24 States: The Wildlife

I have a friend who believes the more time you spend outside, the more wildlife you see. After completing a 24 state trek, with the majority of time spent outside I confirm this declaration. One of the greatest parts of this adventure was the exposure to wildlife--new and old.

We assisted this turtle in his road crossing endeavor at Graham State Park in Dansville, Missouri. He clearly was not going to help himself. On Block Island, Rhode Island there were many more turtles to be seen.

An evening bird watching session at Lake Manawa State Park in Council Bluffs, Iowa led us to this one of many wild turkeys. He was loudly going about his business. These fellas are quite comical.

Several bunnies were found foraging in the midst of rain showers on small grassy patches of The Badlands National Park.

The very next day we had lots of good luck spotting mountain goats. What the weather lacked, the mountain goats made up for. We were able to get quite close to them along the roadside at one of our scenery viewpoint stops.

In Custer State Park in Custer, South Dakota we ran into several pronghorns on Wildlife Loop Road.

At the end of our journey through Custer we peaked with burros, a whole lot of them. What funny animals!

Bison here, bison there, bison everywhere. These may not be the most unique character of the bunch out West, to me, that doesn't matter. They are massive and durable beings, and the benefits of visiting in snowy May include baby bison all over the place.

Bear sightings in Yellowstone National Park were also thrilling! We happened upon this bear jam near the Lamar Valley. By waiting patiently or long enough to aggravate the bear we caught him making his escape--swimming across the river and climbing up the hillside. He was swift for such a massive specie!

Near the Blacktail Deer Plateau we found bighorn sheep sun bathing.

Before leaving Yellowstone behind, we enjoyed watching (K.A.R. snap pictures of) this Goldeneye and his friend. One truly appreciates how easy we humans have it after overseeing this duck hunt for his lunch on the icy waters of Yellowstone Lake near the West Thumb Geyser Basin.

Coyote crossing! This one looks the the winter was harsh on him, he is a bit mangled. Perhaps he had trouble finding food with the huge snow banks found in the Southern parts?

A solid spot led to these two moose on the side of the road after leaving Yellowstone and Grand Tetons National Park behind.

This colorful Bullock's Oriole was found at a Nevada rest stop. Of all the birds seen, this is the first and last one we were actually within range to catch a non-blurry bird photo. Score.

If you know one thing about me--make it that I have a passionate hatred of deer. They are nothing but a nuisance to society. That being said, I do not know what possessed me to snap this image of these four deer in Taylorsville, California, the final stop of the road trip portion of this experience.

Of all the wildlife seen, the seals on Block Island, Rhode Island stole the show. Watching the seals entertain us at Sandy Point never got old. I had no idea how social seals were; it seemed the more people that joined us in viewing, the friskier the seals became.

I suppose I lied about the Bullock's Oriole being the only bird photographed, this Red-winged Blackbird was neat too!

Being outside with animals adds a natural fullness to my life. "Any glimpse into the life of an animal quickens our own and makes it so much the larger and better in every way." (John Muir)