IN SEARCH OF A RARE BIRD
Leaving the Black Hills of South Dakota we got wind of a rare bird sighting on the Iron Creek Trail in Spearfish Canyon. Hoping to get one up on my brother, Ornithologist Kimball Garrett, we grabbed our binoculars and headed to the trail. According to the local paper, the Orange-billed nightingale thrush, spotted on July 10 and several times since, is the only one known to have been seen in the United States except two reportedly spotted once in Texas. Birders from around the nation were flocking to South Dakota in hopes of adding this errant bird to their life list. A car in the parking lot sported a bumper sticker which read: “I’d rather be birding” so we knew we would be in good company.
Hiking the canyon we looked and listened. The clattering sound we heard did not mimic the flute like song of a thrush. It turned out to be a kingfisher. We spotted a redstart, a good bird to see, but no thrush. We met a birder sitting by the stream, binoculars poised. An elderly lady, she had driven by herself from Colorado in search of the thrush and planned on camping there until it appeared. Not as dedicated as this hard-core birder, we were soon on our way across the state line into Wyoming.
Near Iron Creek we hiked to Roughlock Falls
DEVILS TOWER
Devils Tower is more humungous than beautiful. All I could think about was Richard Dryfuss desparately forming the upthrust with mashed potatoes as his horrified wife looked on. By the way, his wife in the movie was Teri Garr, a high school chum of mine! I regress. We admired the geologic wonder from several angles, perused the Visitor Center and picnicked nearby.
The tower rises 867 feet from its base and stands 1,267 feet above the river and 5,112 feet above sea level. The diameter of its base is 1,000 feet. On July 4, 1893, with fanfare and more than 1,000 spectators, William Rogers and Willard Ripley made the first ascent, using a wooden ladder they had built. Approximately 5000 climbers come from all over the world each year to attempt the ascent. If you wish to make the climb, please check in with the ranger first!
YELLOWSTONE (The place where hell bubbles up)
After a night in Greybull, Wyoming we traveled through Cody and into the first National Park in the U.S. through its east entrance. Americans are loving this park to death. We suffered lines of traffic which began at the entrance kiosk and continued throughout the park. Road work areas caused delays and even if we saw a viewpoint, there was nowhere to park.
The reservation campgrounds were full and the first-come first-served campgrounds were full also. Finally we found a spot at the north entrance to the park where we set up a nice camp with a view and for the first time spent a few days without hookups for our trailer. We felt like we were really camping for a change. There was a ranger talk each night at 9, and we enjoyed a blazing campfire.
We had better luck the next day; unhooked from the trailer we were off to see the sights. From a lookout over the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone we watched a waterfall plunging a thousand feet for a violent meeting with the hot springs below sending plumes of steam skyward. We knew right then the trouble was worth it.
We also enjoyed Tower Falls:
Over the next few days we were rewarded with meadows of colorful wildflowers:
lazy herds of elk:
and thermal pools the color of Alaskan glacial ice:
Norris Geyser Basin
Periodically the big Wyoming sky would fill with puffy clouds which in turn would become dark, releasing a downpour. Lightning would crack across the sky, thunder booming around us, and then, as fast as it came, the storm would pass, and a rainbow filled sky would turn to sun.
HOT SPRINGS
We hiked to Mammoth Hot Springs, a mirror image of the hot springs of the same name on Highway 395 near Mammoth Lakes. Several families were sitting in the river where the hot springs warmed the currents. Alan and I were quite the scene – with our chairs and umbrella and picnic lunch looking like the tourists from California. As we soaked in the springs we were joined by a beautiful elk which trekked through the river, gave us the once over and then mozied away.
We spotted several birds including a ring-necked pheasant; trumpeter swan and sandhill cranes. There were also numerous black billed magpies:
Phemale Pheasant
Trumpeter Swan
Sand Hill Cranes (trust me)
Black-billed magpie
Yellowstone became the world’s first National Park in 1872 and was managed by the Army until the National Park Service was formed. We are thankful that this park will be here for our grandchildren and their grandchildren to enjoy. It is truly a natural wonder.
FROM GEYSERS TO BROTHEL
Taking Highway 90, we stopped in Butte and enjoyed lunch at a sports bar located in an old bank building. There are even lunch tables in the old vault. The town is striving to renovate the lovely buildings in their historic district, but it is an uphill battle. We made a short stop at the Brothel Museum for a photo op.
Bank Restaurant
Bank Restaurant
Lunch served in the vault!
There was a day when this town boasted a rather large red light district.
DEER LODGE, MONTANA
We continued on to Deer Lodge, some 50 miles short of Missoula. There is a complex of museums in Deer Lodge including a whiskey museum, doll and toy museum, prospecting museum, auto museum and a tour of the Montana Territorial Prison.
Montana Territorial Prison
Whiskey Museum
When we arrived, the town folk were gathered near the Prison to celebrate the completion and dedication of the restoration of Caboose No. 178, an authentic Old Milwaukee Road Train Car which had been parked at Sun Mountain Lumber for over 14 years. This group had raised the funds to restore the caboose which will remain on display at the museum complex.