Wildflowers after a Wildflire

On our journey to the eclipse zone in Wyoming, we visited an area that neither of us was familiar with. We drove down two lane rural highways with 65 mph speed limits, looking for tiny dirt roads leading into the National Forest. Our hope was that one of those roads would take us to a quiet place to watch the eclipse.

Somehow, we ended up doing some of this exploring in the dark. When we finally arrived in the zone where we planned to watch the eclipse, we turned onto a tiny forest road that our map indicated might lead someplace good. We knew that we were in the right place when the forest service sign had this funny picture on it!

We were bone tired that night, and we camped in the first clearing next to the road that we spotted. Imagine our surprise at finding a camping spot easily in an area where we'd read that the entire west might be flocking to in order to see the eclipse. We mumbled to each other that we might find out why the campsite was available when it was light outside. In other words, there might be something bad about it that we couldn't see.

We were right. We were smack in the middle of a charred forest that had burned up last summer.

It sure wasn't scenic but the Runner immediately noticed that vividly colored wildflowers were already blooming on the forest floor, just a year post-fire.

What an amazing hopeful sign in a forest that seemed almost devoid of life.

Large areas of the forest floor were bedecked in bright colors! I know that it will be a long time before the forest regrows but the flowers made us smile.

Needless to say, we moved on that morning to an unburned section of the forest. The locals were wonderfully kind and gave us great advice about places to camp. We found a place that was not burned, had nice views, and was quiet!

Shyla leaped over some Yarrow in glee!

It was an area with grizzly bears and wolves so we kept the dogs on leash except when we were doing training sessions with them.

Happy Flower Friday! Even burned forests have incredible wildflowers, much to my surprise!

Thankful Thursday - Our Incredible World

When you spend a lot of time outdoors while camping, you get to see some of the most beautiful things in the world, simply because you are outside and aware.

I saw a shooting star over a mountain range. My camera shutter just happened to open at that instant.

We all got to see a double rainbow with pots of gold on nearby mountains. I still think of K, every time I see something mystical and beautiful like this rainbow.

And we got to see flying Labs!

Our Duo loves nothing more than leaping out over the water and belly flopping as they retrieve tennis balls.

I am grateful for their utter abandon and joy - for it reminds me of how lucky we are!

Wordless Wednesday

A Wyoming forest that burned 1 year ago but has a wildflower garden on its floor

An area of lush vegetation and a beautiful galloping dog!

A total eclipse of the sun!

Our trip to Wyoming was primarily to see a total solar eclipse, for the first time in any of our lives. We'd read about how stunning it was to experience totality. We'd also read about the crazy "eclipse chasers" - and we didn't understand why they'd go to such lengths, like traveling halfway around the world, to see a total solar eclipse.

Our experience showed us why. We'd seen a partial solar eclipse which we would have never known was happening without peering through eclipse glasses. We'd seen an annular eclipse in Utah which we thought was amazing. I wrote about it twice, here and here.

In Wyoming in August, we learned that a total solar eclipse is a million times more mind-blowing than a 99% solar eclipse. Darkness sweeps across the world like a curtain closing. The sky darkens so much that planets are visible twinkling in the sky. It gets really cold very fast. The darkness and cold sweep over the world much faster than at sunset.

As long time readers probably have guessed, I tried to capture it with several cameras. I had one camera shooting close-ups of the sun. I had another DSLR shooting time lapse video, which I haven't processed yet.

Here's one closeup during totality (more to come in a future post).

Then, at the last minute, I decided to set up my little GoPro to record totality in plain video.

That's what I'm showing you today. We made fools of ourselves with the ridiculous things that we were saying during totality. "Oh my God" was said more than a dozen times. Someone howled. I yelled in a crazy voice, "LOOK AT THE STARS". Then, as it got light again, I kept babbling that it had happened so fast that we must have strayed from the middle of the totality swath. It seemed like about 30 seconds of totality when we experienced it. However, my trusty GoPro shows that it was 2.5 minutes. I'm afraid that I couldn't bear to listen to our ridiculous comments in the video so I put music to the video.

You can watch it here or at Youtube.

As soon as it was over, we were trying to find out when the next total eclipse was. I doubt that we'll become crazy eclipse chasers but we understand why someone would do that now! It is a stunning experience.

If you ever have the chance to see a total solar eclipse, grab it and go! I hope that I am alive in 2024 for the next one in the US! And we just might travel further to see one that will have 6.5 minutes of totality in Egypt!

Deers, fawns, and mountain lions!

In today's post, I'm sharing some trail cam footage that was captured while I was gone. Today isn't about bears. It's about a mother deer, her fawn, and some mountain lions.

The mother deer walked very carefully in front of the camera, obviously totally unaware that it was there. Then, she decided to scratch her chin with her hind hoof, clearly showing that she was still lactating.

Then, the thirsty fawn showed up. The fawn pushed up on her mom's udder with such force, nursed a little, and repeated it. Both of the pair made noises - the fawn obviously enjoying the milk and the mom perhaps feeling some pain from her strong fawn.

I am amazed that deer and fawns survive. Big cats patrol our forests, looking for their food. Earlier this summer, Shyla found the remains of a fawn who had been killed by a predator. It's not an easy life out there.

A mountain lion walked past the same camera in the middle of the day. He kept walking, and my cams picked up his image along the way. He must have been very hungry to be out at that time of day. He's the one with an abdominal bulge (perhaps a hernia) who I captured footage of last December as he ate an elk who he'd killed. He looked much bulkier in December than now. I wonder if his health is still okay.

Enjoy the video of deer, fawn, and mountain lion action either here or at Youtube.

Wyoming Sunset Sunday

While in Wyoming, we saw an incredible sunset across flat ground. It was the white-hot sun, making an appearance before the eclipse.

After the sun dipped below the horizon, the clouds lit up. It was an awe-inspiring view.

It was fun to see the sun's art, especially as we were waiting for the eclipse! Happy Sunset Sunday!

Classic Summer Days in Wyoming

We enjoyed exploring a little of Wyoming near Lander and Dubois before the solar eclipse. On one night, we camped in a small meadow in the midst of a canyon and some mountains. We had a lake to our east that appeared to be close to falling into the canyon.

And we had two lakes to our west.

You can probably guess what we did the next day.

Shyla has become our pack leader when we're around water. The transition started to happen at the end of last fall, and, this summer, R began to completely defer to her when they retrieved in water. It's a bittersweet transition. While we love seeing Shyla be assertive about something given her fearfulness, we also know that R is creeping toward ten years old so he's probably a step slower than Shyla now. Believe me, this is the only way in which he's shown his age!

He still loves to play in the water but we bring two balls so that he can retrieve one when Shyla is occupied with the other one. His reconstructed elbow is still working perfectly. We didn't see a single sign of lameness all summer!

They happily chase each other around when one is hogging the ball.

That day in Wyoming was such a classic summer day. We went straight from the water to an ice cream shop and then onward to a new campsite.

I'm already wistful for summer and our days of wandering the west. 

Since we arrived home, it's been so smoky from faraway fires that the beauty is obscured. I know that others, in many parts of the country, are suffering terrible hardship right now, so living with smoky air is a small thing. I wish my friends who are enduring hurricanes, flooding, and wildfires the very best.

Flower Friday - The Wyoming Edition

We drove to Wyoming to see the total solar eclipse. We'd seen an annular eclipse before, and we really wanted to see what totality was like. However, we knew that a huge crowd of people planned to visit the center of the totality swath so we arrived early to find a relatively quiet place to watch the eclipse. We succeeded. This was sunset one evening from near our site.

We were camped along the stream that is wiggling toward the camera in the next photo.

After we found our spot, we had days to explore before the eclipse. I was a bit disappointed by the huge impact of cattle grazing on the land around us. It made me sad to see it. However, I found that riding uphill toward the Continental Divide got me out of the cattle region.

However, I also rode into the wildfire recovery area when I got above the cattle.

In that region, there were wildflowers, unlike in the muddy stomping grounds of the cattle.

I took some unconventional photos of the flowers, using a fisheye lens. It was fun.

Their flowers were beautiful!

I kept stopping to smell them and photograph them!

I felt lucky that we were getting to explore a whole new area in our eclipse trip! We will be back to Wyoming - no doubt. I think that it will be even better without the eclipse frenzy.

Happy Flower Friday!

Thankful for the sun and the moon and the stars

We've just returned from one of our best adventures through the west, ever!

... for the sun. Our adventure started with this.

I do promise that there will be more footage of that particular event, seen from the totality zone in Wyoming in the quiet of the wilderness. It was one of the most wildly astounding events that I've ever witnessed. Time stood still for just an instant while our pack stood in awe.

... and the moon. When we arrived home, a red orb rose above the hills to our east. It was the full moon through a smoky haze.

...and the stars. Oh my - from the wilds of Wyoming where wolves and grizzlies roam, the sky was dark as ink during the new moon, letting us see the Milky Way in all her glory.

My Gratitude is boundless for the gift of nature's beauty shared with the pack who I love.

Wordless Wednesday - Our silly girl!

Tongue out at high altitude

Still out!

Wide-eyed!

Our Black Dog

I love our black dog.

He may be crazy with enthusiasm for life but the softness in his eyes always shines through.

A Bear Digs Up an Ant Hill

In early August every year, the black bears start digging up ant hills. Everyday, we see the huge craters in the anthills where the bears have made the sand fly with their huge paws.

This year, I staked out one of the biggest ant hills with a trail camera. A bear visited multiple times to dig it up. Bears eat the little white pupae (like eggs) of the ants. It is so hard to believe that they get enough calories from those pupae to fatten up for the winter!

Watch the sand fly and listen to the sounds of him digging. Enjoy the video either here or at Youtube.

Black Dog Sunday

Our Black Dog looks particularly handsome in purple flowers, in my opinion!

And, his trademark "cracker dog" side comes out when he sprints through the flowers on a recall!

He will turn ten this fall but we humans think that he's physically stronger than he's been in years, primarily thanks to his elbow surgery and all the strength exercises we do with him every day.

I love the colors of the meadow behind our house right now! I know how fervently I'll be wishing for more colors in a few months so I'm trying to soak them up while they're here. R loves running through the wildflowers!

We love our black dog!

For those who are wondering, R hasn't started to mellow even a little bit yet - he's as intense as when he was one year old. We suspect that he may be wild and crazy forever. What a fun dog he is!

Happy Black Dog Sunday!

PS I apologize that I accidentally posted this on a too early date and then took it down!

Signs of Change

Some flowers still flourish.

But I am seeing the first of Autumn's art. I love it and hate it at the same time!

I think that Shyla mostly loves it for the promise of cooler temperatures!

No matter what, she charges forward gleefully! I wish that I were more like her!