Journey Is Over

After forty-two days on the road, I have returned to the sanctuary of my home on the bluff overlooking the Anchor River in Alaska. The standard question is always the same, "how was your trip?" The standard response is also always the same, "Ah, I had a great vacation!" However, in this particular case it was not "great", being fair I would have to rate it as just short of being fantastic! My only regret is that I wish my children and grandchildren could have experienced it as well. You do not realize what a beautiful country we live in until you get out and travel the highways and by-ways of America. It matters not whether you are looking at the fall colors in the high "rockies" or the high desert of Nevada, each area has a natural beauty of it's own. Although my primary mission was to photograph the variety of species of wildlife, you cannot appreciate them unless you also appreciate their environment. My 2010 goal of photographing each specie of "big game animals" in America was achieved. However, the photographing was secondary to the educational value of learning more about the species and observing them first hand. There were so many things that I saw for the first time in my life, the bull elk or deer locking horns in battle to prove dominance. The leadership of a wild stallion leading his herd to water. The mating ritual of the antlered species during their rutting season. The agility of the wild sheep. The warning sign of a mother grizzly. These are the memories that photos cannot duplicate. During this trip, I navigated through three provinces of Canada, Yukon Territory, British Columbia, and Alberta. In the "lower 48", I traveled through Idaho, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Wyoming, Colorado, Utah, New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, and could have thrown a rock into California. My original trip called for a visit to Oregon and Washington. However, at the last minute I changed course and returned to Montana to visit a herd of Big Horn Sheep in Thompson Falls, Montana. The place that my "lower 48" trip had commenced. After spending several hours with them, I turned north for the trip through Canada and home. In total, I drove 14,015.2 miles on this trip. I consumed a total of 859.35 gallons of "fossil fuel" at a total cost of $2,865.15. However, when you break it down, that is only .20 cents per mile for each mile I drove, a great bargain for seeing the country and sights that I witnessed. To appreciate our country, I am a firm believer that you have to be off the "Interstate Highway" system. In total, I drove less than 40 miles on the Interstate, only to gain access to a secondary state highways. In my travels, I met some great people in the small towns of America. Whether it was the canyon lands of Utah, the Canadian Rockies, the Grand Tetons, or the Sierra's looming over the high desert of Nevada, as I topped a hill on the highway between Tok and Glenallen, Alaska the mountains of my home state was a beautiful sight.

Thompson Falls, Montana Since my original visit in September, the contractors had the time to complete the construction of two bridges in the Little Thompson River canyon. This provided additional access into the canyon and forests of this area. It is a beautiful area, heavily treed with Ponderosa Pine and Siberian Larch.

Since my first visit, a Rocky Mountain Big Horn Ram had moved down and claimed the herd of ewes that I had photographed earlier in the fall. He was not concerned with my presense and allowed me to get in close to him. It is early into the rut, I am not sure if he has the armament to ward off the larger rams in the area.

"Family" (Ram, Ewe, Lamb")

This "ewe" discovered a easy way to get over the forest service rail fence, simply find a "stump" to use as a ladder.

Same "Ewe" jumping from a high ledge to the lower ledge and her feeding area.

It was a terrific trip, I now have a couple of months before the "New Year" to improve on my Bull Moose and Dall Sheep pictures. Perhaps, on January 1st, I will start thinking about my next journey.