Sitting under a pergola over looking the Rockies, listening to the sound of Magpies singing and the cicadas buzzing. The weather is warm, with a little overcast and some haze from a fire burning north of here. I have my foot up and on ice because I over used my Achilles yesterday after walking 32 miles. But that’s okay because I was planning on taking the next few days off anyway.
My friend from Tucson, Neil, is on his way. He is the reason for my contact for Bozeman, Monica. I will be taking the next 4 to 5 off to enjoy the 4th of July weekend.
Today I woke up late because I knew there was no way I could walk with my calf hurting as bad as it did last night. So I climbed out of my sleeping loft, in my own cute little cabin and went in the house to have some breakfast which consisted of yogurt, blackberries, granola and bananas. While talking with Debbie and Chuck, we came up with the idea of going fossil hunting! I quickly took a shower and we set off for our field trip. Along the way, they took me down the old highway through some beautiful canyons and talked about all the places Lewis and Clark explored while they came through the valley and Debbie also explained much of the rock formations in the area (they are both geologists).
Our fossil site was literally a cut in the side of the road, where 10 million years ago, a volcano explosion quickly covered the land in ash. First thing I found was a piece of 10 million year old tortoise shell… and then I found another, and another and another. It’s all over the place! I also found a piece of a tooth and some ligament bones and a piece of a little skull. So amazing!! All right there on the side of the road.
We left around 4 and headed to Monica’s house outside of Bozeman. I said goodbye to Debbie and Chuck, and made myself at home with Monica, my homestead for the next few nights. She was planning a flank steak dinner with potatoes and salad and grilled bananas and ice cream for dessert. A highlight for my night was also that a friend from Tucson was coming up from Big Sky, MT to have dinner with us, Neil.
While we were enjoying our dinner, we all realized that the cows across the street were talking like crazy and bunched up. We thought they were being harassed by coyotes so I took out my camera and started to film. Then I realized that they weren't coyotes, they were birds! Sand hill cranes to be exact. They must have been protecting their young. Apparently the cows are usually not allowed in that field, so the cranes probably nest there every year and now the birds were having a turf war with the cows. It was so intense to watch, a heard of 30 cows versus 2 cranes and the cranes put up a really good fight. Eventually the cranes had to fly to the other side of the fence where Neil, Monica and I had come down to watch the fight. There the cranes stayed and just walked around in such a distressful way, it was kinda sad to watch. They didn’t even care that we were there, they just kept trying to get the cows away from what I can only assume was their nest. Finally everyone settled down and all was well again. (see video below)
What a great day off, so excited for the up coming weekend.
My friend from Tucson, Neil, is on his way. He is the reason for my contact for Bozeman, Monica. I will be taking the next 4 to 5 off to enjoy the 4th of July weekend.
Today I woke up late because I knew there was no way I could walk with my calf hurting as bad as it did last night. So I climbed out of my sleeping loft, in my own cute little cabin and went in the house to have some breakfast which consisted of yogurt, blackberries, granola and bananas. While talking with Debbie and Chuck, we came up with the idea of going fossil hunting! I quickly took a shower and we set off for our field trip. Along the way, they took me down the old highway through some beautiful canyons and talked about all the places Lewis and Clark explored while they came through the valley and Debbie also explained much of the rock formations in the area (they are both geologists).
Our fossil site was literally a cut in the side of the road, where 10 million years ago, a volcano explosion quickly covered the land in ash. First thing I found was a piece of 10 million year old tortoise shell… and then I found another, and another and another. It’s all over the place! I also found a piece of a tooth and some ligament bones and a piece of a little skull. So amazing!! All right there on the side of the road.
We left around 4 and headed to Monica’s house outside of Bozeman. I said goodbye to Debbie and Chuck, and made myself at home with Monica, my homestead for the next few nights. She was planning a flank steak dinner with potatoes and salad and grilled bananas and ice cream for dessert. A highlight for my night was also that a friend from Tucson was coming up from Big Sky, MT to have dinner with us, Neil.
While we were enjoying our dinner, we all realized that the cows across the street were talking like crazy and bunched up. We thought they were being harassed by coyotes so I took out my camera and started to film. Then I realized that they weren't coyotes, they were birds! Sand hill cranes to be exact. They must have been protecting their young. Apparently the cows are usually not allowed in that field, so the cranes probably nest there every year and now the birds were having a turf war with the cows. It was so intense to watch, a heard of 30 cows versus 2 cranes and the cranes put up a really good fight. Eventually the cranes had to fly to the other side of the fence where Neil, Monica and I had come down to watch the fight. There the cranes stayed and just walked around in such a distressful way, it was kinda sad to watch. They didn’t even care that we were there, they just kept trying to get the cows away from what I can only assume was their nest. Finally everyone settled down and all was well again. (see video below)
What a great day off, so excited for the up coming weekend.
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