Wind Cave National Park: Wildlife Safari on Roads NPS 5 and NPS 6

 After our hike of Rankin Ridge, Noelle and I headed over to the gravel NPS 5 to drive and look for wildlife. Amongst the most plentiful species we noticed right away were magpies. It felt like they were everywhere. There were also plenty of prairie dogs to observe and photograph.

We made our way over to the Highland Creek Trailhead and stopped along the side of the road when we saw a burrowing owl. As we observed, we noticed there were actually two owls. I wasn't able to get a good photo of them. I was, however, able to photograph a meadowlark.

After eating a picnic lunch on a towel on the prairie, we got back in the car and headed towards Lone Pine. 

We parked at the small lot there 

and got out to scan the surrounding areas for the bison herd, hoping to find some babies. Noelle found a fairly large herd, with some babies, alongside NPS 6. That would be our next destination. We made the turn onto NPS 6 and near the Boland Ridge Trailhead, we found a small herd with some babies.

From there we drove a bit further north towards Custer State Park. We found another herd with more babies.

After observing the bison for a bit, we continued into Custer State Park where we turned around and made our way back to NPS 5. A little further along we found an area where we hit the wildlife jackpot. There were more bison,

pronghorn,

and a prairie dog town with more burrowing owls. This time I was able to get a half-decent photo of one of the owls.

Shortly thereafter, we drove out of the park and to US 385 where we went to the visitor center to use the restroom and check out the new exhibits.

Wind Cave National Park: Cold Brook Canyon Trail

After our stop in the visitor center Noelle and I decided to go for another short hike, this time we would hike the Cold Brook Canyon Trail, a short but pleasant walk into a limestone canyon. The trail starts with a descent on an old, rough road into the pretty, little canyon.

There was a nice mix of prairie and pines.

There were also some interesting limestone canyon walls.

Perhaps the most interesting section of the canyon features a limestone tower that I theorize may have been part of a cave at one time.

Nearby the tower is a small limestone arch that we checked out.

We continued on to the end of the trail at the park boundary. 

Along the way we noticed that all the trail marker posts had been used as scratching posts by bison and were covered with thick mats of shed bison fur.

It was a quick hike back to the trailhead as we retraced our steps. 

Wind Cave National Park: Rankin Ridge Trail

It's been a long time since we've spent any time in the Black Hills. Noelle and I decided that we wanted to head up to Wind Cave National Park for our day off. We awoke at 5 am and hit the road at about 5:45. It was a pleasant drive north into South Dakota.

After a stop in Hot Springs for fuel and lunch, we made our way into the park. First stop was the visitor center to use the restroom. Then, we headed out. We drove north on US 385 to the intersection with SD Highway 87. We stopped at the small parking lot there to watch the prairie dogs and bison there.

Then, we made our way north on Highway 87 to Rankin Ridge. We parked and started hiking on the road portion of the loop trail. The first species of wildlife we spotted was a cottontail along the side of the trail.

We continued up the road towards the old fire tower,

stopping every now and then to look for birds and other wildlife. 

I made it to the base of the tower before Noelle and had a look around.

I spotted a pair of chickadees that were flying back and forth between a tree stump and a live pine, creating a nesting cavity.

Besides the chickadees, I enjoyed the nice views from the highest point in Wind Cave National Park, including Mount Coolidge in nearby Custer State Park.

 

When Noelle joined me at the summit, we started to make our way down on the trail section of the loop.

 Wildflowers, musineon and pasqueflower, could be seen on along this section of the loop.

Besides the flowers, we observed a chipmunk on the hike down.

Once back to the car, we were ready to continue our day with a drive to look for wildlife on roads NPS 5 and NPS 6.

An Afternoon in Alliance, Nebraska

After my hike of the Pine Ridge Trail and drive to Alliance, it was still pretty early. I wanted to get lunch and a beer at Brewery 719, but the brewery doesn't open 2 pm. My first stop was the iconic Carhenge. I've been several times before, but the nice fluffy clouds made me want to return to photograph it. 

After a short visit to Carhenge, I got lunch at Dairy Queen, then headed over to the Alliance City Cemetery to visit the grave of Ol' Jules Sandoz. I had read Mari Sandoz's book, loosely based on the life of her father years ago.

After the cemetery, I still had some time to kill and so I headed over to Central Park to go for a short walk. I parked at the fountain, which is not running yet for the season. Then I crossed the road to the other section of the park and scared up a great-horned owl.

As I observed the owl, I realized she was not alone. She had an owlet with her. 

It seems like there is plenty of food in the park for the owls.

I took several photos of the pair before walking the park.

Finally it was after 2 pm and so I headed over to the brewery for a beer and six-pack to go.

Pine Ridge Trail: Dead Horse Road to Chadron Creek Wildlife Management Area

After working nine straight days, I finally had the day off today and opted to get out of town for a hike. I had originally thought about heading to Estes Park for another hike on the far east side of Rocky Mountain National Park. However, given how tired I've been lately, I opted instead to head up to the Pine Ridge of Nebraska to hike another section of the Pine Ridge Trail. 

I arrived at the trail off of Deadhorse Road. There is not a parking area there, and so I drove a short distance up a Forest Road and found a flat, grassy place to park off of the side of the road. Then a walked down the two-track through pleasant forest,

complete with blooming plum bushes,

to the official start of my hike.

The hike started by following a two track through a wetland area, then veered off onto a dedicated footpath.

From here the trail climbed out of the shady, wooded ravine and into a partially wooded edge. As I walked a ridge where the prairie met the ponderosa pines, I was startled by a couple of turkey vultures that I managed to scare. I figured they must have been on a carcass and walked to where they had flown to find a recently deceased coyote. 

From here the trail, mostly a walk through the prairie, marked with posts, made its way towards a fence line, which it followed for a time. Scattered ponderosa pines and a sky blue with fluffy clouds made for captivating scenery.

I passed through a couple of gates and continued on towards the turnaround point for my last hike of the Pine Ridge Trail, the boundary with the Chadron Creek Wildlife Management Area.

When I reached the gate marking the wildlife area boundary, I stopped for a snack and replaced by short lens with my telephoto zoom, hoping to photograph some wildlife on the way back (the turkey vultures at the very least). Unfortunately, I didn't see much wildlife, besides a few meadowlarks. Still, the scenery was wonderful.

As I made my way back to the wetland area near the start of the hike, I hunkered down for a bit to see if I could photograph some birds. I was able to get a decent photo of a yellow-rumped warbler.

After about a half-hour looking for birds, I made my way back to the car and headed to Alliance for lunch.