View of Flathead Lake and Valley from Strawberry Lake Trail! (Keith Hammer photo)
Swan Rangers saw some fairly uncommon birds and wildflowers in the week ending Saturday, June 13, 2020!
Click here or scroll down to see photos and details of their Elk Mountain, Crane Mountain, Strawberry Lake, and Krause Basin adventures!
While the Swan Ranger Saturday group outings remain suspended until further notice due to the coronavirus pandemic, we will get a report out each week with items of interest to folks trying to get outside for some "social distancing" and spirit-calming fresh air.
Pat, Mary, Pam, and Norma hiked the Phillips Trail and saw a group of Semi-albino Calypso Orchids . . . (Pat Jaquith photo)
. . . while Joel Vignere snapped this photo of what he calls "Dos Quints" Glacier Lilies on Elk Mountain!
Norma Linsky captured the delicate flowers of Twisted Stalk on the Phillips side of Crane Mountain . . .
. . . while Fawn and Chris saw Lady Slipper Orchids on the Bug Creek side! (Chris Gotschalk photo)
Keith and Pam hiked to Strawberry Lake on Thursday, finding lots of snow and ice has melted since Linda's report/photo of a week ago! (Keith Hammer photos)
They saw this dark-phase Redtail Hawk, . . .
. . . a Western Tanager, lots of hikers, and 17 cars near the trailhead - almost half from out of state!
On Saturday they sought solitude by bushwhacking a ways up South Krause Creek . . .
. . . where they saw a really crooked Cottonwood tree with only one live limb at the very top!
Beargrass is starting to bloom, which makes the little beetles that pollinate it very happy!
The Mountain Maple must have gotten pollinated because it is producing some beautiful seeds!
If you have interesting photos of your socially distant times outdoors, send them along with a description to .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) and we'll try to work them into these weekly reports!