The Best Kept Secret

 One of the best kept summer secrets of this area is the Woody Creek Cabin owned and operated by Beartooth Powder Guides. The cabin sees quite a bit of use from back country skiers in the winter months but tends to be forgotten by the locals once summertime rolls around.

Located a short two and a half miles (admittedly all uphill) from Cooke City, the cabin is basically luxury "camping" in a beautiful, pristine part of the ecosystem. Although you end up sleeping in Montana, much of the best hiking out of the cabin is in Wyoming, just a mile south of the building site.

Ken and I hiked in on Thursday with the goal of trekking up to Submarine Rock on Friday. The weather was threatening as we drove across Chief Joseph highway and rain started to fall as we arrived in Cooke. The thunder and lightning were impressive but we decided to push forward and make our way up the 1000' in elevation to the cabin. Much of the heavy weather was to the southeast of the trail in the area of Pilot Peak and when we arrived at the falls on Woody Creek we saw the result, evident in the photo above. The Absaroka Mountains were formed by past volcanic activity and are much more prone to erosion than the granite heavy Beartooths to the north and east.

 One of the many joys of living in this area is the ability to find "spring" in any month from March to September, depending on the elevation. The wildflowers were spectacular everywhere we went and I had a chance to play a little with my macro lens.

Our garden was overflowing with columbines of every color this year but there is something about the wild variety that is so much more delicate and beautiful than the cultivated flower.

 On Friday we woke to relatively clear skies with a little mist in the lower areas by the river. We headed out about 7:30 am, expecting a long day getting to our destination.

 The fringed gentian were just beginning to bloom, still furled in their newness.

 This ground squirrel was totally unfazed by our presence and continued collecting and eating wildflowers as we watched. This is the first time I have ever seen a ground squirrel at this elevation - approximately 10,200'.

The paintbrush were glorious in shades of red and magenta, luminous against the bright green of the grasses.

Elephant heads were growing in the marshy areas. I never tire of the amazing details of each flower with ears and trunk so like the pachyderm for which it is named!

 Once we made our way up to Submarine we had a great view of Pilot and Index, although we were looking right into the sun. It is not often one gets the chance to take a shot of Pilot from just 1500' below its summit.

 This shot of Submarine shows just how verdant the area was. The snow had just recently melted from much of this area and the moss and flora are at their peak.

The view from the top to the north shows the Beartooths in all their glory. If you look closely, you can actually see a few of the buildings in Cooke City far below on the left.

The hike ended up taking less time than we expected and we were back at the cabin by early afternoon, just in time for the next round of afternoon thunderstorms!

Moving Day

 What a treat it has been to watch the activity in the kestrel nest this summer. For a long time we did not know if the pair had been successful; then, all of a sudden, it seemed that mama and papa had all they could do to supply food to the vocal youngsters. All along I thought there were twins in the box until last Thursday when the first chick braved the world outside and we realized there were still two heads peeking out the hole!

The problem with being first out of the nest is that mama still has two hungry mouths to feed, as the adventurer quickly realized.

 In the shots above he is doing his best to remind mama that he is hungry too. In the image below, she seems to acknowledge his presence.Eventually he found his way back into the nest where he spent the night with his less daring siblings.

 By the next morning however, all three chicks were testing their wings. In this shot below you can see them spread out diagonally across the tree.

When mama arrives with food (lower right corner) the chicks get so excited that the one in the middle falls off the branch and just catches himself with his chin!

 In the next shot you see the youngster trying out his various balance moves. He quickly got the hang of it.

 Papa showed up a few times with grasshoppers and seemed to be comfortable feeding the babies outside the nest. The middle chick does not want to share with his screeching siblings.

All three youngsters seemed to be doing well by the end of the day. They spent that night in the box and then moved out to more expansive digs the next day.

I hope the fact that three of them successfully fledged this year means that we will have more entertainment in the box next year!