A different Buffalo! (same Interstate even!) This route takes over the Big Horn Mountains The mountain pass is not scary at all but scenic near the top which is near, but not quite at, the treeline. We stopped at Medicine Wheel National Historic Site, an historic and sacred Native American site. Very interesting, and worth the 1 1/2 mile hike from the parking lot.
The colorful tundra on the Big Horn Mountains
Another great view of the Big Horn Mountains from Medicine Wheel
Evening was spent in Lovell, Wyoming. This was the closest accomdations to Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area. The reason we are here is to visit the Pryor Mountain Wild Horse Range, where there are several hundred wild horses (read more at the link). We stopped at the visitor center to find the "best" road and then had dinner that evening at Skyline Cafe in nearby Powell, Wyoming for a nice dinner (Powell Restaurant Guide: PDF)
Big Horn Canyon just before sunset (Melissa's photo)
We only saw a few horses at low elevation (Melissa's photo)
Unfortunately our camera long lens stopped working! After talking to a camera shop in Powell, we tried some things that temporarily helped ... The camera shop was named 'Sunlight Photographics' and was very helpful. Even though he didn't stand to make much business from us, he helped us out for awhile, so I would reccomend him for sure!
BIRDING: Not much today. Lots of WESTERN MEADOWLARKS and HORNED LARKS. I think we caught a few glimpses of CHESTNUT-COLLARED LONGSPURS. On the whole prairie drive, we only found one FERRUGINOUS HAWK, but plenty of SWAINSONS and RED-TAILED HAWKS.
At Medicine Wheel, there were MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRDS (including one using a nestbox), ROCK WRENS, and CLARK'S NUTCRACKERS, and COMMON RAVENS. We also saw DARK-EYED JUNCOES
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