RedRock RV Nature Notes

Late Summer Trip

noreply@blogger.com (RV Guy) — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 21:35:00 +0000

Here at RedRock RV Park (near Island Park, Idaho and Yellowstone National Park) there's still plenty to see in nature, even at the end of the abbreviated summer. The grass is starting to turn yellow (though much later than previous years due to the cooler summer and rain we've had). There's even some evidence that the Aspen trees across from the RV Park are starting to think about turning yellow. We haven't had any freezes yet, but some are in the forecast in the next 7 to 10 days. That should start the ball rolling, fall colorwise! I know it's approaching the end of our season here when my shadow is centered on Red Rock Road early in the morning signaling the increasingly southern journey of the sun in the northern sky each day.

There's spottings of more than a normal number of animals across from the RV park due to the change in the availability of food at higher altitudes and the approaching fall weather. A fox was spotted running along the forest here this morning and a doe and two fawns munching grass along with 4 Sand Hill Cranes. Elk bugling is being heard from the RV Park each morning too. The occasional Moose sighting rounds out the start off fall here.

A couple of days ago (at the very end of August) we had an unusual but very welcome late summer storm with more than 1/2 inch of rain falling overnight. That morning, I noticed some very unusual clouds that had formed after the storm passed. The images below document the Mammatus, also known as mammatocumulus clouds, meaning "Mammary" or "Breast " cloud. It is a meteorological term applied to a cellular pattern of pouches hanging underneath the base of a cloud. I've seen these before here, but this was about the most dramatic instance of them I've ever seen. They were very dark and ominous looking. Most of all it was beautiful and added to the joy of being here.

Mammatus clouds near RedRock RV Park.

I then decided to check out the birds at Island Park Reservoir after the storm had passed. Everything was so fresh and clean. There were quite a few birds at the reservoir and almost no humans. That's a good combination for bird watchers. The first interesting bird that caught my eye (and ear) was the Kingfisher. This grayish bird, a bit larger than a blue jay is known for it's fishing habits. They hang out around the dam here. I saw one flying around and occasionally diving for food in the lake. Eventually it landed near me on an antenna mast. I took several photos and finally noticed that it suddenly was opening it's mouth an excessive amount as if yawning. I wasn't aware that birds yawned. I took a few pictures of this behavior and noticed that it had spit something out of it's throat. Upon examining my photos I noticed a large pellet falling from its mouth in one frame. The kingfisher does NOT digest the fish bones but regurgitates them into a pellet. The images below show this behavior in sequence.

Kingfisher regurgitating a pellet of undigested food.

Across the lake, on a sandbar, double-crested Cormorants and Franklin Gulls were congregated, the cormorants airing their wings to dry them. Their raucous sounds punctuated the quiet of the lake. Occasionally, a cormorant would fly overhead, it's bright green eye contrasting with its bright orange beak. It would circle around for a while and then land on the sandbar to join the rest of the crowd.

Cormorant flying overhead at Island Park Reservoir in Island Park, ID.

Cormorants have sharp hooked beaks that allow them to snag small fish while diving underwater. I'll see one go underwater and he will pop up quite a distance away. They are good swimmers. Like the Kingfisher, these birds regurgitate a pellet of undigested bones, usually at dawn each day.

Cormorant resting before the next dive.

Another common bird that I saw on my visit is the Western Grebe. It's a very pretty diving bird with bright red eyes. They are similar to loons. They have sharp beaks that they often use to spear small fish, but they sometimes just grab them with their beaks. They can dive up to 90 feet but more often stay closer to the water's surface, often diving for periods that range from 20 to 60 seconds in length.

Red-eyed Western Grebe at Island Park Reservoir

Sitting on the shore was also the ever present Great Blue Heron. Unlike the diving Cormorant, these birds like to stand on the shore or in shallow water and quickly pick up any small fish that goes by. They can move their long neck extremely fast to pick up a fish or small invertebrate. I've seen them swallow some pretty large fish (12 to 14" in length).

Great Blue Heron at Island Park Reservoir.

Back at the RV Park, the ever present Swainson's Hawk's were circling overhead looking for small rodents. It's rare to go out and look up and not see one or more circling within a few minutes time. These guys are getting ready to head to Argentina for the winter, so they are filling up on food as quickly as possible.

Swainson's Hawk circling over RedRock RV Park in Island Park, Idaho.

There's still time to plan your September visit to RedRock RV Park to enjoy the fall colors, the bugling Elk, and the other wildlife getting ready for winter. (It comes early to this part of the country.)

September Song of the Wildflowers

noreply@blogger.com (RV Guy) — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 18:50:00 +0000

Reggie accompanies me into the forest across from Henry's Lake to look for late summer wildflowers.

Well, of course, the wildflower season is in decline. It's mid-summer or for this latitude and altitude it is really late summer and most wildflowers are singing their "September Song" (the days grow short when you reach September..when the autumn weather turn leaves to flame..etc). However, it is still interesting to go into the forest and look for nice wildflower specimens. There is still a lot of color to see.

Some of the color is now provided by the leaves and the berries and not the flowers. Today, my Golden Retriever Reggie and I went into the Targhee forest across from the RedRock RV Park and Henry's Lake (near Yellowstone National Park and Island Park, Idaho) to see what wildflowers were still looking relatively nice.

Red Baneberries (poisonous to humans)

The first head-turner just within the forests edge was the Red baneberry (Actaea rubra). It has a beautiful cluster of red berries in a bottlebrush shape. Prior to fruiting these were beautiful little white flowers. The leaves are green, large and coarsely toothed with deeply lobed margins. It's a perennial herbaceous plant, living more than 2 years. Seeds germinate the following year and flower the third year. The plant and the berries are very poisonous to humans (not birds who distribute the seeds). It appears that most mammals avoid them to some extent and there is not much evidence for bears eating them.

Buffaloberries (left) and baneberry growing side by side.

Growing right beside the baneberry was the Canada Buffaloberry or Soopolallie
(Shepherdia canadensis). This is a shrub that also has red berries but not as bright red, numerous or as large as the baneberry. The berries are edible but extremely bitter and are usually eaten with other berries, whipped up into a froth produced by the chemicals in the berry.

Buffaloberry

Not far away I found the orange colored berries from the Fairybell flower (Disporum trachycarpum). The berries are edible but rather tasteless (according to my sources.) They do make for a nice bright spot in the forest this time of year.

Fairybell berries are bright orange.

The Indian Paintbrush is still lingering to make bright red spots throughout the darkened forest floor. They are especially nice looking when a ray of sunshine manages to get through the forest canapy and shine on them.

Indian Paintbrush

Many other plants are still providing color this late in the season under the forest canopy including the purple Rocky Mountain Asters, a few (rare) yellow Heart-leafed Arnica, the white headed Englemann Asters, the purple Common Harebell, the wild Blue Flax, the yellow western hawkweed, red clover and more.

One of the many wildflowers still blooming is the Wild Blue Flax.

Many of the plants are waning but still provide beauty in the colorful display of their leaves as Fall approaches. The Sticky Geraniums can still be found with blooms, but many of them have leaves that are starting to turn various shades of red and orange. It's fun to search for the most interesting and colorful leaves among the dying plants.

Sticky Geranium plants begin to turn fall colors already.

Some meadowrue leaves have started turning a nice reddish purple color. Contrasting with the still very green leaves, this makes for a beautiful display.

Meadowrue leaves begins to turn colors.

So, even if you are late with your summer vacation, if you come visit us at RedRock RV Park in the middle to the end of August, you'll get to see some of the beauty that the wildflowers give to our area. You might have to look a little closer and be a little less discriminating in your choices, but you'll still enjoy them, I promise.

Western Hawkweed (Hieracium scouleri) dots the forest floor with yellow.

Remember, that beauty is all around you. You just have to look for it. It might make you happy for a few moments. Look down and look closely at the small stuff. You might be surprised at what you find.

A Mid-summers Drive Yellowstone/Beartooth

noreply@blogger.com (RV Guy) — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 16:27:00 +0000

Last week I drove from RedRock RV Park in Island Park,Idaho to the top of the Beartooth Mountains. The whole trip was about 320 miles round-trip, but well worth it. Of course, the path takes us through the northern part of Yellowstone National Park and it's always fun to look out for wild animals. On this trip my cousin from Merced, California accompanied me and she was thrilled to be able to see so many animals. This trip is not unlike one that many people visiting RedRock RV Park take everyday so I thought I might share it with you to give you an idea of what touring from here might be like.

It was bit of a cloudy day to start and we were fearful that we'd have a bad weather day, but like most of the weather here, it changes pretty dramatically from hour to hour and place to place.

One of my favorite places to stop and "change gears" from the commercial to the wild "frame of mind" is a just a couple miles from the West Yellowstone park entrance at a turn-off next to the Madison River. Few people stop here and it is a refreshing view of the magnificent Madison river, with dark blue water, blue sky, white clouds, eagles, osprey, and often an elk or bison munching around you. Today, it was just the view of the water that we enjoyed. There is a boardwalk that has several informative markers about the effects of the 1988 fire. It's worth taking and gives you a chance to get a little exercise.

My cousin and the Madison river looking west in Yellowstone.

I like to take it slow along the Madison River. Most tourists are trying to zip along at 45 mph rushing to the geysers or slamming on their brakes if someone spots an animal.

There are always so many animals (elk, bison, deer, otters and muskrats), birds (eagles and ospreys) and beautiful scenic spots along this section of the river. There are several pull-outs that allow you to get out and look around. Many have explanatory signs that give you a bit of information about the wild life or geology around you. Take the time to read them and you'll enjoy the experience more.

My cousin and the Madison river looking west in Yellowstone.

At one of the many turn-offs is a small sign that points to a trail across the road. The trail is for Harlequin lake. This is a rarely visited lake snuggled up against the volcanic cliffs that often has beautiful lily ponds and sometimes a bear or elk grazing nearby. It's a quick 15 minute (1/2 mile walk) through the pines that is well worth the effort, especially if you like getting away from the crowds.

We continued on towards the northern part of the Park. We pass the Norris Geyser basin this trip. It's certainly worth a couple hours of exploring but our destination today was much further away and we'd never make it stopping at every interesting place. Norris Geyser Basin is the hottest and most malleable thermal area in Yellowstone. Rainbow Colors, hissing steam, and pungent odors combine to create an experience unique to Yellowstone.

One of my favorite areas going north is the section along Willow Creek. You might see moose here in the early morning or late evening. Alas, we weren't here at the right time, but still the landscape is beautiful. We stopped at nearby Sheepeater Cliff where interesting lava cliffs have formed columnar basalt rocks. These interesting rocks sit next to the Gardiner River which is rushing by in all its fury here. We spotted a yellow-bellied Marmot blending in with the lava rocks here. One lady told me it was a beaver, but my training told me that wasn't correct. Beavers don't normally bask on open rocks (and they have a large flat tail).

Yellow-bellied Marmot blends in with the lava rocks at Sheepeater Cliffs.

We drove through Mammoth Hot Springs in the northwest corner of the park, a natural wonder of calcite springs, the park headquarters and a commercial center for tourists. A short drive through the thermal area is worth taking. The main feature here are the thermal terraces. Thousands of years of dripping calcite water created a magnificent terraced display. The glistening terraces are definitely beautiful especially those with the colorful bacterial mats.

Colorful spring at Mammoth Hot Springs.

Continuing past the community of Mammoth Hot Springs we cross the Gardiner River over a deep canyon before it dumps into the Yellowstone River. Stopping here will often produce views of wildlife feeding in the meadows far below next to the river, but today we press on-wards.

Along the northern road there are several interesting turn-offs. One provides a great view of Udine falls. This falls a distance of 110 feet along Lava Creek.

Udine Falls, along Lava Creek.

Along the northern road we encountered a traffic jam. This is often indicative of wildlife along the road. So many motorists ignore the park rule to pull off the road and instead stop dead in the road pointing their cameras for long periods. Today was a 10 minute delay while a curious tourist had his full of a full grown grizzly bear on the hillside. We finally found a place to pull off and was able to photograph this large bear ourselves as he foraged for plants.

Grizzly Bear foraging across from Blacktail Beer Plateau.

About 5 miles later we encountered another traffic jam, this one mediated by a Park Ranger. We were able to pull off the road (at quite a slope to the Jeep) and get out to find that a wolf pack was resting far below us in the canyon. An observant tourist had spotted the pack running down a deer. The pack was so far that you could only see a couple members of it by using powerful spotting scopes that people had set up. I was able to set up my telephoto lens and get a glimpse of a black wolf, but not with the clarity for a good photograph. The wolves are very elusive, especially in summer and have been very difficult for me to photograph.

Black Wolf far below in canyon after chasing deer along northern park road.

Once I'd seen enough of the small black spot in the canyon, we decided to drive into the Lamar Valley, heading towards the northeast entrance of Yellowstone Park. This is another one of my favorite areas, mostly for the solitude and the wide open views with wildlife. The Lamar River meanders through this valley with herds of bison, a few pronghorn, and an occasional Grizzly Bear chewing on the abundant grasses and forbs. We encountered another bear spotting, but it had just disappeared behind a close hill and we missed seeing it. I suspect we are seeing more bears because they are fattening up for their long winter sleep. Since Fall is approaching fast they know they need to put on a lot of weight soon. We spotted a couple pronghorn as well.

Lamar Valley and River.

Bison lounging along Lamar River.

The Lamar River is a wide and shallow river with many bison seen standing on the banks and even in the river. You'll also see a lot of the fly fishermen standing the river.

We headed west following Soda Butte Creek towards the northeast entrance and encounter the next wildlife opportunity. Barronette Peak (10,404 ft) is a massive wall of stone along the road that is home to a few families of Mountain Goats (Oreamnos americanus). They aren't recently native to this area. They were brought into the Beartooths between 1940 and 1960 from western Montana. They aren't welcome to Yellowstone due to the "native" only policy of the park service. It's hard to believe they weren't originally native here and maybe chased away by man. They are hard to see because they are so far away and they are hanging on the steep cliffs. You look for little white specks that are moving then use your binoculars to zero in on them.

Mountain Goats on the steep slopes of Barronette Peak. (See the white spots?)

We stopped in Cooke City, Montana for a great lunch at the Beartooth Cafe and headed on to the beautiful Beartooth mountains in Wyoming. This portion of the trip along the Beartooth highway is delightfully wild and scenic by most standards. The road skirts a couple streams before it starts climbing into the alpine eco-system. The first really scenic sight is Beartooth Lake with its view of the gorgeously colored Beartooth Butte and Clay Butte. (There's a dirt road to the top of Clay Butte with a retired fire lookout station that is definitely worth the drive for the sweeping views and wildflowers.)

Beartooth Lake and Clay Butte

The road winds up in elevation until you reach the tree line and the alpine lakes. The views in every direction are indescribably beautiful. Be sure to stop at as many places as possible to soak in this beauty. Look down at the tiny wildflowers, the wind-swept trees, the glacier carved peaks and the alpine lakes. At roughly 3,000 square miles, the Beartooths are one of North America's largest land areas rising above 10,000 ft, reaching its highest point at Granite Peak (12,799 ft). This is a land of high alpine lakes, glacier carved cirques, windswept trees and fragile tundra. When you get to the top (10,000 ft) look for the famous Beartooth peak, the namesake of these mountains.

Twin Lakes at the top of the Beartooth Scenic Highway.

You'll also find Mountain Goats up here. Here they often graze close to the road on flatter ground. This trip we couldn't find them, but I'll include a photo from a previous trip that I took. Sometimes you'll also see domesticated sheep along with a sheep herder and sheep dogs.

Mountain Goats along Beartooth Scenic highway.

We turned around at the Montana border (overlooking this awesome switchback from Red Lodge, MT). The opposite direction affords different views and you are tempted to stop frequently. One example is the view of Pilot peak. This is a very distinctive peak. We planned to be back before dark so we didn't stop much on the way back. This is a long trip but if you stay with us, please plan to take it if you have time. You won't regret it.

Pilot Peak from the Scenic Beartooth Highway.

I hope you've enjoyed this beautiful trip. Obviously this is just a taster. Make sure you check the weather and road conditions before you set out and take plenty of warm clothes and water. Conditions at the top can often change dramatically in a short time.

Come see us at RedRock RV Park near Yellowstone National Park in Island Park, Idaho. You'll be glad you did!

Elk Lake and Hidden Lake in Montana

noreply@blogger.com (RV Guy) — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 21:12:00 +0000

Make sure you read the previous blog before you read this one. In these blogs, the latest written always appear first. This is part two of a report of a trip I made yesterday out to Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge and Elk Lake in southern Montana. I started out from RedRock RV Park (Island Park, Idaho) and drove about 15 miles to the Elk Lake turnoff and followed a dirt road around Culver Pond. After Culver Pond, I headed for Elk Lake Resort for Lunch.

Elk Lake Resort with part of Elk Lake in the foreground and the Centennial Mtns in the back.

This little resort features a few rustic cabins, access to fishing in Elk and Hidden lakes and great food. It's only 6 miles from the Red Rock Road turn off. It's the only commercial business within 25 miles on the East and 60 miles on the West. It's run by a nice family who keeps it open summer and winter (for snowmobilers). I recommend the Teryaki Chicken sandwich (with cheese) and some great fries. If you come for lunch, make sure you are here between noon and 1 PM, except Sundays. The prices are reasonable and the hospitality is great. They do a gourmet dinner by reservation only. Reggie joined 3 other Golden Retrievers and a few other dogs outside while I had lunch in their rustic dining room.

Panorama of Elk Lake (the original pic is really 25,000 pixels wide)

Leaving here (North) the dirt road becomes a little more challenging, depending upon when it was last graded. The week before I had been here and it was close to unpassable in the steep parts). Today, the Forest Service grader had just been by to fill in the large pot holes and it was much better. Still, I wouldn't recommend this part of the trip for low slung sedans. Elk Lake is a long lake in a canyon that was once an Earthquake fault. This fault encompasses Elk Lake, Hidden Lake, Cliff Lake and Wade Lake.

Lichen covered rock above Elk Lake.

Walking in the Sagebrush to reach an overlook of Elk Lake you'll find many wildflowers and several large rocks covered with colorful lichen. Some of the lichen thrives on the urine from Ground squirrels, Pikas and Marmots that frequent the area. These rocks are favorite lookout points for these little rodents.

Wildflowers on the hills above Elk Lake.

Wildflowers covered the hillsides interspersed with the gray-green sagebrush. Some areas had been trampled by cattle, but generally it was a nice trip up and down this road to Hidden Lake. At the northern end of Elk Lake there is an interesting estuary area with water lilies, willow shrubs and other wetlands loving plants. From the top of the hill, before you descend to lake level, it's a great view of the Madison Mountain range and the end of the lake.

Northern end of Elk Lake and Estuary. Madison Mtns in the background.

By the side of the road there was a beautiful wild rose bush in full bloom. I couldn't resist stopping for a picture.

Wild Roses along the side of the road.

A Great Blue Heron flew into the estuary, presumably to do some fishing. He was competing with only one other set of fishermen in a boat not far away. This end of the lake often has a pair of Trumpeter Swans also, but they were not here today.

The road continues through this earthquake faulted valley for another 3 miles until you come to the end of the passable (for autos) road. If you could continue on, you'd eventually run into Cliff lake. There is a parking lot here and a 1/4 mile walk down to the Hidden Lake. Today, Reggie and I were the only visitors at this time. The walk is very nice because it follows a stream and there are many wildflowers. I accidentally found a beautiful tiny single flower on a stem, just about 4" tall called a Wood Nymph or one-flowered wintergreen (Moneses uniflora). Looking underneath there is very interesting detail.

Tiny Wood Nymph or single-flowered wintergreen.

Wood Nymph from above. This flower is about 1/2" wide.

Hidden Lake is a very secluded lake and every time I have visited it there have been either no people there or very few. There is a trail that goes around the lake, but I've not taken it very far. Sometimes the trail disappears on the bank and you have to find another way up the steep bank. Yesterday I walked until the trail gave out to water and found a small snake almost under my boot. He was about 15 inches long and only 1/2" in diameter. He fled to the water.

I did go into the forest around the east side of the lake and found some interesting mushrooms under the trees. There were several of the same type but each took on a different shape and size. All of them had the distinctive black toothed shapes. They are the Scaly Tooth aka Scaly Hedgehog mushrooms (Sarcodon imbricatus.) Though it is found across North America, Sarcodon imbricatus is especially common in the Rocky Mountains, where it grows under Engelmann spruce and subalpine fir during spring and can attain very large sizes (caps up to 9 to 10 inches across). Notice the other specimen of the Scaly Tooth mushroom along with the dog lichen (Peltigera leucophlebia) (green sheet with scalloped edges) growing next to it. The name comes from the shape of the fruiting bodies that resembles dogs teeth.

Scaly Tooth mushroom growing in the forest at Hidden Lake.

Another specimen of the Scaly Tooth mushroom next to a dog lichen.

Another beautiful little flower that caught my eye under the forest canopy was the Twinflower (Linnaea borealis.) This is a woody vine that spreads over the forest floor. Short stems arise at nodes along the branches making each twin bloom look like it's coming from a single small plant. The flower stem is only 4 inches tall and it splits into two stalks supporting a bell-shaped pink flower that have hairy throats. This specimen reminds me of a peppermint candy in its coloring.

Lovely little twinflower on the forest floor at Hidden Lake (Montana).

All around the lake was the Horsetail (Equistum arvense) which grows in saturated ground like this shoreline. The light caught this specimen just right to catch my eye for a photo. These plants reproduce by spores, like ferns.

Horsetail.

Trail to Hidden Lake.

Hidden Lake looking Northwest.

The trip back was uneventful but pleasant. I recommend that if you come to RedRock RV Park (near Island Park Idaho and West Yellowstone, MT), that you take this trip to Hidden Lake. You won't be sorry. Just make sure you take it in good weather and use a high-clearance vehicle.

Culver Pond in Red Rock Lakes Wildlife Refuge

noreply@blogger.com (RV Guy) — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 16:35:00 +0000

Yesterday I took off early with Reggie and decided to explore a portion of the Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge known as Mac Donald Lakes and Culver Pond. This is a little visited area northeast in the Refuge. A dirt road circles around the lakes to the north side of Red Rock Creek.

Sandhill Cranes flying away from their grazing meadow.

Of course, I took my time getting there as I drove and watched for other wildlife along Red Rock road. The first wildlife I spotted was a pair of the Sandhill Cranes (Grus canadensis) leaving their grazing meadows across from the RedRock RV Park (Island Park, Idaho). This mated pair spends a lot of their mornings grazing there (as Reggie and I know from our morning walks.) Of course, they took off with the loud raucous sounds that only a crane can make.

The fields and meadows are unusually green for this time of year thanks to the unusual amount of rain we've had this season. Although many of the wildflowers are starting to fade, there are still plenty around to make this area bright with color.

Sego Lilies and Lupine at Red Rock Pass.

When I reached the Red Rock Pass, I noticed an unusually large field of the Sego Lily sometimes known as the Mariposa Lily also. Mixed with Lupine and other wildflowers, they made an impressive view. Of course, the Sego Lily (Calochortus nuttallii) really comes into its own when viewed closeup. Some of these are colored light to medium purple.

Across the street larger displays of the Sego Lily were mixed with the beautiful blanket flower, lending a bright red accent to the display.

There were several stands of the Blanketflower (Gaillardia aristata) along Red Rock road as I descended into the Centennial valley. They are starting to get ragged, but still present a dramatic view everywhere they grow. These grow in clumps on sunny and open meadows all over Montana. The species Gaillardia have many variations of the coloring including red petals. The variety found here are solid yellow petals with a bright red set of disk flowers.

As I entered Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge, I turned towards Elk Lake. The road we are taking today turns off of this road.

Mac Donald pond and cattle grazing at the Refuge with Centennial Mtns in the background.

My first view of Mac Donald pond was greeted with a large herd of cattle next to the shore. It's too bad that the cattle have to be here in this beautiful region since they tend to flatten the wildflowers and mess up the pristine creeks and ponds. They are hardly "wildlife." (It's a little bit of irony that I saw them first at Mac Donald pond, given that's where so many of them will end up after fattening up here.)

This Red-tailed Hawk was along the dirt road to Culver Pond.

As I progressed slowly along the dirt road paralleling this pond, I noticed a beautiful Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis) sitting atop a nearby post. We stared at each other for a while, I took a few photos and he flew off in search of lunch.

He's off for lunch.

Driving along Picnic Creek (which feeds Mac Donald pond from Culver Pond), I stop at one end of Culver Pond and look around a bit for wildlife and wildflowers. The Trumpeter Swans (Cygnus buccinator) often hang out in Culver Pond and I was hoping to see some. The Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge was established to bring the Trumpeter Swans back from the brink of extinction due to human hunting (for their feathers).

Swans in Culver Pond with West Centennial Mtns in background.

It's not long before I spot a family of five on the far bank of the pond. As I move my camera and tripod a bit closer they head for the relative safety of the water. Swans can live a long time. Trumpeter Swans have been known to live longer than 24 years in the wild, and one individual in captivity lived to be almost 32. This swan is the largest native North American bird when measured in terms of weight and length, and is on average the largest living waterfowl species.

The same swans moving up Culver Pond to escape my threatening presence.

Culver Pond starts in these rocks as an underground spring.

Culver Pond is created from a spring that appears out of nowhere in the rocks up against a forested hill. It's really interesting to see the water coming from under a rock and to know that it feeds this large pond (the pond is over a mile and a half long).

Culver Pond starts as an underground spring near this spot.

I stopped to look at the spring and see if any different wildflowers were in the area. Growing seemingly out of the rocks around the spring is the lovely Yellow Monkeyflower (Mimulus guttatus). The entire area around the spring has been trampled by cows, taking away from the beauty of this otherwise pristine spot.

Yellow Monkeyflower grows around the Culver Pond Spring.

Flying around the monkeyflowers at the spring was a Weidemeyer's Admiral (basilarchia weidemeyerii) butterfly. They tend to inhabit wet places like this. They are very boldly patterned and a large butterfly.

Weidemeyer's Admiral butterfly at Culver Pond spring.

The road from here goes through sagebrush flatlands. Many badger and ground squirrel holes punctuate this area. Finally, the road ends at the northern bank of Red Rock Creek. An old bridge that would have taken us back to the start of the Refuge has been out for years. At the old bridge site is a dam where water pours loudly across many small branches built up there by the beavers. I walked around the area for a while to see if I could spot any beavers, but alas they are very shy, especially during daylight hours.

Beaver Dam built across Red Rock Creek.

I headed back along the same road. On the way back I spotted a Kestrel (a falcon) flying above us and then swoping down to get lunch in the high grass. Another one was sitting on a fence post nearby. Then I noticed a lone Pronghorn. He noticed us and took off into the hills above Culver Pond.

Young Pronghorn spots us and heads into the hills along Culver Pond road.

As I headed back, I had to negotiate cows crowding the road in the WILDLIFE REFUGE. The rest of my trip to nearby Elk Lake and Hidden Lake will continue in the next blog after I have a great lunch at Elk Lake Lodge.

Cows crowd the road along Culver Pond.

July Wildflower Landscapes

noreply@blogger.com (RV Guy) — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 21:02:00 +0000

Now is the time for the appearance of the vast fields of wildflowers around RedRock RV Park (Island Park, Idaho). We've already had the fields of solid yellow and solid white thanks to the Mule's Ear's but now it's the bouquets of mixed flowers. It is almost impossible to drive anywhere without seeing fields of yellow, magenta, purple, mauve, blue, white, orange and red wildflowers. The most attractive are the fields that are mixed with two or more colors. Unfortunately, the camera can't do justice to these fields. The human eye and mind can take in much more of the color and the sense of beauty than the flat, 2D, restricted view of the camera. But.. I'll try to give you a sampling of the beauty you'll see here in the middle of July.

Bouquet of wildflowers off Red Rock Road near US 20. (Click on photo for larger.)

Accentuating the beauty of these fields are the majestic mountain backdrops that present themselves at every turn. The streams, the lakes and the mountain meadows are full of color. It's hard to drive anywhere if you stop to photograph the color.

Looking North from Red Rock Road and US 20 intersection. (Click on photo for larger.)

Flower display along Continental Divide dirt trail with Upper Red Rock lakes in background.

Most of the flowers I've presented for the last month can be seen around here still. The most dominant in today's landscapes are the Sticky Geranium for shades of purple, the tall buttercup for bright yellow, the white textured Yarrow, the purple and white Lupines, the Showy Fleabane (for purple and yellow), the bright red Indian Paintbrush, the white and pink fluffy Sulfur buckwheat, the bright yellow Little Sunflower, and more.

Sulfur buckwheat along the Continental Divide between Idaho and Montana.

Today I drove along the Continental Divide Trail for a short distance and the wildflowers were covering all the hills. This dirt jeep trail is only about 7 miles from RedRock RV Park and roughly follows the Idaho/Montana border. There are still patches of snow at the top of the ridge (Reggie rolled in it), in the last half of July! In places the sagebrush tended to hide the mass of flowers, but the pale green color of the sagebrush just added to the subtlety of the colors. One hillside was covered with the lowly and bright colored Stonecrop succulent to paint it yellow-orange.

Stonecrop even covered one hill. The East Centennial Mtns behind.

Stonecrop succulents cover hillsides at higher elevations here.

Of course, these displays are for a purpose. Nature just didn't decide to make humans happier by providing flowered hillsides. The insects and butterflies are in large numbers, doing their thing by pollinating the flowers so we will have a similar outburst next year. They also provide a bountiful supply of food for the Sandhill Cranes who enjoy searching through the tall flowers for insects and roots. Yesterday I photographed this pair of cranes across from the RedRock RV park happily enjoying the large crop of flowers and grasses.

Sandhill Cranes find morsels to eat among the Little Sunflowers (click on image for larger).

Unidentified butterfly in the flowers near RedRock RV Park. (click image for larger)

Another flower that has just recently bloomed and is in my top five favorites is the Sego Lily (Calochortus nuttallii.) These are the state flower of Utah due to the flavorful edible roots that saved Brigham Young's early settlement there from starvation during their famous famine. They are simply delicate and beautiful wildflowers. These can be often found along the side of the road like they are here at RedRock RV Park. Here's another nice specimen on my photo gallery page.

Looking down the throat of a Sego Lilly found this morning here.

I have a complete gallery of wildflower landscapes you can view if you'd like more.

Of course, you'll have to come here to fully comprehend the beauty of these wildflower displays. Give us a call and see for yourself. (208-558-7442).

Sunflowers

noreply@blogger.com (RV Guy) — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 16:17:00 +0000

It's been a while since I discussed the flowers growing in the meadow across from our RedRock RV Park (Island Park, Idaho). The most ubiquitous and obvious flower now blooming is the Little Sunflower also known as Rocky Mountain dwarf sunflower (Helianthella uniflora). This has replaced the Mule's Ear's as the dominant flower in the meadow across the street. Each plant has a single flower with brilliant yellow/orange ray petals on a hairy stem containing opposite lance shaped leaves. Its bright yellow head faces the sun and tracks it across the sky each day (heliotropic), giving a different brightness of the meadow each time you view it during the day. I'll include a few photos here to give you a sense of the beauty and sense of summertime it creates for us at the park.

A single bloom from the Little Sunflower.

A bouquet of Little Sunflower facing the sun across from the RV Park.

Looking at the back of the Little Sunflowers as they track the sun.

A field of Little Sunflowers across from RedRock RV Park.

Occasionally you find mixed in with the Little Sunflowers the Silky Lupine and Sticky Geraniums. These combination of colors are extremely pleasant to me (at least in nature).

Lupine is often mixed in among the Little Sunflower.

The insects are loving the thick and lush growth. Butterflies are to be found all around. If you look closely you'll see the Circumpolar Bluet (a damselfly) landing on the leaves. Plenty of other insects flit about (including a few of those pesky mosquitos).

Circumpolar Bluet lands on the Little Sunflower leaves in the meadow.

One of the most common butterflies here is the Callippe Fritillary. You'll find many of these flittering around the flowers almost anytime of the day.

Callippe Fritillary Butterfly on Little Sunflower

The lovely Common Harbell (Campanula rotundifolia) has gained a second wind. All of them had disappeared in the last few weeks, but I noticed they are popping up all over again. I'm not sure if this is from seeds formed this season or if they are just a form of late bloomers? Whatever the reason, they are a welcome addition to the potpourri of flowers in the meadow.

Common Harebell are back again in the meadow.

Also found in the meadow is a single large specimen of the White Campion (Lychnis alba) plant. This grows to about 2 feet with multiple blooms on many stems. Behind the flower is a calyx that forms a long, striped tube with granular hairs. This is an introduced flower (from Europe) and is often found by the roadside in disturbed soils. The flowers open at night and have a pleasant fragrance for attracting flying insects. In the meadow across the street it stands out among the Little Sunflower as a very white abberation.

White Campion or Bachelor's Buttons growing in the meadow across from the RV Park.

White Campion (entire plant) in meadow grasses.

Well, this is just a few of the plants that you'll find wandering through the meadow across from our RV Park. Next time we will look further into the forest from the meadow to see what surprises are growing there. Come see us and enjoy this little bit of heaven for yourself at RedRock RV Park in Island Park Idaho. We are only about 25 miles from Yellowstone National Park too!

Centennial Mountains Tour Part 2

noreply@blogger.com (RV Guy) — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 22:25:00 +0000

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Centennial Mountains Tour Part 1

noreply@blogger.com (RV Guy) — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 15:20:00 +0000

Again, I decided to take a tour away from RedRock RV Park (Island Park, Idaho) last week (July 1st). It was a nice day with scattered clouds and warm temperatures ( at least 72F) expected. Reggie and I loaded the car (meaning Reggie loaded himself) with my camera equipment and we departed about 7:15AM. The Centennial mountains are the only East-West aligned mountains that are a part of the Rocky Mountains. They are split into the East and West parts. Driving around them is about 130 mile trip through very nice landscapes including the length of the Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge in Montana. The trip mainly skirts the foothills of the mountains, but at this time of year wildflowers abound.

I'm breaking this up into 2 parts since the trip was so long and there's a lot to say and see. I'll publish the second part soon.

Almost immediately as I left RedRock RV Park, I saw this Swainson's hawk sitting on a fence, chewing on what appears to be a small bird. They will attack small birds, ground squirrels and of course, insects of all varieties. There are a couple of Swainson's hawks that make this area home. I suspect it was one of those.

Swainson's Hawk eating breakfast along Red Rock Road.

The Centennial mountains are feeding several small creeks as I drive along Red Rock Road. The creeks are very full. Those creeks that are on the EAST side of the continental divide (in Idaho), drain into the WESTERN rivers, mainly the Snake. Those on the WEST side (Montana) drain into the EASTERN rivers, mainly the Missouri and then the Mississippi.

Duck Creek and Nemesis Mountain from the Idaho side of the Continental Divide.

The wildflowers are out in force making it difficult for me to make much progress without stopping to photograph them. They are not as much large fields of single flowers, but they are dotted here and there with a variety of flowers. The large Yellow Mule's Ears catch your eye first. Newly blooming is the Indian Paintbrush and they are certainly sure to catch your eye wherever they appear. They are not at their peak yet but soon will be in large patches along the road and creeks.

Mule's Ears are sure to catch your eye as you drive along Red Rock Road.

Staring back at me all along the road is the Unita Ground Squirrel (Spermophilus armatus). They perch high to be able to look for predators, often on top of sagebrush or fences posts. They are thought of pests by ranchers due to the holes they dig which can harm cattle or even people. They are part of the overall scheme of things out here. They eat small insects, and birds, wolves, coyotes and more eat them. They also contribute a lot to the top soil and good drainage here.

Interesting Spires near Mt. Jefferson in East Centennial Mtns from Red Rock Road.

It's important to remember the geology that surrounds us. It actually defines what natural features grow here. The steep mountains to the south of Red Rock road (the centennials) create a special climate on the north, and act as buffers for winter snows to feed life throughout the Spring and Summer. Here's an image to allow you to appreciate the ruggedness of these mountains.

Soon, a white-tailed deer rain across the road, stopped and stared at me. I stopped the Jeep and took my long lens to her at which point she took off. She climbed THRU the wire fence at the side of the road. I had expected her to jump over it.

White-tailed Deer climbing THRU a wire fence at RedRock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge.

Along the road in the Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge, I stopped to explore the flowers and enjoy the solitude of the mountains, lake and meadows. There were few visitors today and I seemingly had the entire valley to myself. I spotted a bright purple flower peaking from beneath the blue-green sagebrush. It seems to be a crazyweed, kind of a pea like flower. There aren't many specimens but they brighten up the entire area.

Crazyweed.

Another surprise along the road was the Blanket flower (Gaillardia aristata). This beautiful sunflower like jewel has purple to purplish brown bull's-eye surround by bright yellow ray flowers. The flower tips have 3 lobes that give the plant a rough look around the edges.

Gaillardia or Indian Blanket Flower blooms in front of West Centennial Mtns.

Not far away I noticed a Red Tailed Hawk sitting in the grass, probably hunting for insects. A was able to get a filtered image (thru the high grasses). Of course eventually he flew away and I spotted his red tail in the sun.

Red-tailed Hawk in Grass at Red Rock Lakes Nat'l Wildlife Refuge

Another brightly colored flower that I encountered along my tour has just appeared in the last week and is called the Yellow Salsify (Tragopogon dubius). Its yellow ray flowers face toward the sun and have elongated sepals that almost look like spears to protect it.

Yellow Salsify Wildflower

As usual when I'm in the Refuge I pull into the Upper Red Rock Lakes campground. It is one of the only places you can actually walk down to the lake easily from your car. There are also often song birds flitting around here. Today I saw a familiar friend, the Western Tanager (Piranga ludoviciana). He was singing up a storm, probably trying to attract a mate.

Western Tanager at Upper Red Rock Lakes Campground (Montana)

Not too far away was this Tree Swallow (Tachycineta bicolor) stretching his wings on the barbed wire next to the road. These guys are all over the place hunting for mosquitoes and other flying bugs. They are our friends! Along with the Western Bluebird, they are the most numerous bird inhabiting the bird houses placed along the roads here by the Wildlife Refuge. One year I photographed a beautiful brown-breasted Barn Swallow along Red Rock road, but that was the only one I've seen in 8 years of coming here so they must be rare. I couldn't resist including an image I took of the Bluebird on this tour not far from the Swallow. Their colors are beyond belief, especially when viewed in just the right sunlight. Although they are fairly common out here, I never get tired of seeing them.

Tree Swallow.

I'll end part one of this trip here. But first, I'll share the wild Wood's Rose (Rosaceae Woodsiii) with you. (This could be the similar Prickly Rose.) There is a small part of Red Rock Road just past the Upper Red Rock campground that is shaded by Aspens and lined by these roses. I always look forward to seeing them each year.

There's still more than halfway to go on this tour, so come back later for the rest. It takes time to put together these blogs and I'll be out photographing tomorrow, so be patient with me. Please come to RedRock RV Park in Island Park, Idaho and take this tour yourself.

Antelope Basin

noreply@blogger.com (RV Guy) — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 17:08:00 +0000

I often wander away from RedRock RV Park to see what variety I might encounter in the nearby forests, meadows, and mountains. The flowers and animals are similar throughout this little corner of Idaho, Montana and Wyoming, but there are some differences. I enjoy getting away from the other people and enjoy the scenery and wildlife by myself. That's easy to do using the RedRock RV Park as a base. Today I decided to drive a short distance to Antelope Basin in Montana. It's only about a 15 mile drive to the basin and the trip is beautiful, traveling around the west end of Henry's Lake.

Antelope Basin is reached via a dirt road off of highway 87, about 1/2 mile from the Montana/Idaho border. It climbs into a basin managed by the US Forest Service. This basin is a critical wildlife habitat and corridor for elk, mule deer, pronghorn, bighorn sheep, bison, sage grouse, bear, wolves and other wildlife. The headwaters of creeks that feed both the Madison River and the Red Rock Lakes are here. The distinguishing feature of the land here is the foothills sagebrush surrounded by coniferous and deciduous forests. Parts of this basin are still leased rangelands for cattle grazing. Of course, cattle contribute to the "non-native" aspects and degrading of this beautiful wild land but one can look past most of their damage to see the beauty of the wildflowers, the creeks and the wildlife.

Once over the hill we found a lone Yellow-bellied Marmot (Marmota flaviventris) scrambling among the sagebrush and the lichen covered volcanic rocks. Marmots are basically large ground squirrels. They typically live in burrows, and hibernate there through the winter. Most marmots are highly social, and use loud whistles to communicate with one another, especially when alarmed. They eat many types of grasses, berries, lichens, mosses, roots and flowers. There is a good supply of all of those in this basin.

Not far away, down the hill we spotted the namesake for this basin, the Antelope or more accurately (antelopes are in Africa only) the Pronghorn (Antilocapra americana) grazing on the basin grasses. From the fact that it didn't run from us tells me that it probably had a young fawn hiding in the high grass nearby. They won't desert their young unless provoked by some direct means.

The dirt road encounters a wire gate (for the cattle) that you must open and close. Once through the gate you are following Antelope Creek for a while. We got out there and looked at the wildflowers growing along this riparian environment. Of course there were the mosquitoes, but they weren't too bad.

Indian Paintbrush along Antelope Creek.

The most obvious wildflower here is now the Indian Paintbrush (Castilleja miniata). It's bright red color contrasts with the dark green of the vegetation along the creek and make for nice picture spots along this rambling creek. Paintbrushes draw water and some nutrients from nearby plants, usually sagebrush or grasses by using short side branches from their roots. But mainly, they are just usually one of the most attractive wildflowers where ever they grow.

Common Indian Paintbrush (Castilleja miniata)

Another interesting plant growing in the grasses along the creek is this small Geyer's Onion (Allium geyeri). It belongs to the Lily family. In addition to numerous attractive white flowers it contains small egg shaped red bulbs that sprout after falling to the ground, providing an asexual form of reproduction. They make the plant quite attractive.

Geyer's Onion

We drove away from the creek and up to a more elevated plateau above the basin proper. There you have a view of the Centennials (at least the top half) and the Madison Range. We drove over very rough terrain and through a shallow creek to get to Lone Tree Pass. Again, from here you can see the Continental Divide, look back at Deer Mountain, and over to the East Centennials.

West Centennials from Lone Tree Pass.

A couple years ago, not far from here, on the slopes of Deer Mountain, I found a very attractive male deer chomping on the grass. He looked up and then we stared at each other for almost 5 minutes giving me plenty of time to snap a photo. He then wandered off slowly to find some more private grazing I suspect.

Young Deer near Antelope Basin a the base of Deer Mountain.

Up here there are large fields of Mule's Ear's in bloom currently. They are starting to fade near us. The altitude here is about 1000 feet higher than RedRock RV Park, so they have bloomed later here. They were humming with bumblebees. Water was still running downhill at every little crease in the terrain. In fact we were thwarted from continuing up to the Continental Divide trail because I didn't want to get stuck in the mud.

Madison Range and Mule's Ear's from Antelope Basin Road (rutted 4 wheel drive road)

We turned around due to the precarious road and headed back the same way. The road was rough put we took it slowly and were able to get out without any damage to the car. If you decide to take this trip, make sure you have a high clearance vehicle and probably 4-wheel drive.

Indian Paintbrush along Antelope Creek.

We saw a pair of Western Tanagers on the way out but weren't quick enough with the camera to picture them. It was a fitting setting for such beautiful yellow and red birds.

I checked with the Forest Service today and found out that the Gravelly Ridge Road will open on July 2nd this year. I'm looking forward to that trip again. It's one of the best wildflower displays around in such isolated and beautiful surroundings.

Come see us at RedRock RV Park in Island Park, Idaho (near West Yellowstone, MT) this summer.

They Keep Blooming in Meadow #1

noreply@blogger.com (RV Guy) — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 23:43:00 +0000

Reggie along RedRock Road in Island Park, Idaho Saturday morning.

What a beautiful morning! Reggie and I headed out on foot from RedRock RV Park in Island Park, Idaho for meadow #1 again hoping to find a few new species of wildflowers. Meadow is a bit of a misnomer since it is a combination of meadow and shaded forest. Well, we weren't disappointed in our search for newly blooming plants since our last visit.

A small stand of Spotted Coralroot on the forest floor.

The first to catch our eye was the Spotted coralroot. Yesterday I had found the Striped Coralroot up the forest road (about 1/4 mile from this spot). They are very similar plants, being non-photosynthetic and red, but this new one is spotted on the "flower" rather than having stripes. One has to please you, either you like spots or stripes, or maybe both ? It's a little hard to see the shape of the "flower" but you can see the spots easily enough. The flower seems to have brown sepals with a spotted white "tongue" hanging out. Some have a spot of yellow which is most likely the reproductive parts.

Spots on the coralroot give the non-photosynthezing plant it's name.

The next newly blooming plant I found was the Cliff drymocallis (Drymocallis pseudorupestris). This is from the Rose family and used to be classified as the "sticky cinquefoil", but was found to belong to another group. This white flowered little plant is easy to recognize with its hairy buds and white to cream flower. This plant can also be found in the sagebrush behind the RV Park later. I noticed that I found this 2 days earlier than I did last year.

Cliff drymocallis

Cliff drymocallis leaves

Another lovely little plant just starting to bloom here is the Wooly sunflower (Eriophyllum lanatum). It's also known as "eriophyllum". It has a lovely yellow/orange flower, like a sunflower. It's part of the aster family. The leaves are covered with fine hairs that give them a wooly look or sliver color. This is another Lewis and Clark first discovery plant!

Wooly sunflower or "eriophyllum"

The common Yarrow (Achillea millefolium) is starting to bloom, but not quite yet. It looks very attractive prior to blooming however. Soon it will be all over the place with it's bright white cap of tiny flowers. Yarrow has a lot of medicinal uses due to the chemical alkaloid achilleine present in it.

Yarrow

Another flower that is starting to pop up here is the distinctive Slender Cinquefoil (Potentilla gracilis), or at least, one that looks very similar to it. The 5 petaled yellow flower is a tall plant that grows in single stalks.

Slender Cinquefoil

There's always a couple flowers I can't identify yet. I've searched a while for this identification without luck. Eventually I find them out. This is a small plant with a florescence of tiny flowers at the top of the plant. It was sprinkled with dew here.

Unknown plant in meadow #1

I'll leave you with a picture of the Oregon Grape (Berberis repens). We've seen this before, but this red leafed version is particularly beautiful to me. Please come to RedRock RV Park in Island Park, Idaho and see these beautiful flowers for yourself. You might sneak over to Yellowstone National Park while you are here where most of these flowers find a home also.

Up the Forest Road..

noreply@blogger.com (RV Guy) — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 17:34:00 +0000

Yesterday, Reggie and I decided to go up the forest road across from the RV Park. (Actually it was Reggie who started up the road and I agreed to go after having decided to go to meadow #1 originally.) We hadn't been up there for quite a while and I thought it would be good to see what was growing there. The road goes about a mile into the Caribou-Targhee National Forest and leaves Red Rock road about 1/4 mile west of RedRock RV Park (Island Park, Idaho).

The forest road is a good place to find wildflowers (if you look).

The first delight was seeing the beautiful Wild Blue Flax growing in the same place as last year along the road. They obviously like it there, on the edge of the road in front of the high grass. They obviously like a lot of sunshine. Last year they created a large array of blue there. Now there are only a few blooming.

Wild Blue Flax along the forest road off Red Rock Road in Island Park, Idaho.

As I got close to the forest's edge I heard the familiar call of the Swainson's Hawk. I looked up and there he was watching us climb up the road. It was nice to know he was nearby. The meadow in front of the forest is a good hunting ground for him. Unfortunately, I didn't have a long lens with me for a sharp closeup. (As it was I had two heavy cameras and a flash. Three is beyond me while hiking.)

Swainson's Hawk watching Reggie and I climb into the forest.

As I reported earlier, the Yellow (Aquilegia flavescens) and Red Columbines are starting to bloom in the forest directly across from the RedRock RV Park. I found a group of them here as well. One such group was intertwined with the many-flowered stickseed (Hackelia floribunda) which made a nice accent for the yellow.

Yellow Columbine

The Heartleaf Arnica (Arnica cordifolia) is doing very well here. They seem to like the open shade afforded by the road and forest here. There are many bunches of them along the road. With the deep green of the forest vegetation they stand out well.

The Heartleaf Arnica along the forest road (inset of bloom).

Another similar flower that I encountered is most likely the Twin arnica (Arnica sororia). Its flower is similar to the Heartleaf arnica, but the leaves are lance shaped and opposite.

Twin Arnica in forest with inset of leaves.

I noticed the Sticky Currant (Ribes viscosissimum) starting to bloom. These are small shrubs that have sticky leaves and bear edible fruits. Meriweather Lewis collected this then unknown flower on his way home. He found it in Idaho also at the Lolo Pass.

The Sticky Currant flower along the forest road.

Western Blue Elder and bloom closeup.

A shrub, the Western Blue Elder (Sambucus cerulea) is in full bloom now. They are a beautiful shrub with large flat-topped clusters of small white flowers. They produce elderberries in the fall which are used for making wine and jellies. They are a favorite food for birds and animals, so they don't last very long in the forest.

Bunch of Fairyslippers.

Again, I was on the lookout for my favorite plant, the Fairyslipper Orchid. I remembered it growing in a bunch near the road last year. I finally found it as a bunch of several specimens. Normally I find these growing as single plants, but here they grow bunched together. Click on the photo for an enlarged view. Notice the basal leaves flat to the ground.

I'll end here, but there are more flowers that I'll be reporting on up the forest road. Here's a closeup of the one of the Fairyslippers (I can't get enough of these!)

Please come and visit us at RedRock RV Park and see for yourself.

Red Columbine and Chocolate Lily

noreply@blogger.com (RV Guy) — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 22:01:00 +0000

The last couple days has brought more flowers blooming to RedRock RV Park (Island Park, Idaho). In the forest across the street from our RV Park I found several new species of flowers blooming for the first time. It's fun to look for the new flowers. You have to be very careful to look under plants and to look at the small ones. Today I found a very tiny plant that's even hard to see with the naked eye (you can, but it's not easy to spot). We finally got a respite from the clouds and the rain and it's made it comfortable to photograph again.

Red Columbine aka Sitka or red or crimson Columbine)

The first flower we celebrate is my second favorite around here, the Red (Aquilegia formosa) and Yellow Columbines. We don't have the beautiful Blue Columbine like you'll find in Colorado, but ours are just as beautiful. They just started blooming here and only a few small specimens are out. We have both the Red and the Yellow variety. They are most likely hybrids of each other since you find them growing close together. The sepals vary from bright red to almost yellow. For a perspective, the flowers are about 2" long and hang like a bell from a long stalk. They like shadier spots and you find them on the forests edge here. Soon there will be numerous flowered specimens lining the edge of the forest. They last for several weeks.

Two days ago I found a rare plant for this area. I was quite excited to find it. I only found two specimens in the area (and I looked around for others.) I had seen it in the books but never found it in the 8 years I've been here. It was in meadow #1, under some bushes along the forest's edge. The bulbous Chocolate Lily (Fritillaria atropurpurea) grows about 2 to 3 feet tall and has brown/yellow/green sepals with large yellow anthers to accent it. It grows like a bell. I've include a few views so you can get a good idea of what it looks like. The flower is about 1.25" wide and tall. Notice the full flower on the right. See the two flowers on above the other? There is another variety discovered by the Lewis and Clarke expedition called the Checker Lily that looks similar but it's range differs and it grows in the northern parts of Idaho. (We are in the south.)

Chocolate Lily is a rare plant in these parts. Underneath.

Back of the flower the green and chocolate colored sepals of the Chocolate Lily.

Getting back to the forest across the street from RedRock RV Park today, I found the tiny Side-flowered mitrewort (Mitella stauropetala) plant growing in among the other plants. It prefers moist shaded areas and our forest qualifies. It's an interesting plant because its blooms are so tiny and they are evenly situated along a narrow stalk. It has only large basal leaves that I can discern that lie flat against the ground. The flower image is greatly magnified. I suspect the flower is less than .05 inch across. The stalk is probably about 8" high at the most. Several of them were growing together along the path in the forest. You have to be looking closely down to see them.

Side-flowered mitrewort flowers are extremely tiny.

Several of the flowers I've seen the the past few weeks are fading fast, including the Heart-leaved Arnica, the Vase flower, the western virgin bower, and more. I saw only one specimen of the beautiful Fairyslipper orchid. But... there are more to replace them.

The striped coralroot has no green and thus doesn't photosynthesize.

On my way out of the forest, I encountered another member of the orchid family that has newly bloomed since my last visit, the totally red Striped coralroot (Corallorhiza trifida.) The "flower" is striped with a yellow throat. It is an erect stalk that holds from seven to 25 flowers in a pikelike raceme. This plant is a sprophyte in that it gets it nutrients from soil fungi and do not do photosynthesis. This means that have no leaves and no chlorophyll.

So, please plan to come visit us at RedRock RV Park in Island Park, Idaho soon before this miracle of nature begins to fade. (Of course, there are flowers blooming until September, so you'll just miss the major part, but not all of the wildflowers if you are late coming.)

I'm looking forward to my annual drive through the Gravelly Ridge mountains after July 4th. There's a great spectacle of wildflowers there that I'll report.

Flowers continue..

noreply@blogger.com (RV Guy) — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 22:09:00 +0000

Although the rain continues to chase me from the forest (thanks to my concern over my equipment), I did find a few new species that were blooming in meadow #1 on Saturday. Rain has been with us every day. Luckily, it's not the 40 days and 40 nights variety, but comes in thunderstorms with an hour or two or three break between storms. I was able to get out into meadow #1 for a few minutes before the next storm started and I decided to head back.

Tall and statuesque Lupine is finally here.

One of the most ubiquitous flowers of the region is finally blooming. The Silver Lupine (Lupinus argenteus) is most probably the species found here, but it could be the Silky lupine (Lupinus sericeus). I'll continue to try to identify the exact one. In any case they add a beautiful purple to any landscape. Down below, along US20, they are mixing with the white Mule's Ear's to form a white and purple mat in large fields.

Yellow Mule's Ear's

I also saw a couple Yellow Mule's Ear's blooming next to the hybrid yellow Mule's Ear's. On one of the yellow flowers was an interesting moth. On closer examination (at the computer), it appears that a Goldenrod Spider has caught two moths. The top moth seems upside down with another moth below it. The spider is apprantly holding the bottom one and most probably eating it. Nature's food chain in full swing here!

Goldenrod Spider's lair

This is maybe balsam groundsel.

Another beautiful little plant is this groundsel, but I'm not sure which one it is. I suspect it's the balsam groundsel (Packera paupercula). It has long leaves at the base, with small teeth along the edge, but the ends are somewhat rounded, unlike the arrowleaf groundsel which has very sharp points on the leaves. It makes a lovely head of yellow flowers, each with 8 spaced petals.

Annual Hawksbeard(?)

I found this yellow flower that looks to me like Annual Hawksbeard (Crepis tectorum). Again, not sure. It's not fully developed yet, so I'll check back and see what it turns out to be later.

Rosy Pussytoes

As the rain started, I turned around, short of my normal path through meadow #1 and as I was leaving noticed the Rosy Pussytoes (Antennaria microphylla) blooming. These look like a head of rose colored flowers that never unfold. This is a great little accent flower throughout parts of the forest.

Well, as usual, I beseech you to come and see for yourself at RedRock RV Park in Island Park, Idaho. We are next door to Yellowstone National Park and Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge, not to mention Henry's Lake for you fishermen.

Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge

noreply@blogger.com (RV Guy) — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 20:21:00 +0000

Yesterday seemed like a good day to visit Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge again. It's only 20 miles or so from RedRock RV Park (Island Park, Idaho) where I'm staying and it was forecast to be a sunny day. It was also a Friday, which means the "traffic" will be light. While most of the RV Park residents were going fishing or to Yellowstone National Park, I decided to see what new flowers, birds and other wildlife might present themselves to me.

I like the trip mainly because of the solitude out there and the lack of "traffic". The trip is all gravel/dirt road and this prevents many people from attempting it, plus it's overshadowed by nearby Yellowstone National Park. You might not see as many animals, rivers and canyons, but the solitude makes up for it for me.

At 6:05 AM, I was walking Reggie getting ready to go and assessing the weather. It was very foggy, but I could see that once that burned off, we should have a good morning. Sunrise starts around 4:15 AM this time of year, so the sun had a good start on me already.

Sun rising over Yellowstone Plateau (looking East) through morning fog.

As I traveled Red Rock road, the East Centennial mountains were shining in that perfect early morning light with the fog lifting in mysterious and scenic ways. I rounded a turn and noticed my old familiar friend, the fogbow. This is caused by the refraction of the sun off the tiny water droplets in the fog. This one was too close to photograph the entire "bow", but you can see the one I found at Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge a couple years ago here.

Right half of a fogbow, or white rainbow caused by the sun's angle to the fog.

Of course, the fence birds were out in force. I'm sure they were as happy as I was to be out in full sunshine and NO RAIN for a change. (The jet stream has been south of it's normal position of a couple weeks and we've been getting the notorious weather from Washington state. It's predicted to change Monday!) The mountain bluebird, the Robin, the many sparrows were making as much noise as they dare for such an early time in the morning. It was breakfast time and they were scurring all over the side of the road and in the meadows finding the little catepillers, worms, and grasshoppers to satisfy their appetite.

Mountain Bluebird with early morning snack along Red Rock Road in Idaho.

Reggie and I stopped at our normal place where we have a fantastic view of the West Centennial Mountains, right next to Red Rock Creek and a large field or meadow to look for wildflowers. The Western blue flag (Iris missouriensis) usually grows here and I was anxious to see it. Unfortunately, I was a bit late for them, but managed to find a few scraggly souls to photograph. Meriwether Lewis collected a few specimens in Montana as well (in 1806.)

I looked around for other flowers and found a few to photograph next to the road. I found the Blue Mustard (Chorispora tenella), a four-petaled purple to rose-colored "weed" with flowers that attract your eyes immediately. Sometimes these plants can light up an entire field with purple. I'm afraid that the "weed" designator has been defined by the livestock and agricultural industries, and not the botanists or photographers!

A few other small but common wildflowers were in the field here, including a taller variety of Phlox that were a beautiful purple color as well.

Reggie enjoys sniffing out the flowers, animals and who knows what else at my favorite stop along Red Rock Road and Red Rock Creek. West Centennials in the background.

I was anxious to find this years' specimens of Crocus or Passion Flower ( ). I recognized the part of the road that had a large concentration of them coming up ahead. This is a beautiful purple and white flower early blooming flower but alas, I was too late (thanks to the incessant rains that kept me from the Refuge) and all I could find was a quickly dwindling specimen and a large number of the seed heads for this plant. The seed heads are beautiful in their own right if not a bit like an unruly hair-do. For those of you interested in what this flower looks like in all its glory, look at these specimens I took last year in Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge. I notice that I took that photo on June 9th, which affirms my lateness this year.

Soon I discovered several other flowers that were "new" for me this year, including the indescribably beautiful Wild Blue Flax (Linum perenne) (see right photo, click for larger.) I only saw a few specimens along Red Rock Road but they will soon be in much greater numbers. Some of them live along the forest road next to the RedRock RV Park here. I also noticed a few blooming plants of the Green Gentian or the Monument Plant (Frasera speciosa.) This almost all green plant starts its life in a state that continually (each season) grows leaves until after 20 to 60 years it grows a large stalk filled with greenish flowers. It then dries and dies never to spring forth again.

The Green Gentian blooms only once in 20 to 60 years and dies.

In a field in front of the majestic West Centennials (with Mount Taylor), there was a large number of Grandfathers Beard (Geum Trifolum). I couldn't resist a photo:

Grandfather's Beard field in front of West Centennial Mountain Range, MT.

In this meadow, below the forest at the bottom of the West Centennial Mountains you'll often see Pronghorn. They didn't fail to disappoint me this time either. Last year, near here, I almost ran over a young Pronghorn hidden in the bushes. (see here). These two guys were grazing and when they saw us, they took off running. Of course they can run faster than any land animal in North America, so they were soon gone from our view.

Pronghorn Antelope at Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge.

I can see that I have rambled on too long. I didn't get to see any Moose this trip, or bears, but the quiet and relaxation made the trip worthwhile. I did manage to see a Western Tanager (Piranga ludoviciana) that I'll share with you. Unfortunately, the sun angle was wrong, but hey, you can see it can't you? I also encountered a lovely yellow Western Kingbird (Tyrannus verticalis) along the Red Rock road.

Western Tanager on barbed wire near south end of Elk Lake, Montana.

Western Kingbird poses along Red Rock Road in Montana.

A trip to the Centennial Valley wouldn't be complete without seeing several raptors. They are hard to photograph because they are mostly flying very high and certainly on the other side of a fence that you can't cross. But yesterday I did have the good fortune to see one on a post next to the road. It was a red-tailed Hawk and was a very large and nice looking bird. Again, the sun angle wasn't right but generally, he is well-lit.

Red-tailed Hawk along Red Rock Road in Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge

I'll finish off with one shot of the Red Rock Upper Lake and Shambo Pond with Montana mountains beyond. Shambo often has a couple swans with their young in residence, but I didn't see them there today. The wind was blowing strong and you'll see a distinct difference in color between the pond and the lake beyond.

Shambo Pond and Upper Red Rock Lake behind.

Well, I'll end it here. I did photograph more views of the landscape, more wildflowers, bright orange and yellow lichens, squirrels, white pelicans, more birds and much more. This is a fantastic place and I'll be out there again soon. There's always something new to share, so stick with me this summer and I'll prove it to you. Come see us and you can see for yourself.

Under the Rainbow

noreply@blogger.com (RV Guy) — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 00:03:00 +0000

Sorry for being delinquent in sharing with you this week. Personal matters and the persistent cloud cover and rain have conspired to keep me from my nature explorations and sharing. I intend to begin my explorations again in the next days as the weather warms up and the clouds disappear. Next week promises to be sunny and warm (72F).

This afternoon we had a torrential rain/hail storm for about 30 minutes. We had hail the size of peas and lots of rain in a short time. That was about the 4th storm today that passed through. At the end of the last storm we had a treat of a beautiful GROUND hugging rainbow. This rainbow (at about 5 PM local time) stayed just above the ground for at least 15 minutes. When I first saw it, there was a second one much further above it for a double rainbow. I'll include a few images I took.

There's not much else I want to say now, but I will be back soon with more flowers and animals at RedRock RV Park near Island Park, Idaho.

Click on this panoramic image of the double rainbow for a larger version.

Notice the two rainbows, one above and one just above the ground. That's Yellowstone Plateau behind them. This is really how they looked!

When I zoomed in to the lower rainbow (with the camera) this is the result. Have you ever seen such a bright rainbow?

Maybe 15 minutes later it had faded quite a bit, but see the blue sky above?

Here's a couple hours before the storm, as it was gathering, looking down Red Rock Road in front of RedRock RV Park in Island Park, Idaho.

The Unknown

noreply@blogger.com (RV Guy) — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 21:44:00 +0000

When I go exploring I look for the minute and the detail, but not really. That would require me to be on my hands and knees and most probably using a magnifying glass. I'll probably do that some day, but not yet. There's still too much to see without that aid or inconvenience. Don't get me wrong. I'm on my knees or belly a lot for photography, but usually after I've identified an interesting plant, insect or rock while standing.

Yesterday I spent some time in the fields at the ranch next to us and although there were plenty of beautiful flowers to talk about (and I did on a previous blog), there were still some things that got left unmentioned. Several were not immediately identifiable. Some plants just don't reveal themselves to me until they've developed further. Identification books usually only a plant in one stage of it's growth. Believe me, plants and insects often go through several stages that are totally different. In the case of a plant, often the leaves will be a constant, but few books picture the leaves well.

Here's an interesting plant that I found in two wet areas at the ranch. It's most distinctive feature is the reddish, blub-like pod growing on a stiff green stem. It has grass or sedge-like long slender leaves. I've joined 3 of it's stages together in this one photo. I'm not positive that the last stage belongs to the same plant, but since it was found next to the others and shared the same grassy leaves, it's a good bet. Anyone know this? The pod is quite attractive and distinctive growing among the other flowers and plants.

3 stages of the same grass or sedge of this unknown plant.

Look at the fine filaments that come out of the blooming head stage. They are lacy in appearance. I'll try to find this plant at an even later stage and see if it reveals its identity to me.

Closeup of final stage of unknown Grass or Sedge.

Another plant that escapes notice until you really stare at your feet is this little Blue-eyed Mary (Collinsia parviflora) wildflower. It's one of the smallest wildflowers in the area. It's flowers are fashioned a bit like the snap dragon. The flower is probably 1/8" or less, so this image is much bigger than life size. I found this in the RV park grass, and here in the field at the ranch. This photo was taken while the grass was wet, so it doesn't so the detail as well as a dry specimen would. You can get a clue of the size by the size of the water droplets hanging to the flower. They are all over the place, you just have to look closely.

Blue-eyed Mary in the wet grassy field.

Another totally unknown plant could be something familiar and common, but in an early stage or it could be something rare. There were not many specimens and these are in the path of the cows, so once they get here, I might lose track of this guy. I'd sure be interested in knowing what it is. I've joined a closeup of the top of the plant with a more wide view. They are about 12" tall.

To continue my confession of ignorance, I present you with this next guy. It's familiar because I've seen it in the past, but I just can't yet identify it. The stems are red and the bracts are bright red as well. It hides in the Sagebrush and is fairly wide spread throughout the fields of the ranch. With the narrow leaves that are opposite, it should be easy to identify. I'll let you know if I can find it. (You let me know too.)

Unknown hiding in the sagebrush.

Of course, poking around in the grasses wouldn't be complete without noticing a fly or wasp or bee. Here's an American Hover Fly taking a drink on a plant. These guys are considered good since their larvae attach insects that destroy commercial crops. They get their name from the way they hover above a flower so silently.

American Hover Fly

Well, there are more things I found, but I'll spare you the details for now. Hope you find this interesting and will consider coming to RedRock RV Park in Island Park, Idaho to find out for your self (and help me to identify a few of these things!).

Continental Divide Flowers

noreply@blogger.com (RV Guy) — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 20:23:00 +0000

I decided to take a short trip up to the Red Rock Pass at the Continental divide (between Idaho/Montana) today from RedRock RV Park (Island Park, Idaho) to see what was happening. It's only 7 miles and 800 feet up from the RV Park. I was hoping to see some raptors flying about or at least a couple new song birds, or some different wildflowers blooming. We are in a cloudy/rainy period and this morning looked like a nice sunny break, with the afternoon promising more rain and clouds, so it was a good time to go.

As we depart, we get a grand view of the Dandelions in bloom at the Meadow Vue Ranch. Actually they are the accent color along all the roads, trails and fences in this entire part of Idaho, Wyoming and Montana at the moment. Those mountains in the background are part of the Madison Range in Montana.

As usual, I take my time getting there, hoping to see a raptor on a fence or a tree without scaring it away. I let the others wanting to race past me go without pause, rolling up my windows until their dust settles. Unfortunately, the raptors must take Saturday off, because I saw none. I did see an Eastern Kingbird. His black head and bright white chest being an immediate tip-off to his identity. He was sitting on a barbed wire fence along the dirt portion of Red Rock road in Idaho. The Eastern Kingbird eats insects from the air and plucks them off vegetation. This is a good place and time for that. The bugs are out and I appreciate anything this bird can do to reduce their population.

Eastern Kingbird waiting for his next insect meal to fly by.

Of course you can't drive along these fenced roads without seeing many of the beautiful Tree Swallows (Tachycineta bicolor) resting on a post or wire or swooping to pick up some lunch. They are also great insect and mosquito scavengers, so long live the Tree Swallow! They have a beautiful and changing irredescent blue color on their backs that makes each viewing a new experience.

This Tree Swallow was launching from his pad to catch an insect.

Notice the irredescent blue on the back of the Tree Swallow along Red Rock Road, Idaho.

While photographing the Swallow, I turned and saw 4 horses coming over the hill to see what I was doing. They were very curious, probably of Reggie who was being good and not barking in the back seat. Other than the bugs, the horses have a great place here with hundreds of acres to roam. These guys looked healthy and happy to me.

Four Horses along Red Rock Road in eastern Idaho.

We turned onto the Continental Divide Trail and parked near Red Rock Road. Reggie got out and sniffed around for bears, etc and I took my trusty wildflower camera and looked for newly blooming flowers. The altitude here is about 7100 feet, almost 800 feet higher than the RV Park so I'd expect some different action here.

Spring Beauty can be found all around us at the Red Rock Pass (Continental Divide).

Under the trees I found the Glacier Lilies still blooming sprinkled with the lovely and small Spring Beauty flowers. Snuggled in a creavse of one of the lichen-covered rocks was this stunted narrow-leaf Stonecrop (Sedum stenopetalum).

A dwarf or stunted version of narrow-leaf Stonecrop at Idaho/Montana continental divide.

A particularly beautiful example of the False Dandelion (Agoseris glauca) was found here. It was much more pale than others I've seen. By the way, the False or Mountain Dandelion is not closely related to the one we know as a weed. (I don't like the word weed. It's a judgement call and depends on the view of the speaker.)

Mountain Dandelion or False Dandelion.

The purple Wyoming Kittentails (Besseya wyomingensis) are still in bloom at this elevation along with the Glacier Lilies and Spring Beauties. At the RedRock RV Park elevation they are pretty much exhausted.

Another small plant I found here is the beautiful Diamond-leafed Saxifrage (Saxifraga rhomboidea.) It grows in alpine meadows and is also known as the snowball Saxifrage due to the arrangement of it's small white flowers into a snowball shape and color. Like the Kittentail it's also a small plant, about 3" in height. These small herbs are easy to overlook so take your time as you scour the landscape for new flowers.

The rocks around here are havens for lichen of all kinds. You could spend hours just exploring the lichen if you were so inclined. This area is not high as mountain passes go, but the winds and cold that blow through here in winter make this a very inhospitable place for plants. They are happy to be out this time of year.

Snowball Saxifrage is a small plant.

This is a beautiful area to look for wildflowers. You are only a couple miles from the East Centennial Mountains that loom above you in this meadow. Here's a view through the Sheep Sorrell of Red Rock Mountain behind.

Red Rock Mountain from the meadow we are exploring today.

One final little treat, and I'll let you go for the day. This little worker Red Ant (Formica) was busy crawling over the lichen-encrusted rocks in the meadow. They like the high-altitude and build nests near trees and shrubs. The entrance is littered with pine needles and other plant materials. They often stay near aphids so they can harvest the honey-dew from them.

Worker Red Ant.

Come see for yourself at RedRock RV Park, near Island Park, Idaho and Yellowstone National Park.

Meadow Vue Ranch Explosion of Flowers

noreply@blogger.com (RV Guy) — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 15:46:00 +0000

Meadow Vue Ranch with East Centennial Mountains as backdrop and wildflowers.

I had neglected the Meadow Vue Ranch next door for a few days. It has been cloudy and rainy and just plain sunless. But today, the sun showed promise of coming forth this morning, so Reggie and I headed out from RedRock RV Park (Island Park, Idaho) next door to the ranch. The cows are still not here so it makes the trek a lot easier. Crawling under the barbed wire fence on the wet ground with 2 cameras was tricky but certainly doable. It was easy for Reggie at least.

The first thing I noticed new was the wholesale blooming of the beautiful and purple Common Camas Lily wildflower (Camassia quamash). These plants bloom in large numbers and from a distance often resemble lakes due to their deep blue color. The are a blubous plant and the Indians collected them as one of their prime food sources. They are common around this area and all throughout Idaho.

About 3 years ago at this very spot I photographed a rare (for this area) white version of the Camas Lily. I've looked the last couple years for the same plant without luck. Maybe someone pulled it up by the roots? Here's a view at a popular Camas blooming area near Fairfield, Idaho in May (Photo by: Kim Pierson.)

White version of Camas Lily I photographed here in 2006. It was only one among the purple.

The next new plant popping up among the Camas is the American Bistort (Bistorta bistortoides.) This is a slender plant which contains a head of small white flowers on a spindly single stalk. The leaves are narrow and sparse. They are edible and are favorites of bears who dig up the roots to chomp on. They are attractive at every stage of the unfolding process.

American Bistort photographed this morning in 3 stages of blooming.

Many of the flowers I saw this morning were blooming in patches of multiple flowers. The Dandelion was probably the most obvious, followed by the Camas Lily, and even the Bistort. Here's a little patch of Bistort:

Field of American Bistort

The next newly blooming flower I encountered was in a large patch of similar flowers and I believe it is the Tall Buttercup (Ranunculus acris). It's a very beautiful yellow flower about 12 to 15" tall at the moment.

Tall Buttercup blooming in Meadow Vue Ranch

It was especially attractive blooming with the purple Many-flowered Shooting stars surrounding it. The Shooting stars are concentrated in a specific area of the field here and are still quite attractive.

Shooting Stars and Tall Buttercup together

I encountered a plant I've never seen before, at least at this stage in it's development. I can't identify it yet, but when I do, I'll update this blog. It was not wide-spread. It may be classified as a weed.

Unknown Plant in the ranch meadow.

Finally (and I am aware this has gone on too long, but it was a productive morning), I encountered the Yellow owl-clover. These tend to grow in open Sagebrush areas, so no surprise. These are similar to the Cusick's paintbrush, but from the descriptions I've read I think this is the owl-clover.

Yellow owl-clover is out in large numbers.

The Mule's Ears were also found in this field, both the White and the cream colored varieties. I'll look around some more and continue this discovery process. There were a few more smaller, and harder to identify flowers that I'll research and report on later.

Mule's Ears (White and Pale Yellow varities, and Common Camas)

Finally, on our way out of the Meadow Vue ranch field, this beautiful Lustrous Copper (Lycaena cupreus) butterfly caught my eye to put a great end to a very exciting and enjoyable morning exploring nature. Spring is certainly in full force here at RedRock RV Park in Island Park, Idaho. Come see for yourself.

Lustrous Copper Butterfly

Sticky Geraniums FINALLY

noreply@blogger.com (RV Guy) — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 16:20:00 +0000

The path along Meadow #1 in Island Park, Idaho, near RedRock RV Park.

Spring is definitely here, but with all the cloudy days and rain we've had here, it's hard to feel good about it. I think the wildflowers feel the same way. There just hasn't been enough sunlight recently. We went to Meadow #1 down Red Rock Road (in Island Park, Idaho) today to see what nature has sprung upon us since our visit last Friday (6 days ago).

As we walked the 1/2 mile west on Red Rock road, I scoured the meadows to see if I recognized any new flowers blooming. There are plenty of Sticky Geranium plants, but no blooms yet. The Mule Ear's are still trying to get up enough momentum to cover the area, but not yet. Of course, the dandelions are starting to cover the ranch next door but you couldn't tell this time of morning (they close up at night.)

Pale Yellow version of the Mule's Ears.

The first newly blooming flower that I recognized as we approached our favorite wildflower spot at Meadow #1 was the pale-yellow Mule's Ears (Wyethia cusickii). They were growing here at the same spot last year. Just a small stand on the hillside was blooming. I suspect this is a hybrid of the white and yellow variety. Nevertheless, they are a beautiful sunflower-like bloom. Several were just beginning to bloom and were also attractive in that state. Notice the shiny almost varnished sheen to it's leaves. This contrasts with the look alike Arrowleaf Balsamroot with its hairy leaves.

Just a little way up the path I noticed this Sticky Geranium (Geranium viscosissimum) just about to bloom. I'd been looking for these the last few days since they have been growing all over the area (without blooms) for the last couple weeks. They are a very bright pink color and will grace the meadows with their colors throughout most of the season (through August.) This bud reminds me of a rose before it blooms. And the stems and leaves live up to their common name. Even further up the path I noticed another specimen that had fully bloomed. Notice the dark purple veins on the delicate lavender petals. This is a beautiful plant that we are lucky to have in this area. Last year, the first blooming specimen I found was on June 15, only 4 days from now.

First Geranium of the season... in Meadow #1 in full bloom.

Along the same path I discovered the first specimen of the Silky Crazyweed (Oxytropis sericea). It is a very small flower, about 1/2" in length, a member of the pea family. I'm not sure about this identification, as several plants are similar in the locoweed and crazyweed families.

Another new bloomer along the path is the lovely Meadow Death Camas ( Zigadenus venenosus). (It is also known as Toxicoscordion venenosus, meaning poisonous garlic.) It is an extremely poisonous plant, toxic to both humans and livestock. All parts of this plant contain the poisonous alkaloid zygadenine, which some claim to be more potent than strychnine. One bulb, raw or cooked, can be fatal. It's leaves are grass like, very long and slender. The head of this plant shown at the right is probably about 4" in height. Notice the very immature buds in the image on the left.

Next to catch my eye was the immature Sulfur Buckwheat (Eriogonum umbellatum) . Eventually this will bloom into a lovely sulfur colored bouquet of flowers, but now it has a distinctive look of red buds. It's leaves are spatula shaped. Last year I discovered these starting up about June 21st in the Meadow Vue pasture. I haven't looked for them there yet.

Sulfur Buckwheat (immature)

Of all the flowers we've found in Meadow #1, the shooting stars, the vase flower, and the Glacier Lilies are fading now. There are still specimens, but many have died or are on the way out. But they are being replaced by many other species of flowers. Of course, go up about 500 feet or more in elevation and you'll still find them fresh.

I'll leave you with this view of the Arrowleaf Balsamroot along the trail. Notice the Low Larkspur in the front. I often look for what I call "bouquets" or closely group combinations of wildflowers that make a beautiful setting. It's one of the joys of looking for wildflowers and exploring the country around RedRock RV Park in Island Park, Idaho. Come see for yourself.

Hemlock and Orchids and Flies

noreply@blogger.com (RV Guy) — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 23:10:00 +0000

I took the time to go into the Targhee Forest next to the RV Park this afternoon. I found a couple new items to report. It's quite a bit wet up there and I encountered the dreaded mosquito, one of which managed to take a sip of me before she ended up a mangled mess on my hand!

At the edge of the forest, I found a bushy plant about 16 inches high, 14 inches wide that intrigued me. It resembled a parsley plant that was still in the process of developing it's little white umbrella of flowers. I later determined that it was a very poisonous plant called the Western water hemlock (Cicuta douglasii). This is the plant that allegedly poisoned Socrates ( a few years back admittedly.) I had broken off a stem for identification back at the motorhome. I found that it was a hollow stem and there was a little liquid dripping out of the stem. Later when I identified it as hemlock I quickly washed my hands. My fingers that had brought it home tingled a little afterwards. No wonder, it's a toxic nerve agent! So, this is a plant NOT to confuse with parsley. Only a few leaves need to be eaten to DIE! The leaves are three-parted and serrated. It's actually an attractive little plant. If it just wasn't so dangerous. I read where the hollow stems have tempted children to use them as whistles and soon find themselves DEAD! From my childhood, I remember kids in the Boy Scouts of America finding hollow stems in the forest and trying to smoke them! This plant would have been a quick smoke!

As usual, the Western Virgin Bower's vine continues to grow and enhance the beauty of any spot it grows. There were several vines throughout the short walk I took up into the forest. Each day seems to bring more of these. What a delightful lavender addition to the profusion of greens in the forest.

I was still trying to find the elusive little Fairyslipper Orchid (Calypso bulbosa). I roughly knew where it would pop up thanks to my work in the same area last year. Well, after several minutes of searching my eyes focused in on two specimens some ways off the trail. Again, these extremely attractive plants are only about 3" off the forest floor with a flower only about 1.5" tall. Meriwether Lewis first discovered this plant for the European Americans, as a plant new to science while hiking along the Lolo trail in Idaho. I can imagine his delight in finding such a beauty.

The Fairyslipper has one leaf that lies on the ground at the base of the single stem. I've included a photo of the leaf this time. I'm sure there will be a few more specimens blooming in the next couple weeks. I am continually trying to find the perfect specimen for photography.

Fairyslipper orchid sports one oval leaf laying close to the ground at the base of the stem.

Fairy Slipper (Calypso bulbosa) is very delicate and can be destroyed forever if you pull it.

On the way back to the motorhome, my eye caught a fly landing on a plant. Having my macro lens at hand I photographed it. I can't identify it (no surprise given there are a thousand or more species of flies.) This one is unusual in that it has a very hairy set of antennae projecting out forward like an appendage. Another photo I took looking straight down verifies that these are where the antennae should be and are situated between the large compound eyes. Let me know if you know what this is. It was about 3/4 inch long in my estimation.

Tomorrow I'll be traveling to Idaho Falls, but who knows, maybe I'll encounter some wildlife. I always take my camera(s) with me.

Come see us at RedRock RV Park near Island Park, Idaho. You won't be sorry.

Snow and Rain

noreply@blogger.com (RV Guy) — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 15:44:00 +0000

I apologize to those few of you that have become accustomed to this blog. The recent rain and snow and dismal weather has accounted for my absence. It's just not any fun to go out in the cold and rain anymore. Flowers hide or look disheveled and the birds and animals prefer not to present themselves and finally, the sun's wonderful lighting is absent. So much for excuses.

Snow coming down on the trail into the forest across from RedRock RV Park.

We had an unexpected snow yesterday morning. Only about an inch or so, but enough to turn everything white for a few hours. I did go up into the forest after the snow to photograph some flowers against the snow, but embarrassingly I must admit I foolishly lost the digital images through what only could be described as haste. But, the Glacier Lilies were beautiful, a bright yellow against the bright glistening white of the snow, a perfect springtime testament to an old adage around here: "we have two seasons, winter and Fourth of July". (Even that wouldn't work in the Colorado mountains where I used to live in Nederland. I remember a Fourth of July where we had 9" of snow!) Unfortunately, most of the flowers and the soon to be flowers were looking pretty shabby after having to support the wet snow. They should spring back to life soon.

Reggie is wearing his blue sweater to keep warm (June 7, 2009)

Even my Golden Retriever, Reggie was bundled up against the 30.5F weather. With the wind chill, it felt considerably colder. But it cleared up later in the day and even the sun came out a bit.

The day before the snow, the dandelions were showing their colors at the RV Park.

Just the day before, I was admiring the mat of dandelions at the RedRock RV Park. This time of year they become solid in some areas of the park and the ranch lands next door. Look at the same place Sunday morning:

In the afternoon, the dandelions opened up and some of the areas next door were looking quite yellow. The horses have returned to the Meadow Vue Ranch and were finding plenty to graze on as evidenced by this image:

Horses grazing on Meadow Vue Ranch and dandelions.

Finally, the bright spot of the afternoon was the spotting of a Western Tanager (Piranga ludoviciana) foraging for worms behind RedRock RV Park. He found one about 10 feet from me. By the time I could get my camera, he was on the fence post much further away. I have seen this bird at the Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge before, but not here. It was a delightful suprise.

Western Tanager basking in the afternoon sun and chewing on a worm!

I spotted this Mountain Bluebird (Sialia currucoides) sitting on a post at the top of the hill overlooking Henry's Lake. The birds were glad the snow had melted and were out finding the worms which had surfaced to escape the saturated ground. The Robins were having a field day.

One last look at the retreating storm as it flies over Yellowstone National Park. From the south shore of Henry's Lake, the large cumulus clouds were evidence of the final vestiges of this spring snow storm.

The clouds of our springtime snow storm retreat over Yellowstone National Park.

Come see us at RedRock RV park to experience all this weather and beauty yourself! We are located 22 miles southwest of the west entrance to Yellowstone National Park and only 1 mile from the south shore of beautiful Henry's Lake in Idaho.

A Delightful surprise

noreply@blogger.com (RV Guy) — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 15:22:00 +0000

Today I decided to visit the meadow #1, about 1/2 mile west of RedRock RV Park (near Island Park, Idaho). There had been a reasonable amount of rain since I last visited and I was hoping there might be some new flowers blooming.

Although a storm is on it's way to us according to the National Weather Service radar image, this morning was bright with sunshine and relatively warm (45F at 7 AM). It was quiet as Reggie (my Golden Retriever) and I walked down Red Rock road. I figured that I had plenty of time before the sun was obscured by clouds and the rain would threaten my cameras.

The meadows along Red Rock road continue to green and grow. Although no new flowers (other than the recently reported White Mule Ear's are evident, it won't be long before these fields are full of color and flowers.

I looked around intently as I climbed the slight hill to the meadow #1 for new flowers. The False Soloman's seal has almost fully bloomed with the tiny white flowers, esp. in the really sunny areas. I also found evidence that the purple Silky Lupine (Lupinus sericeus) would soon be in bloom. The lupines will be all over the place before long and stay most of the summer. I can't imagine a summer without lupines. This specimen had a very small nascent bloom.

I found another small white flower now in full bloom within meadow #1 called the Field Chickweed (Cerastium arvense). It's found all over North America from valleys to alpine meadows. It's leaves are narrow and pointed, with one opposite the other.

Field Chickweed is now in bloom in meadow #1.

Small white flowers are common here and gives challenge to identification and notice. One white flower may look like another without careful examination. One such new flower I found this morning is the Pennycress (Thlaspi arvense) . It is considered a common weed and gives milk a bitter taste when diary cows consume it. Some medicinal uses have been found including antibiotic uses. It was named for the penny-looking seed pods that appear later. It's leaves are alternating on a main stalk and are hooked or saw-tooth in appearance.

Pennycress blooming in meadow #1 today.

There are several shrubs or tree-like bushes that grow in meadow #1. One has bloomed today called the Western Serviceberry (Amelanchier alnifolia). It's deep blue berries are edible though it is said that they have little taste to them. This is one of the plants collected by Lewis and Clark in north central Idaho in 1806. The men ate the berries as well. The leaves have small teeth edging them only on the top.

Serviceberry blooming in meadow #1.

The most delightful surprise today was in finding my favorite flower of this region, the beautiful little Calypso orchid also known as the Fairyslipper or Venus' Slipper (Calypso bulbosa). In the upper meadow I was attracted to some fungi growing on a rock and suddenly spotted a small splotch of purple color low on the forest floor. I immediately recognized this beauty. It was a single specimen growing on a single stem out of the ground. The plant is extremely small, probably only 3" tall. One of the images here compares it to a AA battery I had in my pocket. I've never found it in this location and I was favorably surprised. I had been looking for it in all the normal places and it is not blooming in any of those places yet.

They require special conditions of shade, soil and moisture that cannot be duplicated outside of an old-growth forest. The single leaf has a very limited ability to photosynthesize and so cannot provide all the nutrients the plant needs. This orchid grows in an alliance with a fungus in the soil that shares nutrients taken from the roots of trees. The orchid is using the needles of the Douglas fir trees in the forest to provide the nourishment it needs through a fungus. They simply won't grow if dug up and taken home. There are so few in this area, I'd hate to see people try to transplant them.

Calypso Orchid or Fairyslipper (flower is about 1" tall)

Calypso Orchid compared for size to a AA battery.

Here's a closeup of the beautiful feathered throat of this orchid. This isn't the last of these you'll see. I photograph them whenever I can, hoping to get better views of this little beauty.

Throat of the Fairyslipper orchid.

Again, come see for yourself. The flowers are still not a their peak, but soon will. Come visit us and Yellowstone National Park.

I'll leave you with this photo I took this morning of the Arrowleaf Balsamroot flower. May your day be as bright!

Arrowroot Balsamroot flower near RedRock RV park, Idaho.

Mule Ears

noreply@blogger.com (RV Guy) — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 20:59:00 +0000

Well, I take it back (just a little). There was something new blossoming today. I found it this afternoon after the rain had ceased and I had a little more time to explore. All of the meadows that line the forest along Red Rock Road here are blooming with the Mule Ears (Wyethia helianthoides) wildflowers. These have large hairy leaves (up to 20" long) and grow in clumps. The flowers look like sunflowers and are mainly bright white, but occasionally you'll see cream colored ones.

They tend to cover an area for a few weeks, esp. the moist areas. They will make a sea of white soon and tend to be very photogenic in the landscape. Right now they are very sporadically blooming and are hard to see because the other vegetation is higher than their nascent plants.

Native Americans used them for food, roasting, grinding and easting the seeds as a mush. They will be all along Red Rock road and US20 between RedRock road and Hungry Bear restaurant (in the meadows there) and the other meadows throughout Island Park (Idaho) along US20 and the Mesa Falls Scenic Highway.

This species is found in Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Oregon and Nevada. White Mule’s-ears was discovered in Idaho 1833 by the noted explorer, Nathaniel Wyeth.

There is a yellow version of this flower and a hybridized version that is a beautiful cream color. The yellow version isn't found around here in much quantity to my knowledge. Another flower often confused with this is the Arrowleaf Balsamroot, another Yellow sunflower like flower in bloom now.

Soon the Mule Ear's will cover this meadow just west of the RedRock RV Park.

Mule Ear's ready to bloom in Island Park, Idaho.

Spring pauses....

noreply@blogger.com (RV Guy) — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 15:34:00 +0000

June 1st, storm is on it's way. Mountains visible.

Well, maybe Spring is just in a holding pattern here, but it seems that the rains has certainly slowed down the emergence of new wildflowers. Here at RedRock RV Park in Island Park Idaho we have had cloudy days and about .5 inch of rain since 5/30. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad for the rain, because that means that the wildflowers should soon have a grand resurgence thanks to the additional moisture. It's hard to photograph in the rain and the efforts usually aren't too great.

Same view for the last 2 days, no mountains visible, and rain, rain, rain....

This morning I went up the forest trail across from the RV Park to see if anything did happen to bloom. Nope, same as 2 days ago. The leaves were bright, shiny and clean from having so much moisture on them, and the rain and dew drops made for some nice images, but no new blooms. I think the wildflowers are hoping for the sunshine as much as I am. (It does make sense that blooming is halted until enough sunshine is available to continue photosynthesis so necessary for rapid growth.)

View from forest near RV Park of Henry's Lake and Black Mountain through rain.

Usually, rain comes here by the thunderstorms that move at quite a clipthrough the Centennial Valley almost each afternoon. We might get a tenth or more of an inch from such a storm in a hour or so, but this system has come into the area and sat down to rest for a while. The forecast calls for more of the same for the next days. Sigh!

In the forest, without new wildflowers to see, my focus diverts to other less showy forms of forest life. The forest is full of them. Several forms of lichen grow. This one grows on the Douglas Fir trees here. It appears to be a form of Usnea, commonly called Old-Man's Beard, or Beard Lichen or just Tree Moss. Usnea grows all over the world. Like other lichens it is a symbiosis of a fungus and an alga. It seems to have antibiotic and anti-fungal capabilities as it was used by the Indians as a compress to treat battle wounds directly and ingested internally as an antibiotic. It is apparently edible and high in vitamin C.

I found a rock on the edge of the forest that was a veritable "village" of life forms. You notice first the bright green moss. Moss drys out quickly and hydrates quickly after a rain. It goes dormant during the winter, expelling all moisture from the inside to avoid cells being ruptured by the ice that would form in the cold. Here, during a rain, it is full of life. It reproduces in a complicated manner with spores.

Rock full of life, including moss and various fungi and lichens, about 3" segment of rock here.

It also contains several fungi including disc and cup shaped fungi, and lichen. In fact, it's hard to see any of the rock surface itself due to all the different life forms on it. I'd like to be able to identify them all for you, but I've not the ability or the reference material yet. On the right of the above image is the Green Rock Posy (Rizoplaca meanophthalma). With normal eyesight this merely appears as a rough green color material. See some intricate detail here:

Green Rock Posy Lichen (about 1/2" shown)

Another bright spot that catches your eye if the Wolf Lichen (Letharia) that hangs on the Douglas Fir here. The bright color was used as a dye by Indians for their feathers, moccasins, quills, and even on their faces.

Wolf Lichen on Douglas Fir bark in forest here.

Dead trees (nurse trees) provide a wonderful platform for growth of many forest inhabitants. Here is a small (hard to see without getting on your knees) Cladonia pyxidata lichen "forest". The primary growth at the base of these goblets is like a mat of flakes in which the goblets rise. The cup shape probably evolved as a method of spore dissemination to allow rain to splash further away as the water washes tiny spores away from the plant.

Pixie goblet lichen blooming on "nurse log"

As I continued to look at things that I normally overlook along this path, an entire new set of interesting life started to appear. For this blog, we have probably exhausted your patience, but I'll consider studying these in more detail later and reporting on the variety of life in our little part of the Targhee Forest here. One last shot, a spreading lichen on a log?

Unknown lichen or slime mold or?

The flowers and leaves are full of picturesque little water droplets if you take the time to squat and view them. Here's a couple for your pleasure:

Glacier Lily after rain in forest.

Water droplets on leaves in forest today.

Come see us at RedRock RV Park soon. The rain will stop and then the fruits of all that moisture will show itself around us.