in a sub-alpine meadow near Butte, Montana where I spent the night on Homestake Pass. The air and sky were clear, the stars were brilliant, and it got wonderfully chilly.
Prairie dogs (genus Cynomys).
The strongly-jointed Humbug Spires...
near Butte, Montana offer a myriad of easy to moderate rock climbing routes on a smooth, spheroidally weathered granite.
Quartz monzonite of Cretaceous age (145-66 Ma) that comprises the Boulder batholith south of Butte, Montana. Orthoclase and plagioclase feldspars and quartz are the lighter minerals with accessory biotite and hornblende constituting the dark minerals.
A quiet evening at Pintler Lake...
at the edge of the Pintler Wilderness in Montana, my first stop on my drive south.
Tiny critters in the wilderness...
of western Montana. It’s hunting season and all the big animals are in hiding so I was shooting small game.
Yellow-pine chipmunk (Neotamias amoenus).
American red squirrel (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus).
Water strider (family Gerridae) illustrating the phenomenon of buoyancy through surface tension.
Sunset on the alpine skyline...
near Monida Pass, shot Friday evening, specifically near Lima, Montana.
(Click image to enlarge.)
Dash to the Pintler Wilderness...
in western Montana seemed more like a wildlife safari.
Juvenile bald eagle.
The American dipper, also known as a water ouzel.
Water ouzel on Pintler Creek.
Canadian geese taking flight from the Big Hole River.
The back ends of six sandhill cranes on the Big Hole River north of Wisdom, MT.
Red-tailed chipmunk in camp.
Belted kingfisher working the Big Hole River.