As those who regularly follow my posts have probably noticed, I try to post each month but failed to meet my July deadline. In my defense, I've been trying to understand an upgrade to an editing software that's more sensitive than its predecessor, and it completely blew up my workflow. As a result, it seemed to take forever to edit and prep any photos for posting. Moreover, we've been meandering around quite a bit recently, which meant multiple short trips to different locations during the past several weeks.
In June, we visited northern New Mexico's Sugarite Canyon State Park. Following that, we took a quick five-state tour starting from Colorado, through Wyoming to Montana to visit family, then on into South Dakota toward Nebraska to catch up with an old friend of my husband's. More recently, we enjoyed an unexpectedly peaceful couple of days near the closed bridge over Blue Mesa Reservoir along Highway 50, where we thoroughly appreciated the tranquility of the absence of tourist traffic. And the reason for my missed deadline was a second trip to Montana for the 50th anniversary of a couple we've known for almost that many years. This post will probably only include the first two trips.
So, starting with our June trip in New Mexico: Sugarite Canyon (pronounced Sugar-EET by the locals) was the location of a coal-mining camp during the early 1900s. In fact, the building that now serves as the park's visitor center was a home until the mid-1980s when the state park was established; we got to talk briefly with the young woman whose family lived there when she was a child. The canyon walls are heavily forested, and during our visit the thickets of New Mexico locust trees (Robinia neomexicana) were in full bloom. It's frustrating to me that I didn't identify them at the time, considering that their blossoms are edible. Later, I found recipes for tea, fritters, syrup, and a sorbet that sounded absolutely delicious.
Our campsite was shaded by the Gambel oaks (Quercus gambelii) that are all over the park and had the bonus of a Western red-shafted flicker (Colaptes auratus cafer) nest just a few feet from the picnic table, which afforded plenty of birdwatching time. We enjoyed getting to know the differing feeding styles of the parents. The Mom was the more cautious one, taking time to check out the neighborhood thoroughly before she'd fly in and quietly land some distance from the nest hole; the babies stayed very quiet until she had landed at the opening to feed them. The other parent had much more flair. He would zip in and thump onto the trunk near the nest hole, prompting the babies to immediately poke their heads out and begin buzzing for their meal. Nearly all my photos are of the male, who is distinguished by his bright red cheek stripe, just because he was so bold and confident.
While we were camping there, we discovered that, like turkeys, mountain bluebirds (Sialia currucoides) have no self-awareness -- they try to beat up their own reflections. We watched a pair attack the windows of the neighboring campers' vehicle. Later, while the neighbors were away, the sides, windows and mirrors of our vehicle got smeared with droppings simply because the birds could not abide the "invaders" they could see in the windows. It sometimes seemed like the female was goading her mate to attack the windows while she watched, but I saw her attack that "enemy female" a few times too.
We had one sad experience while there. One evening, as we were returning to our camp after looking for wildlife, a very young elk calf in an obvious panic ran full tilt from the creek bottom, across the road in front of us, and up the hill to our left. I was curious about what could have scared it so thoroughly, so I asked my husband to stop so I could try to see down
the hill. Two reasons that's a bad idea -- the game trail was through thick forest, and before I'd gotten more than a few feet from the pickup, I heard a deep "WHUFF" from below. Even if it was only my imagination, I wasn't about to go another step forward! Back in the vehicle, and heading up the hill, we saw the elk calf again, still panicked and desperately trying to get away from us. We're pretty sure its mom was killed by a bear; late that night, I heard the baby calling, but didn't hear any answering calls. And yes, I cried.
Our next trip was to Montana to visit family and enjoy our nephew's graduation dinner and a dance with old and new friends. Such visits are usually too short, but our next stop was in Nebraska to visit someone my husband knew when he was just a kid and hadn't seen for decades until the previous summer. That portion of the trip took us through a stretch of South Dakota I don't remember ever seeing before, and that I must see again when we have more time. I loved the area around Spearfish and we camped at a unique campground adjacent to and including a city park. The next day, after our too-short visit with the friend in Alliance, Nebraska, we moved on to find a campsite
for the night. We bypassed Chimney Rock due to the heat and lack of shade, and settled at Lake Minatare State Recreation Area not far from Scottsbluff.
Lake Minatare is a large reservoir that serves thousands of acres of Nebraska farmland with irrigation water, but it's "claim to fame" is the miniature lighthouse found on a spit of land overlooking the lake. This plains landmark was built during the Great Depression between 1937 and 1939 from native stone by a Veterans Conservation Corps crew. The stated purpose of the lighthouse was to provide a 'beacon of hope during those dark days' and today it still serves as an
appealing lookout point, observation tower and weather shelter for people enjoying the recreation opportunities at the lake. The 55-foot tower is climbed by means of a tight spiral stone staircase with small landings at each window. We camped next to the lake which was at very high levels at the time and we were treated to a spectacularly brilliant sunset that set the water on fire.
The next two or three trips I mentioned will have to wait for a future post. In the meantime, feel free to check out the rest of my website for photo art for your home, office or commercial space. If you have questions about any of my images, please reach out to me at denise@denisedethlefsen.com. And don't forget that if you're not yet a subscriber, to "Sign Up to Stay Connected" on my Home page!
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