Black Leaf Cut Off Road to Campbell Cut Off Road

Robert asked me what I wanted to do most of all, to celebrate Mother's Day. Of course, I said I wanted to go up Black Leaf Canyon. We've been all around that area, but not into the canyon itself. I've been waiting for him to mention another photo shoot, so we could go there. For once, I had a definite destination in mind!

We left Vaughn, and before we got to Choteau, we'd seen avocets, geese, several varieties of ducks, an osprey and it's mate, antelope, elk, and some awesome Montana scenery!

An entire herd of antelope ran across the highway in front of us, when we crossed the Fairfield bench. We stopped to watch them go, and took photos of them as they ran. They didn't know we had no evil intentions where they were concerned.

This was the view, west of Choteau. I guess it's easy to see why we're called the "Big Sky Country". This is one big sky!
Snow clouds hung over Ear Mountain, and before the day was over, we had snow, rain, sleet, wind...the normal gamut of weather. It isn't quite summertime yet on the Rocky Mountain Front!
Nostalgia took hold of us. Both of us went to school in one room school houses, with home made playground equipment. We couldn't resist one more ride on the merry go round.

Sand Hill Cranes were in the meadow opposite the old school house. These huge birds make the most interesting sounds. I like listening to them.




This is one herd of horses and mules that we've dubbed "ours". When we saw them in the distance, I yelled, "Hey, are you coming to see us today?" They were a quarter mile away, but their heads came up, their ears came forward, and their hooves began to move! It wasn't long until we were surrounded by these old friends. I don't know who they really belong to, I think it must be an outfitter in the area, for these animals are very used to people, and they love visiting. They're very mannerly, and don't push and shove each other around a whole lot while we pet them. One mule took the camera strap and tried to pull it away from Robert, the mule wanted to take some photos of us!

The magpies were out, in full force, squawking around, trying to stay out of my "shooting" range. These birds are so wary, it's hard to get them close to my camera. I think they believe I have another kind of apparatus in my hands. :)
Mule slobbers on the car. They smelled and felt of every inch of this car.
Last fall, I took a photo of this mule, as he stuck his tongue out at me.
Feet the size of platters! This horse could be a pmu rescue. He's so huge, makes me feel like a midget when he comes to see me.
The mules loved the car. They slobbered over every inch of it. They also stuck their heads in the open windows, looking for treats! You do have to watch these critters, they will scrape the paint off your car with their teeth.

My one shot of the day where the sun shone perfectly.

I'll continue this post, it's getting difficult to keep track of the new photos each time I upload some more. I wish blogger would add them to the bottom of a post, in the order they're selected, instead of placing them at the top. Takes so much cutting and pasting!

Continued....