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6/21
Well, this is very blustery day. Unlike the storms we’ve been in here so far, this one is more like a winter storm in California. Last night we had lightening & thunder very near the campground, with gusty winds, periods of heavy rain with the interim times giving us just light rain. Today the wind continues at breeze level, it’s cold (52* at ll am), and the light rain is constant. It’s very dreary and our beautiful views of the Swan mountains are obstructed by clouds to the ground. The river is again up and flowing swiftly. We’re just hanging around doing those chores that never disappear. While peering out the window as the rain dripped, I spotted a large bird in flight. I asked Gary what he thought it was. He grabbed the camera & found we had spotted our first Bald Eagle of the trip. What a wet bird! We hope he found food. As the afternoon wore on, a car with a lighted rooftop cap on it stopped near our coach. The neighbor’s had ordered pizza. This was the 3rd in a series ‘vehicles not normally seen in a campground’. See pics below. Finally the storm began to back off. Still clouds the size of mountains, but no more rain. Went for a walk around the campground, played a little Scrabble and off to bed.
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The Robin babies are growing. There are 4 crammed in this nest. Three are visible here, but we know there are 4. They are taking up all the space & at times they are flapping their wings, banging their siblings as they do so. Don’t know how long this nest can hold them.
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It’s not easy being the symbol of strength for the United States. You always have to look fierce & dominating. Strong & persevering. Unconquerable. This poor fellow is drenched. Hunting in this unending rain has left him looking less like the symbol of strength & more like a very vulnerable & hungry bird. This bald eagle is frequently seen by the owner of the campground. Been around for several years. We hope he got warm & dry quickly.
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Somehow, when I’m lucky enough to camp by a river with huge trees all around and no civilization in sight, I cannot quite believe my eyes when the Pizza Hut guy delivers pizza to our neighboring camper. I can give you plenty of justification for ordering out on a rainy day, but it just looks strange......
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Here’s another first for us. The Montana Highway Patrol rolled up to another neighbors trailer. From Alberta Canada, I couldn’t imagine what the police wanted with him. Before this scene was over, a 2nd officer showed up. I figured ‘That’s it! They’re gonna take him away!’ Turns out something in the roadway struck his trailer. He thought he went over a bump. Finding damage on arrival at the campground, he phoned to file a report of the incident. The 2nd officer had the camera to take the photos for the report. This still was a strange twist...1st the pizza, then the cop. What Next?
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6/22
With promises by the weatherman of no rain, we looked forward to our day. Totally cloudy, but, as promised, no rain. We returned to Louie’s Deli for lunch & then headed out to Glacier Park’s Goat Lick. Doesn’t that sound pleasant? Hmmm. Goat Lick is located above the Flathead River in a mountainous area with lots of rocky formations. In the spring the goats arrive here after a tough winter in the high country. There are minerals & salts in these rocks that the goats need for their continued health and so they spend a good part of the late afternoon/evening climbing on & licking these rocks. Goat Lick is found on Hwy 2 about 25 miles n/e of the West Glacier entrance. In past years, the ‘circle’ we do in Glacier is West Glacier to Going-to-the-Sun Road. After 50 miles of mostly twisty mountain road, the road lets out on the east side of Glacier & then you must drive south about 70 miles to West Glacier entrance to complete the ‘circle’. We’ve visited Goat Lick several times while doing that circle. We are always rather raggedy by the time we get there. So today we are doing it differently & we’ll focus our attention & time on Goat Lick. It was a wonderful couple of hours. We saw some goats up close. They are frantically trying to shed their heavy winter coats. They rear their heads back & around, digging their horns into their backs & sides. Scratching at the matted fur, it comes off in chunks. The fur, sticking to the horns, is then flung off with a strong toss of the head. Then there is all that licking. They pick their way over the treacherous, rock laden steep mountains to….lick the rock. Further away & higher up where the grass is growing lushly, they graze as a herd. Their babies have been born & are at least a couple of weeks old. They are adorable. They play with each other and follow their mothers closely. Our pictures of them are marginal as they are so far above us. We watched from the area the Park Service has created. It is complete with parking lot & restrooms & observation deck. We then moved up to the highway as the bulk of the goats could be seen from there. We always note how many people are moved by these beautiful animals. From the very young to the very old, everyone takes too many pictures, oohing & aaahing all the time they’re snapping. I figure there cannot be anything wrong in the world that cannot be fixed as long as people are appreciative of and cherish their natural world. If 8 unrelated people will stand & stare at a goat that is about ½ mile away and barely visible and are awe struck by the sight, great things are possible. Up at the highway, there were at least 50 people coming & going, staring & commenting, everyone just as thrilled as we were to be able to watch these incredibly agile animals make their way up & down these rocky mountains. Returning to the coach, we checked out the Robin’s nest and to our surprise it was EMPTY. See that story on tomorrows entry.
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As we leave for Goat Lick, we snap a shot that has all 4 of the baby Robins included. They are positively squished in there. Hard to see, but there really are 4 in there.
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Just another hard day at the office.... What scenery we enjoy on our way to Goat Lick. Jeesh, couldn’t they have called it something else?
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We know there are fish in there, ya just cannot fish for them as the river IS STILL UP.
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Don’t know if the ‘Steep Grade’ is a warning for us or the goats. See below. Also, check out the storyline above as it explains why the mountain goats are licking these rocks.
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I would call this a steep grade. The goat on the right has her ‘kid’ close to her side as they climb a vertical mountain. The goat on the left is very hard to see clearly, but you are seeing it from the side. One front, one rear leg is seen, the head is down, as it is licking the mountainside. They are a good 1/4 to 1/2 mile away from us.
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The 3 of them reach the top. The adults will graze in the grass. Little one will stay by mom’s side.
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Just to give you a perspective of some of the landscape these guys & gals are climbing around on, take a look below the large twig in the foreground. You’ll see a white speck in the lower half of the picture. Yep, that’s a goat & guess what? He’s licking rocks.
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These 9 people are enchanted by that goat seen in the pic above. So many people stop to admire these great animals. This happens wherever we go and whatever animal happens to be in view. Doesn’t matter the animal. People care. And isn’t that a lovely thought?
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Across the street from the official ‘Goat Lick’, high on a mountainside, this group is busy grazing. Looking carefully, you can see 3 babes in the lower right. They grazed their way right out of sight.
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Gracefully picking his way down the mountainside, the goat is looking for just the right rock. You can see how his coat is shedding. His winter coat comes off in big hunks. Using your imagination, he takes on the look of a unicorn. That horn almost looks like its in the middle of his head. Some say that’s where the unicorn legend came from.
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He’s found his rock! He stays there for a few moments & then moves onto another rock.
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His shedding fur is itching. He lays down, flings his head over his back &, using his horn as a backscratcher, he dislodges more of his winter coat.
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‘It’s driving me crazy, I tell you!’ I just wanted to leap over the river, climb the mountain and give him a good back rub & help him get rid of that fur.. Gary said no.
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They are so graceful as they move over these rocky outcroppings. Gary noticed they move one foot at a time, unlike other hoofed animals, who generally have 2 or more moving at the same time.
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Aaaah, just the right one. He focused on this area for quite awhile.
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A mom & her wee one are surveying the lay of the land. These babies are so nimble at such a tender age. Amazing. Actually, it is all amazing.
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Glacier’s Red Bus will stop to let the passengers enjoy the mountain goats.
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