Amazing but TRUE!!!

Windmill near equestrian campground
Caprock Canyon State Park, Texas

We had planned to travel from Theodore Roosevelt National Park to South Dakota's Custer State Park next.  One of our fellow campers, however, told us that they were headed there for the weekend's bison roundup.  Custer's bison round-up has hundreds, if not thousands, of visitors.  Disappointed but unwilling to drop into a crowd of that magnitude after being so remote for so long, we decided to head toward Wind Cave National Park.  Then we received word that a dear friend from the Carolinas would be in town for only two days next week.  If we did not tarry, we would be home in time to see her.

Rather than staying in South Dakota, we traveled on toward Texas, stopping at the John Martin Reservoir campground near Hasty, Colorado.  We were new to this campground.  The park had great facilities, spread out campsites, and lots of lovely cottonwoods.

The next morning, we crossed the Texas state line and continued driving to what has often become our favorite final stay of these adventures... Caprock Canyon State Park, just south of Amarillo.  Our favorite camp spot is on a low bluff in the overflow camping area.  Last year's trip ending had been so special here.  A coyote had hunted just beyond our camper...  Deer grazed under the setting sun... The night sky was spectacular.

We set up camp and had a bite to eat.  Then we sat in our camp chairs, facing east, enjoying the cool breeze, and talking about our many adventures during this trip.  I had my camera with the long-range lens resting in my lap, waiting for another coyote to show.  None came... not even a deer.

I was disappointed, but then a beautiful full and red moon peaked over the horizon.  It was too wonderful not to take a few photos.

Blood Moon at sunset, Caprock Canyon State Park, Texas

Rejoining David and Rox, I pulled out my cell phone to check the time.  I was more than a little surprised to find a weather alert from the Weather Channel on it.  This was odd on two levels.  First, there was no cell service.  Second, I had never signed up for weather alerts.  In fact, I had been very careful not to sign up for them.  The weather alert read that a harvest moon eclipse would occur this very night and to check our area to see if it would be visible.  Of course, we couldn't check because there was no cell service.

The full moon continued to rise.  At next glance, however, David and I noticed that it wasn't quite full anymore.  Perhaps we were mistaken and it needed another day or two... or could this, in fact, be the eclipse?  We pulled out tripods just in case.

The following several hours were beyond extraordinary.  Unbeknownst to us, we had arrived in Caprock Canyon just in time for front row seats to a total Blood Moon eclipse!  Later we discovered that the last time a harvest moon eclipsed was in 1982... the next won't occur until 2033.  God's generosity never ceases to amaze me!

Beginning of Blood Moon eclipse

First quarter 

Nearly half 

Half moon eclipse

Full eclipse of the Blood Moon

Coincidence?  I think not...  

When the eclipse was full and the super moon darkened in crimson hues, the night sky was so filled with stars that it took our breath away.  Shooting stars arched across the sky as the blood moon hid behind the earth's shadow... and the skies declared His Glory.  And how glorious God is, indeed!

The heavens declare the glory of God,

and the sky displays what His Hands have made.  (Psalm 19:1)

In Search of a White Stallion

Gray Ghost in 2010

For those of you who have been following our travels, you may remember that the first wild horse I ever photographed was in 2010, here in Theodore Roosevelt's South Unit.  The white stallion is known in the park as Gray Ghost (born in 2002).  This band stallion has a harem of about eight mares.  (If you would like to read about our first encounter, please click here:  Diamond in the Rough).  Several years ago, although badly wounded in a battle with another stallion, he still valiantly protected his band (see Lagniappe and Wild Horses).  Gray Ghost recovered and maintained his band.  He also was able to stay free in the park after the last round up.

Earlier this year, I saw a post from a group that monitors the wild horses here in TRNP that Gray Ghost lost his band this spring when two brother bachelor stallions fought him and won.  One of the victorious stallions then drove his brother from the band.  The group reported that Gray Ghost was again badly injured and alone.  We had heard nothing about the stallion since early spring.  We came to TRNP this year to find him.

The South Unit is over 46,000 acres in size, much of it accessible only by foot or horseback.  With Roxanne in tow (dogs are not allowed on national park trails), we knew that locating this stallion would be like finding a needle in a haystack.  Hope, however, springs eternal.

After our many visits to TRNP, we have grown fond of several bands within the park.  On our first tour around the 26-mile wildlife loop that evening, we were happy to find the black stallion and his band.  He had obviously had a grand time rolling in the mud.

We also saw bison, deer, and a coyote running so close to the road that I couldn't capture all of him in the frame because I was using my long-range lens.

We knew that Gray Ghost's former territory had been near the Coal Vein hiking trail.  To our chagrin, we discovered the gravel road to Coal Vein closed.  A park ranger informed us that the enormous amount of rain they had received this spring washed the road out.  Not even foot traffic was allowed on it.  

The following morning, we found Cloud and his band in the Skyline prairie dog town.

The bison were just coming out of rut.  We witnessed several grunting bouts but no fights.

Day three, and still no white stallion.  We awoke to find Cloud and his band grazing right through the campground.  Then, during our morning jaunt around the wildlife loop, we spied a band in Grey Ghost's old territory.  I recognized the boss mare.  It was Grey Ghost's old band, now led by the wretched stallion who, with help from his brother, won the band.

On the evening wildlife loop tour, we saw turkeys, more prairie dogs, and the stallion known as Silver and his boss mare.

While temperatures were mild during the day, it was still too warm to leave Roxanne in the car most of the time.  We awoke early our fourth morning to temperatures in the low 50s... cool enough to leave Rox to hike up the Ridgeline trail.  We found a lovely cottonwood in color and in the distance a gray stallion with a band, but not my white stallion.

Feeling thwarted, we decided to hike up Buck Hill.  We had been hiking the south bluff next to Buck Hill because it was closer to Coal Vein and had a great vantage point to view the area.  The more northern Buck Hill overlooks less of the Coal Vein area but is a bit higher.

Once on top, David did a thorough search with his binoculars, while I peered through my long-range lens to survey the area.  Then I spied a white dot on a distant bluff.  I called to David, and he confirmed... it was a white horse.  Using David's shoulder to steady the camera, we counted to three, then both of us held our breath.  I took a shot, then used David to shadow the LED display.  I blew up the photo as much as possible.  Without a doubt... we had found him!

Not only did we locate Gray Ghost, but he had a light grey horse with him.  We later learned that it is another bachelor stallion.  Although it was difficult to tell from such a great distance, Grey Ghost looked healthy.  Glory be... we had found my white stallion!

It was easy to change focus now and take in the beauty of TRNP.  When greeted by another chilly morning, we took a hike up Wind Canyon.

View from Wind Canyon, Theodore Roosevelt National Park

Cottonwood Creek, Theodore National Park, South Unit

Over the next several days, we climbed Buck Hill each morning.  Each time we were able to see my white stallion grazing in the far distance.  On our final full day at TRNP, we also found the stallion we affectionately call Big Red, the last horse that I needed to see for this visit to feel complete.  

Another close encounter with a coyote... a prairie dog gathering grass for the upcoming winter... more beautiful scenery... more wild horses.  

Our last evening at TRNP, we sat overlooking Cottonwood Creek, enjoying a beautiful sunset, warm weather, and blue skies.  It was yet another wonderful ending to a fantastic trip... I love this park!

What a Difference Two Years Makes!

Theodore Roosevelt National Park, North Unit

We made a quick jog through Montana before entering North Dakota.  Our goal was to spend the night at the Lewis & Clark State Park outside the town of Williston.  It has been two years since we were in this lovely state... and I could hardly wait!

My, oh my, have things changed in North Dakota!  Since we were last here, the tiny town of Williston has become an oil boom town, doubling in size (from just over 14,000 folks to nearly 27,000).  Traffic was bumper to bumper, cars buzzed past us, heavy trucks rumbled around us, and construction was everywhere.  After all our remoteness, we were feeling like pilgrims in an unholy land.

We had also failed to recognize until we were half-way through town that we had arrived on a Friday afternoon, essentially during rush hour.  Knowing that the state park was on a lake, we decided it would be chocker-block full of folks for the weekend.  Figuring that Theodore Roosevelt's North Unit would be less of a draw for weekenders, we decided to drive the additional 60 miles.  Thankfully, within about 30 miles, the boom town and most of the drilling support were behind us and the landscape returned to familiar farms, ranches, grasslands, and Badlands.

We arrived at TRNP's North Unit at dusk... and under cloudless skies.  Settling into our campsite, we began drying out, hanging wet towels, rain gear, and Roxanne's bedding from every available outside hook and flat surface.  We sat out in the cool breeze under the stars and breathed a great sigh of relief.  We were back in the States, the weather was warm and dry... we were definitely happy campers!

The next morning, we took the 14-mile tour on the park road.  As usual, TRNP didn't disappoint.  We spied deer, bison, prairie dogs, and lovely vistas.

On our way back down the park road, we stopped to view a herd of big horn sheep in the distance.  Park Ranger John was peering through binoculars, counting the sheep as I set up my tripod.  He told us that the sheep had become infected with a deadly strain of pneumonia brought on by contact with domestic sheep.  So far 30-40 percent of the state's big horn sheep population have died as a result of the pneumonia outbreak.  While hiking in the park, he had recently found a mature ram dead from the infection.

Big horn sheep at Theodore Roosevelt National Park North Unit

As we chatted, he asked where we were from and if we had ever visited TRNP before.  We told him that this was probably our sixth trip and that we were shocked how the area has changed in the past several years.  He began to tell us some of the resulting casualties from the oil boom.  John is a fourth-generation rancher and has been a park ranger for nearly 40 years.  He said that farms and ranches are being lost, the landscape is changing, and ecosystems are being destroyed. At one time he feared that the park would be all that was left of what North Dakota use to be.  He explained that if the drilling had been limited to 50 wells that the area could have absorbed the changes fairly well.  Instead, the State had allowed 212 wells in the area.  Now that the oil boom has waned, he hoped at least some of what has been lost could be reclaimed.

We meandered out of the park.  Change had certainly become a reoccurring theme during this year's adventure.  Our next stop was TRNP's South Unit and my wild horses.  We have not been to the park since the last horse roundup which dropped the herd population from about 170 to 88 mature horses.  How much has the South Unit changed?  We knew there was only one way to find out... we turned southbound on Highway 85.

Southbound

After leaving Grid Road 640, we set up camp at the Wynyard city campground... in the rain.  The campground was mucky and muddy after a weekend rally, so we found the driest spot we could.  It was beginning to seem like we would never drive out of this front... or get out of rain gear.  Mud was literally dripping off the muffler and running boards.

We crawled inside the camper for dinner and decided to leave the next morning.  Our plans were to enter the States in Montana, then head towards Theodore Roosevelt National Park.  Within minutes of making the decision, the pitter patter of rain stopped.

We stepped outside as the remaining clouds dissipated.  The sun came out, and we witnessed a glorious sunset.

The next morning, as we drove out of town, we spied a thousands of snow geese circling.  Sometimes God's generosity overwhelms me.  These birds were circling to land and glean a farmer's field right off the highway.  Of course, we stopped for photos!

We stopped in Regina for a car wash and gasoline, spending the last of our Canadian dollars during the fill up.  The border crossing was easy as pie.

It always surprises me how wonderful it is to have speed limit signs in miles again rather than kilometers.  We're back in the good ole' U.S. of A.  Life is GOOD!

The Unexpected Story

A duck swims on Quill Lake alongside Grid Road 640

The Quill Lakes are a series of lakes in southeastern Saskatchewan.  Known as the Quills by locals, these lakes are considered extraordinary because of their high saline concentration.  In the 1950s, Big Quill Lake was three times more salty than an ocean.  This unique ecosystem in the midst of mixed grasslands is perfect for migrating waterfowl.

During the spring and fall, nearly a million waterfowl visit the Quills. This high concentration of water birds includes over 400,000 ducks, 130,000 snow geese, 80,000 Canada geese, 40,000 sandhill cranes, and 200,000 other kinds of shorebirds, including the rare piping plover.  We came to the Quills to photograph these birds.  I envisioned framing a blast-off, capturing the moment when enormous numbers of snow geese fly out simultaneously for a day of gleaning fields.  I longed to hear the thunder of their wings.

We did not find the concentration of waterfowl we expected at the Quills.  Instead we found an unexpected story and a community in crisis.  Kyle, our guide at the Wynyard Waterfowl Interpretive Center led us to a map showing Big Quill, Little Quill, and Mud Lakes and told us that the map was no longer accurate.  Because of extensive flooding since 2004, these lakes have merged into one large lake.  He explained the flooding has been exacerbated because the Quills are a closed-basin system.  This means that during floods water runs in but does not run out, causing water to spread out rapidly within the basin.  

As a result of the flooding, mudflats and marshland have been absorbed by the lakes, compromising feeding and nesting grounds.  Nature trails and observation decks are now underwater.  We learned that migratory waterfowl concentrations have become more spread out and fewer birds frequent the area.  He said that no one knows where nesting piping plovers have gone.   

Kyle told us that snow geese began arriving several weeks earlier and suggested we may be able to photograph some along Grid Road 640.  He told us that we would encounter road closure signs but they were mostly to discourage commercial vehicles.  We decided to take the drive to see what we could see.

Grid Road 640 is a 22-mile-long gravel road connecting Wynyard to the Village of Quill Lake.  At one time the road ran between the lakes, with Big Quill Lake on the western side of the road and Mud and Little Quill Lakes on the eastern side.  Shortly after we passed the road closure signs, we recognized that because of the flooding the road had become a dike, essentially separating the now-one lake into two sections.  The wave action along the road had deeply eroded its sides. 

Fence rows barely visible in Quill Lake flooding

As we drove, we encountered fence rows barely visible above the water.  Houses and barns were diked.  Farm equipment, as well as Canada geese, were stacked on small islands.  Ducks and coots swam inches from the edge of the road.    

A barricade with heavy concrete partitions crisscrossed the Grid 640 bridge.   Weaving through the maze, we could see water lapping at the top of the bridge.  The boards beneath us creaked and groaned as we crossed.  The further we drove toward the Village of Quill Lake, the more the water encroached around us.

Barricade on Grid Road 640

With few waterfowl in the area, we turned around and crossed the bridge again, slowing to a stop to take photos.  A man in a pickup hailed us and rolled down his window.  Lyle Thibault, a Quill Lake councilman and life-long resident of the area, had noticed our Texas tags and was kind enough to stop to chat.

I told him, “You’ve got a huge problem here, Sir.”

He agreed and began telling us the Quill Lake story.  “This is a not a 500-year flood.  This is a 2,000-year event that we are dealing with here.”

Mr. Thibault explained that during the past ten years, excessive rainfall had caused the lakes to rise over 21 feet.  As a result, 27,000 crop acres and 56,000 acres of pastureland were flooded.  In the process, livelihoods and generational farms have been lost.  

He lamented that the floods have changed everything.  The environmental impact has been devastating.  Many birds have stopped nesting or migrating to the area.  Once these were considered to be dead lakes because of their excessive salinity.  Now because the road is a dike between two halves of the lake, there is little mixing of the eastern side of the flood waters with the western side.  As a result, the eastern side of Quill Lake has become so washed with fresh water that it can support freshwater fish like the walleye.   

He told us that the road we were driving has been raised over three feet and reinforced with rock ballast along the sides to prevent further erosion.  Within the past week, the community finished a project to install barricades and a concrete maze across the bridge to prevent commercial traffic from further damaging the structure.  The bridge remains critical to the road’s integrity and accessibility between the two towns.  If it fails, the twenty-minute drive between Wynyard and Quill Lakes will become over an hour long as drivers detour around.  Thankfully, a portable bridge has been found that will be placed over the top of the existing bridge within the next few weeks.  If excessive rain continues, however, Grid Road 640, Highways 16 and 6, and a portion of the Canada Pacific railway line may become impassable.

Mr. Thibault voiced concerns over attempts to manage the flooding.  The Quill Lake basin is nearly full.  Like a teacup with too much tea pouring into it, the lake will soon begin spilling over, with much of it going to the southwest and into Last Mountain Lake.  If that happens, even more farmland, pastureland, and sensitive wetlands will be flooded along the way.  Because of the salinity of these floodwaters, fish and bird populations will be affected.  Even if the water begins to recede, the salt may permanently damage the farmland’s ability to be productive.  Solutions are complex, costly, and none satisfies every need.  A dam proposal had just been defeated.  Petitions for government assistance to displaced farmers and landowners have yet to be approved.  “It’s a catastrophic event,” Thibault concluded.

An open gate to a field swamped by flood waters on Grid Road 640

We thanked Mr. Thibault for his time and wished him and his constituents our best.  Under heavy clouds and with a heavy heart, I stepped out of the truck to take a photo of an open gate to a field swamped by flood waters.  A large formation of snow geese came honking into view.  As I watched them fly overhead, a misty rain began to fall.

Snow geese fly over Quill Lake

If you would like to read more about the Quill Lake flooding, please check out these news articles...

• http://www.leaderpost.com/technology/Quill+Lakes+flooding+threat/11295125/story.html
• http://cjme.com/article/203110/salty-water-quill-lakes-flooding-farmland

Internet and Computer Issues Continue

Dear Friends, We apologize that our posts have been slow in catching up.  With all the internet access restrictions we have encountered and the fact that my computer memory is nearly topped out, we are having problems uploading photos and posting them.  We’re working on the problem and hope to be back up and running shortly!

Thanks for hanging in there with us!

From Mountains to Hoodoos

Hoodoos near Drumheller, Alberta

The drive from Banff to Calgary is remarkable.  Within twenty to thirty minutes, the Rocky Mountains are visible only in the rear-view mirror.  By Calgary, the Great Plains surround us, with the Rocky Mountains barely visible. 

On the advice of a visitor center attendant, we decided to make a stop in Drumheller.  The town has notoriety for its Hoodoos and dinosaurs.  It is tagged as being in the center of Canada’s Badlands.  Within several miles of Drumheller, the Great Plains opened up and we dropped into canyons similar to Palo Duro near Amarillo, Texas. 

We stopped by the visitor center for camping information and discovered the world’s largest dinosaur right in front.  The community had built this enormous thing as an attraction.  For a fee, you can climb to the top and look out T-Rex’s mouth.  We opted for photos at ground level.

The lady who helped us at the visitor center was most kind and obviously proud of her town.  When we told her we weren’t much for tourist attractions, she showed us where we might find a beaver and a moose.  She circled the Hoodoos as a “must see” and suggested we visit two restored churches in Dorothy.  She cautioned us about driving in several areas because of clay roads being washed out or slick from the extensive rain they had been receiving.

Our campsite was quiet… in fact, we appeared to be the only ones there.  Our campsite overlooked a lovely sandstone painted skirt.

The next morning we drove out the famous Drumheller Hoodoo Park.  While small in stature, the community has certainly made the most of their Hoodoos, including elaborate stairs all around the sandstone structures.  The information plaques were very informative, and the hoodoos interesting.

We continued our drive up to Dorothy to visit their restored churches.  We decided to pass on the coal mining tour and dinosaur museum.

 It was late morning, so we continued driving, ending up in at Danielson Provincial Park near Gardner Dam.  While strolling, we spoke with one of the two other camping couples in the park.  They suggested a visit to Lost Mountain Lake to view migratory waterfowl and even let us borrow a book they had that included information about the lake.

The next morning, we stopped by Lost Mountain to take their driving tour.  The information center had warnings posted that the tour loop had several areas washed out due to the 2011 flood.  We took part of the tour, not finding many birds at all… most likely because we were in the middle of the day when most of these birds are out gleaning other fields.  We took a short hike up their grassland trail, but the wind was fierce and cold, sending us back to the truck early. 

Campgrounds in the area were few and far between, so we decided to travel onto the Quill Lakes, known for their abundant migratory waterfowl and the main reason we had taken this path through Saskatchewan.  Unfortunately, we chose to travel Highway 15 which was under major construction to make it into a heavy haul road.  The continued rain had turned an eight-mile section into the worst mud course we have run into… EVER!  The mud was easily up to the running boards in several places.  Thank heavens for four-wheel drive or we never would have made it through.  What a mess!  It took another trip to the car wash to clean the mud off the truck and camper so that we could remain fairly clean when getting in and out.

We drove into Wynnard and headed straight to their Waterfowl Interpretive Center.  While I hate to leave our dear friends hanging, what we learned there is worthy of a post all its own.  So we leave you in suspense…