Spring Creek, Wallowa-Whitman National Forest, OR

After traveling southeast through sage and wheat fields (where we saw 2 pronghorns! Our first Washington pronghorns), we continued east and south through Oregon where we stopped at Spring Creek Campground outside of La Grande in the Wallowa-Whitman National Forest. I had heard about nesting Great Gray Owls and hoped for a long shot to see one. The small campground was empty when we arrived, but there were a lot of families and conclaves camping along the main road. Each family looked like an ATV rally with all the off-road vehicles and trailers.

Back at camp, the weather still toggled between wet and cold to pleasantly sunny. A Black-backed Woodpecker flew into a snag while we managed to prepare dinner during a brief dry spell. While we ate dinner huddled around the campfire. another round of hail passed through.

After dinner we decided to drive down the road to check out the owl nest boxes that were mapped out on the campground sign. While walking up one of the roads, we encountered another couple who saw the owls nesting years before, but hadn’t seen them on their walk. At least we were in the right area.

We hiked up the hill through the open ponderosa forest carpeted with a lush blanket of green grass dotted with camas, groundsel, arnica, and old man’s whiskers. We failed to see any owls, but did enjoy the beautiful forested meadows in the setting sun.

Back at camp, a camper pulled in for the night. The nice thing about the campground was its small size making it impossible to host the ATV rallies. It was also far enough away from the highway that it wasn’t too loud, although the train was still within earshot.

The next morning, we tried the Great Grey Owl road again and ran into a group of birders from a local festival. One of them told us the owls weren’t seen this year, but we still walked the roads and enjoyed the scenery before heading out to our next destination.

Bruneau Dunes State Park, ID

We passed through Boise and more farmland to stop at Bruneau Dunes State Park. After picking a site at the Broken Wheel Campground, we set up our tent as the winds whipped over the short grass and open sage. Our once soaking tent quickly dried within minutes. The campground lacked any natural shelter but had a nice view of the dunes, the plateaus, and hills in the distance. The few trees that were in the campground hosted Bullocks Oriole, Western Kingbirds, Yellow Warbler and Great-tailed Grackles. House Finch nested in the eves of the shelters.

During the day, we hiked the trails at the state park. We opted not to hike up the large dunes. Instead we hiked over the smaller dune and dropped into the scrub of salt cedar, Russian olive, and the native quaking aspen surrounding the large lake. Yellow-headed Blackbirds sang from the reeds. Cinnamon Teals dabbled in the choppy waters. Flocks of Cedar Waxwings feasted on the olives. Several black-tailed jackrabbits bounded away into the dark tangle of branches on our approach. A Short-eared Owl flushed from the dune scrub and disappeared into deeper cover.

The trail led us out to open rabbitbrush and bunchgrass. A few western whiptails and sagebrush lizards darted across the sandy path. Northern Harriers swooped on the wind gusts over the open scrub. The wind, though significantly less than the day before, sent the tumbleweeds across the grass and the howl through the branches.

Despite the winds, it was significantly warmer than the previous days. The wind picked up in the evening, and we sheltered in a neighboring site’s shelter as ours was oriented to shelter from wind gusts in the opposite direction.

After packing up during a calm morning, we continued our journey southward. We detoured to the Curlew National Grasslands, which I had hoped to see both grasslands and curlews, but struck out on both accounts. Unless you call fields of wheat grasslands, there wasn't any grassland to be seen. We stopped at both of the campgrounds on the disconnected patches of national land. The southern one on Curlew Lake was popular to fishing people and had good habitat for birds. It lacked hiking opportunities as the lake was surrounded by grazing cattle in the sagebrush. Twin Springs campground on the north end was a small campground right off the road in a small canyon. Jeep trails lead up from the campground. Across the street were heavy agricultural fields.

Antelope Island State Park, UT

We headed back south to Antelope Island State Park in the Great Salt Lake. I admit I was skeptical about the place. Looking at satellite images, I was worried it would be an island of grass surrounded by a dry lake bed. I was pleasantly wrong and happily surprised as we crossed the causeway to the island. American Avocets, Black-necked Stilts, Black-bellied Plover, and Red-necked Phalaropes fed in the brine shallows. Franklin's Gulls screeched overhead and White-faced Ibis poked in the tall grass. The smell wasn’t so pleasant: the overpowering stench of rotten eggs and spoiled seafood festering in the hot sun permeated the air.

After setting up camp, we drove around the park to check out the other campground with hookups, showers, and cabins. Then we drove the road on the east shore of the island. Long-billed Curlews hunted in the tall grasses. A large herd of cow bison and their calves grazed at the waters edge. Mule deer and pronghorn kept mostly to the sage and meadows. Burrowing Owls stood sentry above their burrows. Above the sage and brown grasses, cliffs of bare rocks jutted out of the mountain peaks.

From the Lady Finger campground, we enjoyed the beautiful sunset bathing calm waters in a glow of pinks and oranges. The distant snow speckled mountains deepened to a blue silhouette; the mirror image reflected off the calm waters. Large flocks of Red-necked phalaropes and Eared Grebes teemed on the calm salty water. Stars began to twinkled in the darkening sky, and city glow of Salt Lake City shown in the distance.

We hiked from the White Rock trailhead the following morning. The trail traversed open meadows where Long-billed Curlews foraged in the tall grass. The hike was relatively quiet only punctuated with the calls of a Western Meadowlark, Lark Sparrow, and Chukar. We hiked through fields of bunchgrass studded with blooming sego lilies. At the Knob, we looked down on the drying salt pans and Salt Lake City in the distance. The large herd of bison were reduced to brown dots on the edge of the white flats. Our presence a top the knoll peaked the interest of a male pronghorn and 3 does. They watched us with great caution and slowly approached us indirectly. Once they got downwind of us, they bolted quickly. Either they finally recognized us as human or we desperately needed a shower.

Out at Elephants Head, we took in gorgeous views of the blue and aqua waters of the Great Salt Lake framed by the distant snow speckled mountains. Below, a lone pronghorn wandered the golden meadows and a bull bison forged near the sagebrush. The day was pleasant with the full sun and occasional cool breeze.

The sunset was another blaze of warm colors reflected off the flat water. Phalaropes swirled en mass over the water. The mosquitos appeared, but thankfully retreated when darkness settled in. The night was warmer than before and we fell asleep to the chirp of crickets.

In the morning, we packed up and stopped along the causeway to watch the masses of phalaropes, avocets and Franklin's gulls. Heading north back to Idaho, we detoured to the Golden Spike National Historic Park. We (along with 40 school children) watched the park staff drive one of the recreated steam engine trains that commemorated the meeting of the two transcontinental rail lines. We didn't wait around for them to drive out the second steam engine.

Craters of the Moon National Monument, ID

At Craters of the Moon National Monument, we managed to get a decent campsite before it got too full. After lunch and checking out the visitor center, we hiked on the trails from the campground. The nearby North Crater Flow interpretative trail of provided a good introduction to the lava rock formations. From the loop trail we hiked south along the North Crater Trail. The trail took us through the old North Crater and circled along the rim of the Big Craters to the Spatter Cones. Though scenery was beautiful, life was fleeing in the lava fields and craters. Limber pines grew from cracks in the rock. Small pink monkeyflower, buckwheat, gland cinquefoil, and blue larkspur dotted the lava fields and loose rocks. Rock wrens chortled from the tops of the crater, and Violet-green swallows cruised the blue skies. Clark’s Nutcrackers gave their raucous calls overhead, and a Blue-gray Gnatcatcher mewed from the limber pines. Aside from those bird calls, we hiked in relative silence.

The longer Tree Molds trail lead through sagebrush and pines to the edge of the lava field. The official trail ended at the lava trees, which is the lava that flowed and hardened over trees, leaving imprints of bark and limbs In the distance were large cinder cones and the snow capped Pioneer Mountains. Lewis’s Woodpeckers were building nests among the numerous snags. A Gray Flycatcher chebecked from the limber pines. In the lava fields, Rock Wrens happily sang. Cinquefoil and buckwheat bloomed from the cracks where any soil gathered. A beautiful dark Gopher Snake that matched the dark lava fields heated itself in the sun. On the nearby Broken Top Trail, a Green-tailed Towhee trilled from a blooming wax currant, and the nutcrackers cached their goods in the crevices of lava mounds. The trail circled the cinder cone where we saw lava bombs and fissures.

The short cave trail lead us to two caves that were still open to the public. They closed the other caves to protect the bats from the white nose fungus. Dewdrop Cave was the smaller shallow cave, but it was still dark and cool in the far reaches away from the opening. At Indian Tunnel, we clambered over loose lava rocks. In the dark corners, ice formed in small chunks on the ground. Climbing through the tunnel, we entered large chambers. Large holes in the ceiling of the lava tube allowed daylight to filter in. Rock Pigeons and Violet green Swallows nested in the cracks and crevices near the openings. These were the only signs of wildlife we saw in the relatively barren lava field.

The longer Wilderness trail took us through vast stretches of fine cinder, which were doted with dwarf buckwheat, larkspur and monkeyflower. The bitterroot was just starting to bloom. All the flowers seemed dwarfed in the nutrient poor environment. The trail also traversed dense sagebrush and small pockets of limber pine forest. The pine forest hosted the most bird life with Gray Flycatchers, Western Tanagers, Warbling Vireos, and Blue-gray gnatcatchers. Lewis’s Woodpeckers seemed to be found anywhere there was a sizable snag. A large marker pointed to lava trees, which were more impressive than the ones on the lava tree trail. The former trees were turned into a forest of lava tree stumps of various sizes. The Wilderness Trail continued past more lava trees over open cinder fields and more sagebrush where Brewer's Sparrows and Western Meadowlarks sang throughout the day. Yellow-bellied Marmots lived in the clusters of lava boulders. The path loosely followed the Great Rift and ended at one of the craters. One side of the crater supported a meadow of bunchgrasses, larkspur, groundsel, and desert parsley with heads going to seed. Butterflies flitted among the blooms. A small flock of Brewer’s Blackbirds nested in the meadow: a sight so unusual from their parking lot habitats in the city. It was a pleasant journey through this small part of the national monument.

On the way to our next camping destination, we stopped at the Idaho Potato Museum in Blackfoot. It was a cute roadside exhibit with a gift shop, museum and cafe. The museum featured the history of how the potato was moved around the world and became popular. It also told Idaho's history of growing potatoes, displayed cooking and harvesting tools, and a mix of other fun items. It was worth the stop for a bit of different and essential Idaho.

City of Rocks National Reserve, ID

Of course the location was the original draw of the yurt. Situated on Almo Creek, the yurt allowed us to take in the bird life of dense willows, wet meadow, and sage steppe. Yellow Warblers, Yellow-breasted Chat, and Black-headed Grosbeaks sang from the thickets. Brewer's sparrows, Lazuli Bunting, and Spotted Towhees trilled a top the sage and antelope brush. In the evenings, Wilson's Snipe winnowed over the wet meadows. A Common Poorwill softly called after dusk.

At the City of Rocks National Reserve, we hiked another loop over open meadows of bunchgrass, sagebrush, serviceberry, rabbitbrush, and mountain snowberry. We hiked through tickets of narrowleaf madrone and through the heart of the rock boulders. Pinyon pine and junipers were taller than at Castle Rock. Red-naped Sapsuckers chased each other through a ravine dense with aspen, pines, and snags. Virginia Warblers could more easily be seen in the taller more open trees. The bird life wasn't dramatically different from Castle Rock, but they were relatively easier to see in the more open foliage.

On our journey back home, we stopped at the Ten Thousand Spring State Park and the Hangerman Fossil Bed Visitor Center to check out the fossil exhibits. It was a small display but interesting to think about the creatures that once roamed the landscape.

Spring Creek, OR

We returned to Spring Creek in Oregon for another transitory night of camping. The campground was surprisingly full considering it was empty last time. We opted to camp along the forest road that we had hiked on during our first visit. The area was blissfully less atved so we were able to get a good site off the main road and without a lot of people nearby. The woods were still beautiful. It was drier this time and warmer. The camas blossoms had faded and were replaced with red columbine, hellborne, and lupine. The balsamroot was still hanging on but definitely past its prime. Pygmy Nuthatches were particularly active. The Western and Mountain Bluebirds were tending their cavity nests. But still no luck on the Great Gray Owl. Maybe one year we can return on a good breeding season.

Fields Spring State Park, WA

Driving back through the length of Washington state was a long journey. It didn't help that it was somewhat repeativitive wheat field scenery most of the way. But we returned home happy for another trip full of great memories.

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