Animals.

Friday it rained. A rainy day during a camping vacation means just one thing: time to go into town. Smokey dropped me off at the library and went to do the laundry. (I love this guy.) When the laundry was done he joined me; we checked  email and I read blogs and generally had internet fun.

Dinner was at a gourmet feast at Taco John’s. While that was tasty (anything with as many fat grams as Taco John’s food HAS to be tasty.), it was not nearly as much fun as what we found when we drove around the building to leave. Right next door was an old farmstead with horses.

 

The white horses were big, not as big as Percherons or Belgians, but definitely larger than the others. The male has apparently been bugging the females in the herd; whenever he started toward any of them they ran away. “Dammit, can’t you think of anything else, you big brute?!”

And here is Lucy, watching them.

This was definitely the high point of her day.

After dinner we drove back to the campground, but realized before we got there that this was the time of day when the wildlife comes out. The sky had cleared, so we continued up the mountain and drove through several other national forest areas. It was indeed the perfect time of day, both for the lighting conditions, and when those got too dark for really good photographs, for animals.

 

There were animal sounds emanating from the pine forest in the background. It sounded like seals barking, but we agreed that it was probably moose talk.

 

At one point we were turning around -- I can see why a person living in this area might want to have a four-wheel-drive vehicle with high ground clearance; some of these forest roads get mighty rutted and rocky -- we looked out the windshield as the van was completely crosswise in the road, and guess what we saw?

Lucy missed that one.

We even saw The Majestic Moose.

 

What, you can't see him? How about now?

 

Cursingmama, this one's for you :-)

Comments

[sophanne]

What great pictures. I want to see a moose someday.

[Carrie]

Moose!!!!! Swoon.
Ahem.
Great photos! I want to go on vacation with you - you get all the good mooses.

[tut-tut]

Moose! I remember seeing one on a bus into Maine when I was much younger (going to see a boyfriend, when I was in college).

[Chris]

Gorgeous pictures!

[Diane]

Thanks for the virtual vacation. Can you go swimming in that lake or is the water too cold?

[Sheepish Annie]

That is some mighty fine scenery! Did I ever tell you about the time a moose got loose on the beach over here? Very funny! Moose don't look quite right at the seashore...

[Gillian]

Super pictures! I'm so not a photographer.

[Jocelyn]

As a native Montanan, I am taken "home" by these photos and recall the time I stomped right up to a moose in Yellowstone, just "for the picture." At least you kept some distance.

Keep enjoying the Taco John's. You're my kind of traveller.

[tinebeest]

My e-mail account is the closest I have ever been to a moose. Great wildlife you have out there! (we make do with rabbits and seagulls, and if you venture out at night: foxes and badgers)

[Diane S]

Very nice photos! Thanks for sharing and allowing us homebound folks to go on a picture vacation!! Love the Mountain pics.

[Vicki]

That mountain shot... WOW!! Looks like you're having a good time.
; )

[Carrie K]

No library pix? lol. Gorgeous shots of the natives and their habitat!

[Cookie]

Wonderful photos!

I love the wild flowers.

[deb]

You had me at Taco John's. I fraking LOVE Taco John's. We don't have any close by and it just kills me. They are the only ones who put the cheese on the meat so it melts and gets all gooey. Oh, now I really want a Taco John's taco......

Oh - the animals are nice too......

[gayle]

Great pictures!
So happy your moose was at a distance. My hubby once hit a moose with his car. His car was totalled (and immensely more compact) - he was lucky not to have been totalled, too...

[Cathy-Cate]

Awesome pictures! Thanks for sharing them! I'm glad you made it there safely despite the deer....
and sounds like you're having a good time. It certainly looks beautiful.

[Lene]

Breathtaking! And thanks for the horse photos - I've been needing to see horses for a while.

Congrats on the moose - I've lived in Canada for 27 years and still haven't seen one. Hope to some day, though.

[soxanne]

Wonderful, wonderful!

I'm so glad you've gone camping and taken me with - that means I don't have to sleep in a tent to enjoy the scenery.

[lisa]

"Friday it rained"... around here that would be Friday it rained, Thursday it rained, Wednesday it rained, Tuesday it rained, Monday it rained, Sunday it rained, Saturday we saw the sun for 20 minutes and it didn't rain much, Friday it rained, Thursday it rained. Seriously, like the ENTIRE MONTH!

Thanks for the sunny pics and blue skies!

(I saw the moose right off! neener neener)

[Angie]

Marvelous photos! That seems like a nice safe distance for moose viewing. :D

[Heather]

Wow - those are amazing pics!

[dale-harriet in WI]

Oh yes, these are SPLENDID! We were out that way some time back, and I bought a WONDERFUL plush buffalo in Buffalo. (His name is Theodore Roosevelt Bison Bison.) You're also an inspiration...we're heading to Montana end of the month. Sounds like y'all travel kinda like we do -- oh, and Taco John's? Not bad, although we prefer Taco Bell, had our anniversary dinner there year before last. And I have a theory about moose (I AM fond of meese): they were devised by the Creator for the People and are one-stop shops. You've got your meat, your bones for tools, your hide for the best makazin you can make; you've got your innards for toys and utensils* (and poo that can be dried and made into jewelry for tourists - I am SO not making that up). They are some ugly animals, but powerful POWERFUL useful!
*Stomachs make good cooking vessels; bladder and --erhm -- cahones {sp?} make wonderful BALLS (no pun intended) for games like two-stones and lacrosse.

[NeedleDancer]

Lovely pictures!!
Though I've seen moose tracks near mom's barn, but I've never seen one in the wild....