And bears oh my:)

We are spending a few hours in Enterprise to do laundry, download email and have Mexican for lunch. Here are a few highlights from the past week.

The days are just packed- fence repairs & boundary markers have been keeping us hopping! Big beautiful skies- sunrise and sunsets are amazing.

The Barn Swallows are fledging all around us! Here are a few ...

We took a day off and took the truck on an incredible journey! We explored the TNC Clear Lake Ridge Property- it is extremely remote. The truck's 4 wheel drive system got a work out & we saw a mama and her 3 cubs and our first Goshawk (no photo) and great looks at 2 Ferruginous Hawks.

One of the cubs was out of my view to the right

What a sight- this amazing Ferruginous Hawk!

Amazing views from Cat's Back

Mountain Bluebird and Vesper Sparrow hanging out

What canyons! A bit smokey this day

Surviving at altitudes builds character

Family of Chukars cross the line

Eastern Kingbirds are following us:)

Ruffed Grouse

Juvenile Ruffed Grouse in the Elderberry Bush

Local color

We were marking trails and came upon a heard of 300+ elk! Here are a few relics we came upon.

We are getting some much needed rains. It is wonderful- the skies open up for an hour and then the sun comes back out and every thing smells so new and sagey. 

One morning we came upon a Great Horned  Owl hunting mice in the barn- you are either hunting or being hunted out here.

 On our walk behind the camp this evening we came across an incredible family of Rock Wrens- we think we counted 12 in all!!

 We continuously count  10-15 American Kestrels and an occasional Northern Harrier everywhere we go- there are so many grasshoppers.

Northern Harrier

Kestrels below

We had 10 migrating Common Nighthawks fly over us in camp tonight. There is so much wild life around us;)

Wow- today we hiked into some of the most beautiful wild country to post boundary signs

So remote and wild that instead of a Super Highway we were on a Pooper Highway- with bear scat ALL around us. 

We did not see a bear but we did see some great birds along the canyon as we  walked out. This Gray Flycatcher is a new bird for us :

We have seen the Eastern Kingbird a few times since we have been here- but this is the best look.

It seemed to like our energy. It was getting pretty windy but it just hung on to this branch and posed.

Big skies below:

Another beautiful day on the prairie ~

XOXO~B&B 

P.S. Shak3 is amazing! Really feels like home- we continue to learn more and more about the systems. The silent champion is our solar system by Go Power that keeps everything running.

Little houses on the prairie

It is so expansive and beautiful here on the prairie. We have never really been in a true prairie environment so we are learning something new everyday on many levels; sometimes it relates directly to the restoration & conservation practices of The Nature Conservancy(TNC) and other times it relates to volunteer activities. We have been blessed to have Melissa & Johnnie (M&J) as our guides & mentors in our new journey as environmental conservation volunteers. M&J have been volunteering with TNC all over the country. Their insights and guidance have been invaluable!! The following provides an overview of activities for the last few days:

 8/26- Monday we arrive to the "little houses on the prairie" otherwise TNC's Summer Camp

After scouting out are route to our new home on Saturday we made the executive decision to drive the trailer out on a very bumpy 2 track road. The average speed was 5 miles an hour for the 3 miles. We arrived all intact with the exception of 1 single screw from our ceiling fan- a miracle!

               The barn- believe it or not this barn is from the Sears catalog and still standing:)

 Here is the power shed- consist of our power supply - solar with a back up propane back up generator

                              This is the School House and Doc's House (M&J) live in Doc's House

                                                      Another view of Doc's House

The road back to the canyon behind us- a wonderful riparian habitat

Our "little house on the prairie"

M&J are there to greet us- they are charming and welcoming- they even cooked us a beautiful dinner:) Our morning consisted of the slow drive out from Enterprise. In the afternoon M&J(incredibly well organized and efficient) had a list of the volunteer activities to be accomplished with associated priorities.

8/27- Tuesday-After a great night's sleep- we did our yoga and breakfast routine. We met with M&J and continued review of projects in more detail along with maps. In the afternoon we all went to the Horn Lark Trail to post boundary signs, fix fences and check on aspen exclosures. Exclosures are wooden or wired fences built to keep cows, deer & elk out. TNC is trying restablish both Aspen groves and riparian trees such as Willows that were historically grazed to death (literally). It was a full 8 hour day! We are so lucky to have M&K to show us the ropes !!

8/28-Amazing lightning storm awakes us around 2 am. It was a primordial experience with continuos thunder and lighting for 2 hours! Luckily rain showers because we did hear later that there were 3 nearby lighting strikes that did start small fires that were extinguished by the rain. 

So we were up for the day:) We started with our usual yoga & breakfast and then a walk down the canyon where we are stationed. We have many Barn Swallows around the building with hungry babies to feed. We saw a family of song sparrows and spotted towhees along with a pair of rock wrens calling to us from the canyon walls above. We also had a few Vesper Sparrows and juvenile Chipping Sparrows hanging out together.

                                      Juvenile Say's Phoebe loves hanging around the Summer Camp

Say's Phoebe

                                       A pair of Rock Wrens were calling to us from above

An adult Spotted Towhee

Juvenile Spotted Towhee

Juvenile Chipping Sparrow

Our TNC activities started out with a meeting with our TNC contact, Justin (who reminds us of Seth Bullock from the TV show Deadwood). Our volunteer mates, Melissa & Johnnie think Bob looks like the character that plays Batman:) We have the beginnings of a Hollywood studio going on here. 

After the meeting we all went to focus on tasks at hand: Melissa is filling woodpecker / starling holes in the side of one of the old buildings. Bob & Johnnie went to work building a skid to help the guys load and unload their fire truck with their firefighting equipment. I used my energy background and performed an inventory of electrical load for each building to feed into an analysis the is going to make sure the solar/back up generator are sized properly.

Melissa working on a patio area

Johnnie & Bob putting the skid together

The devil is in the details

Finished product!

This morning we hiked Patti's trail- beautiful prairie and riparian area. This must be amazing in the spring and early summer with wild flowers.

We are having a blast! The days are packed and we are sleeping like babies. 

B&B 

The alps and prairie in two days

We are getting ready to pack things up to head up to the Zumwalt prairie to begin work with the Nature Conservancy for the   next 4 weeks and are very excited. The location is relatively remote so we will have limited access to send out blogs as far as we know. We will see. The following provides an overview our adventures for the last few days. 

Yesterday we went to check out the Zumwalt Prairie Preserve Summer camp where will be living for the next 4 weeks. The drive is beautiful as you drive northeast from Enterprise. We climbed for around 15 miles up to the Zumwalt Prairie Preserve. This is the largest intact prairie in the U.S.  We saw American Kestrels everywhere. The last few miles of the drive are a bit bumpy- it will be a slow drive in with Shak3. 

After checking things out at the camp we drove down the road a few miles to the Horn Lark Trail. It is beautiful and the smell of the grasses were so sweet and new to me. 

At first glance the prairie looks quiet and a bit desolate - but then you start to see and hear the grasshoppers all around you (bouncing off of us occasionally) We think the Kestrels were feasting on these insects :) It is very much alive. 

Then the Vesper Sparrows started popping up all around us. 

A Red-tailed hawk was sitting on a bluff keeping a close eye on us. 

We had a few Swainson's Hawks putting on a show as they were hunting the grasslands around us. (They migrate all the way to Argentina!)

This is a Northern Harrier that flew right by low along the tops of the grasses taking us by surprise. We then came upon a little pond.

The photo above is an Eastern Kingbird- considered a "rare" bird for this location. We also had 2 Westen Kingbirds in our campground the same morning. 

As we were walking we heard this low wail coming from the hillside above. We put our binoculars up and there were fields of elk!! We estimate at least 300. 

There was a coyote sitting in the grass below the elk just watching us. 

Today we went the other direction to the Wallowa Lake State Park. The sign said "Little Alps". This is the headwaters of the  Wallowa River. There were a number of trail options - we took the Chief Joseph Mountain Trail. It was splendid!

We were strolling along keeping our eyes and ears aware for birds. We saw a grosbeak and Gray Jay and heard nuthatches and chickadees - but then we  came upon a Black-backed Woodpecker!! This was the first time we have seen this particular species and it was wonderful. It just hung out very focused on feeding and did not mind our presence. 

That brings us to Sunday night as we batten down the hatches and get ready for our next adventure. 

We will be in touch :)

B&B 

We made it to Enterprise:)

We left La Grande around 8:30 am Friday morning after Curt of Curt's RV fixed a few last minute items on Shak3. It was a gorgeous morning for a drive after a big rain storm the night before. Everything smelled so clean and fresh. The scenery along 82, which included the Wallowa River, was breathtaking. 

We arrived into Enterprise around 10:30. We really like the feel and functionality of this town- 2 hardware stores, a Safeway, 2 Mexican restaurants & a Pub- what else do you need.  We got settled in at our campground and then went off to explore  the town of Joseph and Lake Wallowa. Joseph looks very cute but a little on the touristy side. 

We stopped at a little road side State Park that commemorates the travesty of the Nez Pierce Indians. We took a hike up the hill and to our pleasant surprise were greatest by this meadow and pond and a great hike along the river. 

Here is the entrance way to Lake Wallowa- and what an entrance:

This is the north part of the lake looking south. 

At the south end is the State park- and a huge busy campground. It looks like the alps with lots of trails to explore:)

We needed to head back to town for our meeting with Justin, the Nature Conservancy representative, to set things up for us to start work on Monday. 

We topped off the day with an excellent meal at a local Mexican restaurant :)

Hasta luego,

B&B