Five Springs

On our recent road trip we headed back to Five Springs so I could do some paragliding. It's an obscure spot that we discovered years ago. There are signs that other people paraglide here, but I've never run into anyone else flying. These days I don't do enough flying to be very good at it so I try to stick to easy, relatively safe conditions, when the wind and thermals are mellow. That means I mostly get short, tame flights, but better safe than sorry. Thanks to Shelley for the videos. (If you're reading this by email and the videos don't work, try viewing them via the website or directly on YouTube.)

I also like Five Springs for the surrounding country, with desert below and mountains above, especially in the spring when there are so many wildflowers.

I think this is Fragrant Evening Primrose. It's normally night blooming so it was nice to see some flowers out during the day.

I think this is Northwestern (or Desert) Paintbrush, which I think of as normally red, but can be a range of colors.

I was on the lookout for insects on the flowers. I found a couple of these Ornate Checkered Beetles on Balsamroot flowers. (checkered beetles are pollinators)

I was photographing this flower when I noticed the ants all over it. Looking more closely I realized they were farming/herding aphids. (The aphids aren't visible in this photo.)

With lots of flowers, I expected more butterflies, but I didn't see many.

I spotted this bird in a distant bush and I could see it had markings on its head and yellow/green on it. I managed to get close enough to get an identifiable photo. It's a Green-tailed Towhee. There are Spotted Towhees in Victoria but they're quite different (more like an American Robin).

This Dusky Grouse played hide and seek with us but eventually it came out in the open where we could get some photos.

There were quite a few rabbits and chipmunks around.

We stayed at Five Springs for 5 nights and I managed to get in 10 short flights (the longest was 30 minutes). We've been coming here since 2017 and I always enjoy it. Hopefully we'll make it back a few more times.

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Photo of the Day

From another early morning walk. First I saw a couple of river otters in the water but they were quite far away and spending most of their time underwater. When I next looked there was a whole group of them (8?) and they came out on the beach and played around before disappearing into the bushes. Perhaps a family group with a den? Normally we only see one or two at a time. They were still quite far away so I headed around the path to get closer. By the time I got there, there were only a few left on the beach. It's surprising how much lighter brown they are when dry compared to the dark, almost black, when they're wet. It's also interesting to get a look at their big webbed feet and sharp looking claws. Often sea creatures are quite awkward on land (like seals) but otters seem equally at home in the water or scampering around on the land.

Photo of the Day

From a short walk this morning between breakfast and starting work at 8 am. A common subject, but I like the background and how the heron seems so naturally in its element.

Holter Lake

We stopped at Holter Lake (near Helena, Montana) hoping I could do a hike-and-fly. I found this spot by chance several years ago. The hill is only 350 m (1000 ft) high so it's a short flight, but it's a nice hike and the wild flowers are nice in the spring. Another attraction is that there is a nice small quiet campground (Log Gulch) just near the hill. I photographed a few birds around the campsite.

Early the next morning I hiked up the hill although I had a feeling the wind wasn't going to work. Sure enough it was too strong and too cross. (You want to launch facing into the wind.) Despite not flying, I still got some adrenaline. I was near the top when I spotted this snake. I couldn't make out the head or tail, but it looked like a rattlesnake. I got my phone out and took this photo. Then something disturbed it and it started rattling at me. It was actually more of a loud buzz than a "rattle" but it definitely woke me up. iNaturalist confirmed it was a Prairie Rattlesnake. I back away and took a different route to the top. There's no trail up this hill and it's rocks and tall grass. I was paranoid that I'd step on (or too close to) another rattlesnake. I was just starting to relax and stepped up on a large slab of rock. I heard loud rattling, but I couldn't see the rattlesnake this time. I assume it must have been somewhere around the edge of the rock. I jumped back a step and just about fell off the rock. Hoping that it wasn't behind me, I backed up and again took another route. Needless to say I was quite nervous on the hike down, but luckily I didn't have any more encounters.

Apparently rattlesnakes are one creature that may benefit from climate change. Hopefully that doesn't mean I'll be seeing more of them!

Foggy Morning

A foggy morning on our current road trip. This was on the Middle Fork of the Clearwater River headed towards Missoula.