Brook Trout Fishing, Elk & Other Wildlife

I drove from Butte, Montana, across the Great Divide to a favorite little valley that leads to the Big Hole River. My excuse was to catch a few trout for supper, but mostly I just wanted a day to ramble around the high, moist prairie. I parked near an old homestead that is now public land:

And which has a few extant buildings such as this great old barn:

The night had been clear and frosty, and it was still too cold to fish. I decided to hike along the old Indian road dotted with the occasional tipi ring. In addition to pieces of jasper (blood red or buttery yellow; a flint-like rock used for tools), there is petrified wood to be found:

Primarily, I was out to see what flowers were blooming (which I posted in the previous entry). Taking advantage of these early flowers was a blue butterfly--what an amazing, turquoise-like color (if anyone knows the species, please let me know):

But life is not all pretty flowers and butterflies, of course. Near a badger den, there was this partial skull (probably from a Columbia ground squirrel):

And as I was sitting in the windbreak provided by a small pine tree, I noticed gray, turd-like masses of fuzz all around me. Owl pellets, containing fur and skeletal remains of the owl's prey:

As I stood up to continue my hike, a small band of cow elk -- fearful that they might be prey -- burst from the willows below me:

Back at the ranch (i.e. the truck), I had a beer, lay down in the bed & took a nap, and waited for late afternoon to begin fishing. When I awoke, critters were all around, with pronghorn antelope on one side:

Elk on the other:

And, literally at my feet, a Columbian ground squirrel:

An hour or so later, I was on my home with supper--several fat brook trout:

Mmmm... good:

As a hiking partner Dave Carter likes to say, "What are the poor people doing today?"