Ninepipe National Wildlife Refuge and A Drive Through the Salish Mountains

Polson, MT
July 15-16, 2013

This morning, Joe and I went exploring...destination Ninepipe.

 Ninepipe NWR was established in 1921 and is located in the Flathead Indian Reservation. Its about 23 miles south of Polson.




The wetland contains over 800 glacial potholes and a 1,770-acre reservoir.

Ninepipe is a nesting habitat for numerous birds such as Canadian Geese, Great Blue Heron, and several species of ducks. 





There are also nesting platforms for Ospreys at one end of the lake.


nesting platform

 

The refuge is not permanently staffed and is managed from the headquarters of the National Bison Range.

 The wide valley sits at the base of the Mission Mountains.

Fishing is allowed from the shore...ice fishing is also permitted. The refuge is closed to hunting.



Portions of the refuge are closed in the spring to minimize human disturbance to nesting birds.


 




Photography and wildlife viewing are encouraged. There are short, accessible trails along the shore.



click on the picture for a better look!

We spotted this pair of trumpeter swans across the lake. A WOW! moment for sure.

 Trumpeter Swans are regarded as the largest of all native North American wildfowl. The babies...called cygnets...are hatched gray. We saw several babies in this little family.

A huge thanks to Judy from Travels with Emma for introducing us to the Wildlife Refuge Areas through her wonderful posts and pictures.

 We rode down Old Crow Lane before heading home...such a pretty countryside.

 Oh no...not another barn! I just cant help myself!

 Beautiful fields of gold hay...probabally alfalfa...










and green fields of sweet potatoes already in bloom.
                                                          

Yesterday, we took an off-road trail that took us up and into the Salish Mountains on the western side of Flathead Lake.

We headed out Hwy 93 north and made a left turn at Elmo on to west 28 and then a left turn onto the gravel road in the picture. From there, your guess is as good as mine as to where we were.

 We never really felt like we were lost...thank goodness for the compass. Once on the trail, we knew south and east were the directions we needed to go.

 I'm not sure these guys appreciated us disturbing their space...that's some look we got!

Many of the peaks in the Salish Mountains are rounded tree covered summits. The range covers about 4,125 square miles of lush green forests and peaks.

 Occasionally, we found the summits to be open grassy slopes with great views of the surrounding valleys.

The Salish Mountains are named for the Native Americans who called the area home centuries before white men settled here.






We did have to stop to watch a doe and her fawn...


This is my first half decent picture of a fawn. I was way excited...another WOW! for me.

 We are not sure what was going on here...lots of small sleeping tents, a large cooking tent, and several people sitting around.

There were lots of pretty wildflowers, but we didn't make too many stops.









We did find later that there are lots of logging roads all through the range.

 Some of the roads/trails are maintained and others are not. Many trails were established back in the 1920s to maintain fire lookouts.

 We had a great time...I could go on trails like that everyday!

 We finally returned to pasture lands and more grumpy faces...

 We never saw a posted sign to "Keep Out" and the only way out was through this gate...we politely closed it back!

 Hope you are enjoying your week...

Until next time...

"A Beautiful Morning"

Polson, MT
June 11 &12, 2013



5:52 am today

This morning Joe and I set out before 6:00 am to do our walk. It just has to be our favorite time of the day! What a way to wake up and greet the morning and each other!

 While we were walking I got this song stuck in my head and I have been singing it all day long. Does that ever happen to you?
 
Do you remember The Young Rascals and the song "A Beautiful Morning"? It came out early in 1968 and by June '68 was a certified Million Seller and made it to #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

This morning was just one of those mornings...a cool mid-fifties, sun coming up, fresh air and a great to be alive kindda feeling. 





"It's a beautiful morning, ah
I think I'll go outside a while
And just smile
Just take in the fresh air, boy!
If the weather's fine, and you got the time
It's your chance to wake up and plan another brand new day
Either way
It's a beautiful mornin', ah
Each bird keeps singin' his own song..."

I was still in high school (barely) in 1968. I can remember most of The Young Rascals great hits. You sure don't hear songs like that on the radio these days! What a shame...

After coffee and some computer time, I took Sally for a walk. She is a wee bit over weight and I enjoy walking with her so we did a couple laps around the park here.

 

Sally is very patient with me...she politely lays down wherever I stop to take a picture.

There is a small airport across the street from us. We thought it would be very noisy, but it's not. In fact, we enjoy watching the planes land and take off. One plane ran off the runway landing yesterday...that was exciting!




















The flowers in the pictures today are wildflowers. They grow along the fence that is in front of the first road of motorhomes.

Speaking of the 1960's...I had one of those Beetles. It was blue, a straight shift, and so much  fun!

Sally is so sweet!

Yesterday, Joe and I rode around the other side of Flathead Lake. It's a huge lake!

In fact, Flathead Lake is the largest natural freshwater lake west of the Mississippi.

It is a remnant of the ancient Glacial Lake Missoula. It is bordered on its eastern shore by the Mission Mountains and on the west by the Salish Mountains.

The Flathead valley was formed by the glacial damming of the Flathead River and has a remarkably mild climate.





 We were quite surprised to find cherry orchards. The mild climate allows for cherry orchards on the east shore.


We passed one orchard after another and finally stopped to make a purchase. The Bing cherries and Rainier cherries are very sweet! And they are good for you too!

There are vineyards for wine production on the west shore...haven't visited those yet! As well as apples, pear and plum orchards.

There are 5 state parks along the shore of Flathead Lake and 1 state park that is an island and only assessable by boat.

We stopped at Finley Point SP on the east shore for a picnic. We do plan to see them all!

 It is a beautiful ride around the lake... about 90 miles all the way around.



There are some gorgeous properties along the way.

I waited and waited for a better picture of the doe and her fawn, but not meant to be this time. It you look real close you will see the fawn in the bottom left corner or click on the picture to enlarge it. 

I saw this bear when I was tromping through the cherry orchard taking pictures...sure caught me by surprise!

These flower baskets are hanging everywhere in Polson.

Until next time...

 

Take care and God Bless!