So this is where it all begins? Among the Prairie Dogs and Scat?!
Well kind of! Thanks to my friend Dan Cooke for suggesting to me years ago, that Theodore Roosevelt National Park is the perfect place to stop between the Twin Cities and Yellowstone, I haven’t been able to pass it by since! Even though we live much farther away now… that is indeed where my images usually begin!
But, this time, we had the BIG CME coming our way! You know… the one “they” were predicting would be seen from Wisconsin to New York!!!
I planned my route with a headful of ideas where to photograph this epic event along the way! By the time I hit Grand Rapids, MN (2 hours from Babbitt), I called my friend Bob and he took me to a little lake (insert name here) to see if we could catch even a glimpse of this now dwindling-by-the-second event…
The night was indeed full of color, but I’m not sure how much of that was really an aurora glow.
We gave an old spruce bog a try, getting just a hint of color along the horizon. From there I decided to make my way into the night driving until I got tired.
As dawn broke, I made my way down to this small lake I decided to sleep along side. Watching the sun burn off the rising mist was the perfect beginning to this much anticipated road trip!
As I reached Theodore Roosevelt National Park later that afternoon, there was no question in my mind that I would be stopping! It’s probably the lure of finding feral horses stomping about the hillsides that really draws me in. And although I did not see any on this trip, the bison, prairie dogs, and mule deer did their best to keep me entertained!
The park was full of coyote that day. This one in particular stood still long enough for me to make an image or two. In fact, had it not moved I may have thought someone placed a stuffed critter out in the field.
Not to be outdone by the beauty of this land creature, an incredible hawk now was catching the glow of afternoon light. It didn’t even cross my mind that I was following in a line behind a pilot car through a construction zone… this raptor caught my attention and the nearest pullout was just up ahead! Watching it soar above the painted hills was well worth the disappointed look I’d receive from the pilot car driver as I made my way back through the work zone. Clearly, it was time for me to get back on the highway!