill and at the top we were afforded the view of the Lima Reservoir , which is filled by the Red Rock Creek. It exits the reservoir and soon joins the Jefferson River on it's way to the Missouri and the Gulf of Mexico (several thousand miles from here).
Red Rock Creek fills the Lima Reservoir seen here with Antone Peak in the background.From here, the road finds its way to Interstate 90 about 8 miles from this spot. The magic is temporarily broken by civilization but we soon (about 8 miles) exit (now in Idaho again) to a dirt road at a place called Beaver Canyon. Beaver Canyon was once a busy place where miners came in search of the Montana gold, but now nothing but a sign remains to remind us of this long ago search of fortune.
Road sign noting the history of this place, Beaver Canyon.This side of the mountains is less dramatic and further away from the peaks. In fact, you rarely see the peaks. It goes over a gravel and dirt road through a fairly wide valley filled with creeks, and forest. Occasionally, we saw deer and parts of this area certainly looked like good Moose feeding grounds. We stopped to photograph wildflowers, but nothing appeared to be different than we had seen before. There was one particularly scenic area that was filled with yellow Mule's Ear's.
Yellow Mule's Ear's cover the meadows here.
Young Lamb at Kilgore.
Yellow Mule's Ear's cover the meadows here.Traveling along the road we finally come to the farm community of Kilgore. Ranching is common here with a lot of sheep. Sheep are fun to watch, and especially the sheep dog that was watching over the flock here. Reggie and I stopped to photograph them and he was very cautious of our intrusion into his otherwise quiet day.
Young Lamb at Kilgore.The road continues through forest and meadow and suddenly Reas Peak on the East Centennials pops into view. The road crosses the Henry's Fork of the Snake River, not far from the Island Park reservoir. Eagles and Osprey can be seen hanging out nearby the river and reservoir.
Reas Peak on South side of East Centennials along Yale-Kilgore Road.
We drove onto highway 20 and left through Island Park and Mack's Inn on to Red Rock RV Park after a long day's drive. It was a fun trip but also tiring.
Reas Peak on South side of East Centennials along Yale-Kilgore Road. We drove onto highway 20 and left through Island Park and Mack's Inn on to Red Rock RV Park after a long day's drive. It was a fun trip but also tiring.
# posted by RV Guy @ 3:25 PM 
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