An Evening Stroll

We're moving on this morning, and I didn't really expect to be writing this post. When the temperature cooled down yesterday, we went out for an evening stroll. It reminded us why we like to stop at this place as we head east. We're right across the road from a wildlife refuge, and so they cater to birds here. Pretty much every tree and pole is outfitted with a bird house. 

This next one would have accommodated a large bird of prey.

We've stayed here at times when there's been an osprey in this next nest.

It almost looked as if there was a bird there now. Walking closer, we could see it was just a stick.

This one is stuffed full of nesting material. We didn't see a bird.

We were walking alongside a stream. It was full of lily pads.

This one is close to blooming.

As I looked out, I could see lots of buds close to opening. I've marked some of them with red arrows in the image below.

Our shadow selves were feeling pretty darned spunky about being on the road and leaving the hassles of our basement behind. I only thought of it once yesterday and promptly told myself: Stop It!

We crossed over this little wooden bridge to get back to where the RV was parked.

It's hard to see, but that's our fifth wheel, marked with a red arrow in the image below. Not many folks are here this trip.

We found a bench on a wooden platform and sat for a bit. While we sat, we saw this helicopter flying off in the distance. You can see it has a bucket attached. It's probably engaged in firefighting efforts.

As we got up to leave, I noticed the wearing paint and woodgrain pattern at my feet. I like this. I can see some kind of modern quilt in these next two photos.

We walked on to where Hot Lake is located. You can see the hotel off in the distance.

Here, I've zoomed in to give you a better look.

We made a loop around the park. I always love these graceful grasses, although they give me terrible hay fever at certain times of the year.

This trip, I've vowed to experiment with some of the "artistic" settings on my camera. This next image was one of them. I tried three different settings of the same shot, and I liked this one best.

And, of course, cattails. There are lots of cattails here. I love cattails of all kinds...even when they aren't attached to actual cats...as tails.

Okay, so we're moving on to Stanley, Idaho, this morning. It's a favorite spot. We're keeping our fingers crossed for clear, not-smoky skies. Probably, I won't catch up with you again until Thursday. I should warn you, however, that I've never been to Dillon, Montana, before, and so I don't know what the wi-fi/cell signal situation will be there. It could be longer than Thursday before I get back, but I'm hoping not. 

Until then...happy trails.