Grizzlies and Mountain Goats and Dirt

What? Where am I? Currently in Kalispell, MT. Haven't bathed (other than in a lake at 9,000 feet) in 8 days. (that's nothing).

Quick update: From Truckee, went to Northern Nevada's Ruby Mountains. Spent a couple days there and did some beautiful hikes. Backpacked in a thunder storm. Also saw heaps of PIKAS! (finally got a couple photos). After the Rubies, went to the Sawtooth Mountains in Idaho. Also gorgeous. Extremely beautiful, really. And not crowded. More pikas. Excellent.

From the Sawtooths, went north to Glacier National Park. Weather here not cooperating extremely well, so we are extending our stay. However, finally saw 2 grizzlies (no photos, boo)!! So that was quite exciting. A mountain goat family too, who did seem to pose quite nicely for photos. (oh and a badger earlier on)

Today was rather mehhhhh. Had to drive a few hours to a Honda dealership because Vladmir (the badass Civic) was sounding like it was more or less dying. Think grating metallic grinding noises...similar to nails on the chalkboard times 100. Ew. Luckily, only 50 bucks and a rock removed from the brake caliper. Good.

Staying at a Super 8 tonight. Drinking margaritas and bathing. Sleeping in a real bed. Which is nice, but the tent has been treating me decently. However, I realize, much to my dismay, it could possibly be time to retire the beloved tent after this gig is up. Thunderstorms last night and I got dripped on in the tent. Lame! It had a good run, considering it's fairly consistent use since 2004.

I think we might re-route our schedule a bit because of the driving day today and the weather. Either way, Yellowstone and surrounding areas next. And then Canyonlands and Black Canyon of the Gunnison...

One Year! (plus a few days)

Aug 15th was our first anniversary...wheee! Sadly, we were about 2,000 miles apart for this occasion but I guess that means we'll just have to celebrate later (Zac started classes in MS, I'm finishing out the field season in the Sierra). It's been an excellent first year- can't wait for more! (all photos by Kiki Morton)

These Gods Part 1

I'm behind on the blog thing, that's for sure. Zac and I went to the White Mountains about 3 weeks ago. Wasn't about to let him leave California without going. I was lucky enough to spend three weeks there in 2008 doing field work and have been itching to get back ever since. So, that's where we headed. And that is where I thrive.

I really adore this particular place. Worship might be a more appropriate verb, actually. When I was there before, I got to explore like crazy all day every day (because I was working at night doing bat surveys). Found some pretty grand secret spots. Obviously you can't see as much in 2 days as you can in 21, but this trip was still most excellent, because it's just bloody impossible not to be happy when you're around Bristlecones. Because they are one of the most beautiful things in the entire world.

I have many more B-cone photos, but I'll be outta technological touch more or less for the next month starting on Friday...so it might be a while until I get them on the blog. Skywatch

House Wrens

House Wren nest! Couldn't see the little guys in there, but definitely heard them. Both parents were giving them a feeding frenzy! Camera Critters Bird Photography Weekly

Itty Bitty

Love 'em but don't know what they are. Taken in the California's White Mountains. Most were less than in inch tall.

Carmen Valley

Another one of our field sites- possibly one of my favorites. The sunrise when I got there was well, pretty superb. Lots of good birds too - baby Grebes and Buffleheads! Holy cuteness! I hung out with the MAPS people for a couple hours and got to hold a Dusky Flycatcher (we had a moment) and some warblers. Made my day!

In other news, as pretty as the field sites are and as much as I love the Wifls, I'm itching to get the hell out of here. The time has come, as it usually does when you have to share a house with a bunch of people (some of them insanely infuriating and irritating to live with). Zac's in Mississippi already and I miss him. Melissa and I are leaving the 20th and ready to play in Glacier, Yellowstone, the Tetons, Canyonlands, Black Canyon of the Gunnison, White Sands, Guadalupe, Carlsbad, etc. Yeehaw! It is time! Skywatch Weekend Reflections Scenic Sunday Blue Monday

Sculpted, Naturally.

A relic Bristlecone among many living.

Wordless

Water Lily

Mellow Yellow

Watery Wednesday

Sundews!

Ahhh...carnivorous plants - how exciting! A couple of our northern field sites are thriving with the sundew (Drosera anglica). It took me a while to figure that out (they are so tiny!). I had not actually seen these fine fellows before (or at least was not observant enough to notice them). Glad I finally did because well, they are kinda awesome. The droplets are for catching those tasty unassuming insects - what vicious plants! (you can see a bug in that second photo). When I was done with actual field work, I went back out with the macro lens and spent a while taking their pictures. This proved somewhat difficult because of their size...glad I have the extension tube! Today's Flower Macro Monday Nature Notes

Fledglings!

(Mountain Bluebird and Mountain Chickadee fledglings above)

The baby birds are out and about if you haven't noticed. So many fledglings everywhere! Makes me happy. The birds are getting pretty quiet in general since it's August but the fledgling everythings are quite chatty. Here's a couple little guys I've seen lately -only a very small handful of 'em. I was about to make a list but that would just be silly cause it would be way too long. So I'll just say the Chukar and the Mountain Quail babies recently were ridiculously cute!

(Black-throated Sparrow fledgling)

Also, Zac is flying to Mississippi today and so I'm bummed about that cause I won't see him for about 6 or so weeks. Nooo! Another 3 weeks of field work and then I'll be taking a leisurely amount of time to drive back (via Montana, Wyoming, Utah, etc) to the deep South. Anyway, Zac's taking the computer so I won't be able to do the blog thing as often, so I apologize if I'm much less attentive to my blog friends. I'll make up for it this fall! I've got quite a few recent photos on the thumbdrive and can use the work computer sometimes, so I have that to hold me over for a little while. But it's likely I'm going to have a hoard of new photos by the time I get to MS. So there you have it! Camera Critters Scenic Sunday SOOC (Green-tailed Towhee fledgling below)

Snarf!

Biggin'! (Golden-mantled Ground Squirrel in the White Mountains)

Wordless
Shadow Shot

Desolation Wilderness

On our days off last week, Zac and I went backpacking in Desolation Wilderness. (Yay!) It had been a few years since I spent time in there, so it was a needed trip. Pretty gorgeous scenery, awesome landscapes, kickass mountains. There is one drawback about this area though - the Tahoe region is toooo damn crowded! South Lake and everything surrounding it is more or less an amusement park and despite the PCT, Desolation Wilderness, surrounding National Forests, and tons of trails, there is just no way to get away from people, even when you backpack in somewhere.

Luckily, our destination wasn't too crowded. But when we hiked out on a Friday, it was a madhouse on the early miles on the trail. Egads, man. Sigh..I like my solitude, crave it. Don't dig it when there are hoards of people everywhere. Anyway...we had ideal weather and we finally saw Pine Grosbeaks (for you bird nerds). Also some Osprey and Bald Eagle near our campsite, too.

We camped at an undisclosed location (i'm not saying since it's off the well-used trails) on a mountain lake. Fresh clean mountain lakes are a weakness of mine. I kinda don't enjoy swimming (not counting snorkeling and the ocean) but when I come across some healthy mountain lake or river, I can't really resist, even if it's snowmelt.

So, we jumped in when we got there, just for 15 minutes or so. Took a while to warm up, but no big deal. Had some hot tea and soup. In the morning, I wanted to hike up some other trail but Zac wasn't feeling it so I had the swell idea of getting back in the lake at 10 am. This was not a wise choice. There was an island in the lake and I thought we should swim to it. Stupid. Ended up being in the water for 45 minutes or so. My teeth were chattering for about that long afterwards. The sun healed me eventually but I haven't been that cold in a while. The water temperature, being all snow melt, was probably around 40 degrees. Poor decision making on my part...

Shake it off! I shook it off! Then we hiked back. Great little trip. I think we've slept in the tent more than we've slept in the bed this season. Just the way I like it! Abc Wednesday (C=COLD H2o) Watery Wednesday

Gnarled to Perfection

an uprooted relic Bristlecone Pine

Weekday Photos
Monochrome Weekend

On The Way...

Tried to locate some pikas again last week but it just didn't happen. The mule ears however were out in full force and it ended up being a pretty nice hike, despite the lack of pikas. Blue Monday Mellow Yellow