My travels and adventures have kept me so busy that the only posts I've been making here lately are of my weigh-ins. Also, we've been remote, so my internet connection hasn't always been strong enough to upload the pictures I've wanted to share. Let me to catch you up on where I've been and what I've been seeing on my hikes and other activities.
Photo Captions:
1) This was my view of the sunrise through my bedroom window in Douglas, Wyoming. We had a great campsite there, right next to the North Platte River.
2) The area around Douglas is crowded with Pronghorn Antelope (Antilocapra americana). Here I caught a picture of a momma and her two babies. Pronghorn are not true antelopes, but are informally called antelopes because of their similarity to actual antelopes and because they evolved much like the true antelopes of Africa, Europe and Asia.
3) I got this picture on my daily walk in Douglas. I feel lucky when I get a good butterfly picture, because they're kinda hard to get. Here's a Callippe Fritillary Butterfly (Speyeria callippe) on Wavyleaf Thistle (Cirsium undulatum).
4) I did some serious hiking when we got to Devils Tower National Monument in Wyoming. There were great trails to explore there.
The name Devils Tower originated in 1875 during an expedition led by Colonel Richard Irving Dodge, when his interpreter reportedly misinterpreted a native name to mean "Bad God's Tower". Native American names for the monolith include "Bear's House" or "Bear's Lodge" (or "Bear's Tipi", "Home of the Bear".)
5) The Circle of Sacred Smoke sculpture was created by Japanese artist Junkyu Muto in 2008. It is one of three sculptures of Muto's International Peace Project. Muto's sculptures are at spiritually significant places around the world. They are also found at Vatican City, Rome, and Bodh Gaya, India, where the Buddha reached enlightenment.
The stone used in the sculpture and black granite base come from Italy's Fantiscritti Quarry, the source of Michelangelo's marble. The sculpture's stone base comes from the Crazy Horse Memorial in the Black Hills of South Dakota.
Over 20 tribes consider the Tower to be a sacred place. This was the location where White Buffalo Calf Woman delivered the first sacred pipe to the Lakota people. The Circle of Sacred Smoke represents a puff of smoke from a ceremonial pipe used by Native American people.
6) I hiked all the way around Devils Tower several times, capturing it from many angles. Devils Tower rises 1,267 feet (386 m) above the Belle Fourche River, standing 867 feet (265 m) from summit to base. The summit is 5,112 feet (1,559 m) above sea level.
7) This is not something I'd ever do, but here are some people climbing Devils Tower.
8) These are hanging in the trees all around Devils Tower. I asked a park ranger what they were. He explained that Devils Tower is a very sacred place for many Native American tribes. This place is just as sacred to them as the Vatican is to Catholics. Native Americans come here to say prayers and they leave these as an offering.
9) The landscape surrounding Devils Tower is composed mostly of sedimentary rocks. The oldest rocks visible in Devils Tower National Monument were laid down in a shallow sea during the Triassic period.
10) A white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) walked past me on the trail around Devils Tower.
11) Here I am on the trail in front of Devils Tower.
12 - 14) There is a huge colony of black-tailed prairie dogs (Cynomys ludovicianus) at Devils Tower. They're adorable too.
15) The rabbits at Devils Tower are apparently used to people. This one didn't run away when I took this picture. It let me get very close.
This is a Mountain Cottontail (Sylvilagus nuttallii).
16) Now we're in Custer, South Dakota, and I just got to see my first weasel here. This long-tailed weasel (Neogale frenata) lives right next to our campsite.
17) We're camping in the Black Hills National Forest in Custer, SD, and it's a wildflower wonderland here. This is a Gunnison's Mariposa Lily (Calochortus gunnisonii).
18) Here's a Purple Harebell (Campanula rotundifolia).
19) Hairy Goldenasters (Heterotheca villosa var. foliosa) are related to sunflowers.
20) Just yesterday I got to see Mt. Rushmore for the first time! What a sight!
21) Here I am in front of Mt. Rushmore.
