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| Wild rose in the rain |
Greenough Park & Stellar Jay
It was a drippy morning, but I had two more letterboxes to find. The first was at Greenough Park, a natural park along Rattlesnake Creek. What I didn't know was that the park was an access point to the Rattlesnake Greenway, a path that runs for miles along the creek, and connects with the Clark Fork River pathways that I discovered the previous day! So it was a double win!For awhile, the main path is paved, but there are side trails for hikers and dogwalkers that bikes are not allowed on. The trail goes right by the river, with blooming lavender lilacs, bright pink wild roses, berry bushes, and more that I don't know the names of, all heavily laden by accumulated water from the rain. The sound of the rushing creek tumbling over rocks is soothing and energetic at the same time. I'm just glad that there were a couple of bridges, and that it wasn't necessary to cross it on foot!
I found the letterbox (beautiful stamp of a stellar jay), and greeted quite a number of dog walkers. It's so nice to see dogs and their owners out enjoying the outdoors. One dog, a St Bernard, was carrying a very awkward, large branch, and his owner laughingly commented that it was "a treasure" and they probably were going to be going home with it.
The wildlife don't seem to be much bothered by all the activity. I saw a couple of Canada geese and some mallards down by the creek, and could hear birdsong above the sound of the noisy creek. Supposedly there are pileated woodpeckers here, too. Although I kept an eye out, none were seen or heard.
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| Another fire lookout at the Smoke Jumper Center |
I'll be back.
Smoke Jumper Center
Another letterbox was at the Smoke Jumper Center. Unfortunately during this shoulder season before Memorial Day, tours are only given by appointment, but the grounds are open with some displays, including yet another log lookout building, memorials and exhibits. It was interesting to see the Parachute Loft, the Fire Lab, and out on the airfield were training grounds with pieces of aircraft, presumably where the jumpers could practice before actually jumping out of a flying aircraft!The letterbox clue indicated it was near the "Firefighter Memorial," which resulted in some temporary confusion, as it turned out there were TWO memorials. It took some wandering around to find the second one, but I learned some interesting things: for instance after WWII, excess bomb casings were filled with water and dropped on forest fires as an experimental way of fighting forest fires! (The practice was abandoned when better techniques were developed.)
I did find the letterbox: it actually was under one of the stones of the fire lookout cabin's foundation.
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| National Bison Range: rain clouds, but no bison |
National Bison Range
The National Bison Range was the very first national refuge, established in 1908 by President Teddy Roosevelt. The place closes at sunset, but I had plenty of time to drive the longer road (19-mile Red Sleep Mountain Road) and wander on the few trails that hikers are allowed on.The visitor center was closed, so I picked up a map and walked the mile-long trail nearby. The weather was threatening to rain, but the lowering clouds gave an energy and air of mystery to the landscape that wouldn't have been there had it been sunny blue sky. Wildflowers, mostly white yarrow, lupine and toadflax (look like miniature yellow snapdragons) were blooming abundantly.
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| Spotted towhee |
I was glad that I had 4WD on this trip. Not that a normal car wouldn't have been able to make it, but all the rain had made the road muddy and slippery, and with the steep 10% grades I was happy to not have to worry about making it through.
The road climbs steadily through open grassland. I saw ONE lonely bison from waaaay far away. Glad I had the telephoto and spotting scope, as otherwise the dark mass might have been confused for a rock with horns.
You have to drive slowly so as to not miss anything!
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| — Yellow warbler — Hard to photograph, as it has a quick, darting habit in brush. |
No bison, but birds everywhere!
There were lots of birds singing and flitting about in the creek bottoms. Since I wasn't having a lot of luck seeing bison, birds were fun to look for. They were all over the place, but it was still a challenge to find them!I've had the best luck finding birds either:
(1) when they are startled and fly off, which is not particularly productive, but sometimes they are obliging and only go a short way;
(2) watching for them at the tops of vegetation; or
(3) listening for them and trying to zero in on their location.
Even that is tough.
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| Western meadlowlark trilling |
I saw and heard magpies, western meadowlarks, and robins; a yellow warbler, spotted towhee, and mountain bluebird; crows, and more. I am very glad for the telephoto lens and the spotting scope, as I'm now beginning to reap the benefits of having it. So many of these birds you'd just be able to squint at, but I'm able to see them clearly with the scope.
I now know what a meadowlark sounds like, (although I'd never attempt to imitate that song). And now that I know what one looks like flying, it will be easier to identify them on the wing.
So much of bird identification is just taking the time to observe with all your senses: really seeing, really hearing and putting the two together. It's being quiet and patient, and very zen.
…And not being frustrated that you don't see anything!
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| Bitterroot: Montana state flower |
Which I kind of was 10 miles into the trip, and having seen only two lone male bison from very, very far away.
The Bitterroot Trail was at about the half-way point. At the end of the trail, there were bitterroot flowers just beginning to bloom. Until they bloom with a bright pink flower, they are a small, unassuming plant that grows close to the ground. Their roots are edible, although they have to be boiled to be palatable.
If you are interested in when to harvest and how to prepare bitterroot, you can read about it here.
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| Wave cut terraces still visible on the hillsides |
Lake Missoula
The road rose higher, it began to rain in earnest, and I was figuring this trip was just going to be a big bust. I looked for elk in the forests at higher elevation, but didn't see any of them, either.What I did see was an interesting exhibit about Lake Missoula, one of the large Ice Age lakes (or succession of lakes) formed by ice damming the outlet of the Clark Fork River, similar to Lake Bonneville and Lake Lahontan to the south. These lakes grew bigger and bigger as the ice kept plugging up their outlets, but eventually — and catastrophically — the water burst the ice dams and flooded the areas downstream.
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| Yellow paintbrush |
The road dropped down, with fields of wildflowers: purple lupine, deep blue penstemon, yellow toadflax, white yarrow and pale yellow indian paintbrush.
It was breathtaking.
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| Bison grazing, with the Mission Mountains in the background. The clouds lifted just briefly. This must be amazing in the sunshine! |
Still, this is probably my favorite picture from this trip — it's iconic of the wild land and the animals that live there.
There was evidence of bison (or elk, which can also be very destructive): tracks, patties, wallows and muddied places where they'd crossed the road, but no bison close by...
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| Finally! A pronghorn buck! Up close! |
Finally! Big animals!
The road finally drops down and becomes the "Prairie Road," which is more accessible to cars. It also is along the river, so (duh, if I'd thought about it) there is more wildlife nearer the water. |
| Finally, an elk! Actually, there were about 10 of them, but they were in the trees, across the river, so a little hard to see. |
Yes, I feel pathetically thankful that I finally saw them. (It was also getting later in the day, so that may have had something to do with it, since animals tend to come out and forage at dawn and dusk.
I was also excited to see a female common merganser in the river; just enough to identify and get a lousy picture (not good enough for this blog). I'm learning to be quicker!
So, all in all it was a very good day... and it wasn't over yet!
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| Finally, a bison! Up close! |
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| Pond at the nature area; yellow is blooming iris. |
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| Turtle nose: if you look carefully you can just see the shell under the water. |
Picnic at the pond
With all the excitement, I needed some dinner. There was a picnic and nature area near the entrance, so I headed there, even though it was getting near closing time. Dusk is always a good time to observe wildlife, as the birds and animals need to feed and drink before settling down for the night. And dusk lasts for a long time, now!There was a pretty little pond, and water is always attractive to wildlife, too. This place was no exception.
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| Cottontail rabbit. |
Rain doesn't seem to bother any of them, and I was glad to share the space and peace and quiet. It was way more interesting to walk around on the different trails than eat dinner!
The most special thing to me was a pair of vaguely duck-like birds high in a tree. I wondered what ducks were doing in a tree, since in my limited experience ducks belong on waddling on the ground or swimming in water. In the waning light of dusk, all I could really see was their silhouette, but when I turned the scope on them, I could see all their marvelous markings: a pair of wood ducks, which I had never seen before!
It was a great way to finish a truly remarkable day. I hope there are many more of them!
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| Pair of wood ducks high in a tree. |
* Woes of a Nomad: for the record.
This nation is not set up for those of us who call the road home. You are SUPPOSED TO HAVE A PLACE TO CALL HOME, be it your own or rented.I don't. My car is my home.
It has a mobile address. Currently, Kalispell, MT.
I subscribe to a mail forwarding service, based in South Dakota, that holds my mail until I ask for it, and they will forward it to any address of my choosing. It can be a residence, Post Office, or business.
That South Dakota address is my home address. All mail goes there. My driver's license shows that as my address. My business is there. I vote in South Dakota (just did by absentee ballot; the primary is in June). My insurance, taxes, financial papers, taxes, bills... everything goes there.
But, technically, I don't "live" there. I live in the car. I'm <gasp> homeless.
Now, there is a funny thing. Not so funny when you have to deal with it, but amusing enough when you think about it.
For banking purposes, as a result of the Patriot Act,
YOU ARE REQUIRED TO HAVE A PHYSICAL RESIDENCE.
This has been a continuing source of frustration, on my part and on the banks that I'm trying to do business with. It's a problem for some financial institutions, but not others. Schwab doesn't have an issue at all; Chase was fussy, but eventually let it go; CitiBank needed an interim address, but finally accepted the South Dakota address.
Before I left on this trip, I opened a new account in South Dakota for my business. I registered my business "Rainbow Graphics" in South Dakota with an FBNS, using the South Dakota address and opened a business account with USBank. USBank was one of the few banks that had a branch in Marin, as well as having a presence in the Western US, especially South Dakota, so they were a good choice.
Before I left, all seemed to be fine...
Unfortunately all was NOT fine. They wanted a physical address that they could research and determine that I was connected with the residence. I tried giving them a friend's address (that had worked for CitiBank as an interim solution).
But no. That address was not "associated" with me.
I was given the option of showing a recent utility bill. (I don't have one.)
They wanted to know "how soon" I was going to be moving to South Dakota. I said I'm already established as a resident, and it would be January 2017 before I would even consider that option. I was traveling until then.
We seemed to be at a stalemate, but fortunately, I offered that I owned property in California, and would they accept that? Even though I don't LIVE there?
(Do you see how utterly twisted this is?)
So... yes, they would accept this, with conditions. I had to call the Marin County assessor's office, and have them fax a copy of my property tax bill, showing my name, the address of the property I own, plus my mailing "residence" address in South Dakota.
It was with some relief that the nice gal at USBank in South Dakota accepted this.
But I wonder... what would I have done if I did not own property??
There is something wrong with this country when homeless people cannot open a bank account because they don't have a residence.
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